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For enterprises locked in a race to transform digitally , evolving customer demands along with an increased reliance on cloud and connectivity are forcing their hands .
implement new technology – with almost half ( 49 %) of IT decision-makers surveyed citing this as a concern according to Veeam Data Protection Report 2021 . It can be that a technology is simple ahead of its time and the complementary technologies that give it a clear place in the world do not yet exist . Returning to the consumer example of touchscreen devices , the early efforts by Palm and Microsoft to launch personal tablets were flawed by their inability to connect wireless to the Internet or sync with PCs and laptops . It was only when wireless technology and cloud computing reached maturity that smartphones and tablets came of age .
Finally , technology can work perfectly well , but not really solve a big enough problem to warrant significant investment . That ’ s why you often hear talk of ‘ killer apps ’ or use cases that will give a new technology purpose and meaning . QR codes are an example of a technology that the world thought it had infinite uses for but struggled to take off until they found their calling in mobile boarding passes and ticketing applications . Experience therefore tells us that just because a new technology might not change the way things are done tomorrow , it doesn ’ t mean it won ’ t have a big impact long-term . With that said , it ’ s fine to get excited by the potential of a new technology , but as an industry we must learn to temper our expectations and those of our customers , towards how quickly and how far new technologies will create radical and lasting change .
Contain your excitement
Even for those technologies which solve a real problem , are enabled by the right complementary technologies , and are generally understood enough to be successfully tested and deployed , there are other challenges . Any enterprise IT deployment requires investment , upskilling and cultural change from business leaders and employees . That means it can take years to build a compelling enough business case to convince budget holders to incorporate new deployments into their strategy . In addition , once a clear business case has been established – there are regulatory , cybersecurity and data protection requirements to throw into the mix . Given the value modern businesses rightly place on their data and the consequences of failing to manage and protect it , this is something which must be considered as early in the tech life cycle as possible . If you cannot confidently protect and manage data within an IT service or application , don ’ t deploy it .
An example of a technology that is moving through the various phases of the hype cycle at a rate of knots is containers – seen by many as a natural evolution of a virtualised environment but designed to give IT managers greater control and flexibility over their applications . As little as around two years ago ,
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