Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 12 | Page 34

INTELLIGENT CLOUD According to Gartner, by 2020 a corporate no- cloud policy will be as rare as a no-internet policy is today. end up working with various technology vendors and either follow the application stack presence or procure and contract directly with cloud vendors. While a trend in the Middle East, this is exactly the situation organisations want to avoid, as it will lead to fragmented IT operations, increased risk and inefficient approach to deliver IT. When businesses host their application with vendors who they can provision instantly and pay as they go, instead of a holistic approach, it limits the enterprise’s ability to see the value-added benefits they expect from their IT investment. Enterprise IT is about enabling the business to operate efficiently and innovate in a flexible operational model. Establishing a flexible IT solution roadmap is critical to cater for all business requirements, and it needs to be redesigned with the entire enterprise in mind. Technology leaders play a key role in enabling organisational innovation, through rapid and strategic adoption of technology. Today’s digitalised consumers expect personalised and responsive experiences that fulfil known requirements and anticipate their needs. These needs are now the benchmark, and will not diminish with time. Therefore, advanced infrastructure solutions are the only way forward. It is no longer a matter of if, but how. One of the key questions an IT leader should consider is the right mix of cloud 34 and traditional infrastructure required to run the existing business, support innovation and successfully adopt a multi- vendor operating model. The main challenge is to ensure that you have the breath of design thinking skills across your technology adoption approach. An architecture expertise plays an essential role to designing the enterprise ICT needs, taking into consideration business security, integration and resiliency requirements. Without the heavy uplift of people, process and technology across architecture, governance and service management, a change can lead to fragmented IT processes within an enterprise and, even worse, a high-risk IT operation model that would be susceptible to cyber crime. A concentrated effort on integration, policy standardisation, operations, cross-provider provisioning and end-user empowerment when implementing a successful hybrid strategy is the only way forward. In conclusion, for IT leaders to remain competitive and appealing to the business, they must consider their innovation journey and plan for an holistic IT approach. Technology leaders must unlock the value of enterprise IT with these strategic initiatives: Ÿ Ÿ Get visibility and control over the enterprise IT landscape Ÿ Ÿ Deliver applications faster and scale infrastructure to meet digital demand Ÿ Ÿ Implement an as-a-Service IT model in partnership with strategic service providers Ÿ Ÿ Standardise technology and processes by establishing a software defined environment Ÿ Ÿ Redesign for the entire enterprise for real value-adding IT investment As technology leaders play a critical role in creating business value, IT organisations of the future should be proactive in re-evaluating their enterprise IT strategy to remain competitive and to enable enterprise-wide innovation. Or risk loss of business and direct impact to market growth.  Issue 12 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS