The Landscape of Technology is Getting More Complex
How are you going to manage technology into the future and not get tangled into an overly complex IT environment? It’s a challenge all IT leaders must embrace in the changing business landscape.
Executives want high availability, on-demand and they expect the financial benefits of new technologies like cloud computing to drive down IT capital expenditures.
How are you going to tackle these specific challenges ahead?
1. Cloud Computing
The benefits of flexibility, efficiency, and access are well known. However, for most organizations adopting cloud, there is a fundamental shift in architecture, a reliance on quality networking and with service delivery that needs to be made for the adoption to be successful.
Moving to the cloud is a trend in the market today, doing the necessary due diligence on the risks (Company IP being stored by a 3rd party as one example) is central to making this shift.
2. Network & Architecture
Tied directly to the cloud is the overwhelming need for quality networking and architecture. The difference between a Network Architect and an Enterprise Architect is stark. Enterprise Architecture brings together a holistic look into the Information Technology function of an organization and how it can maximize value for the business.
The skills of a network architect are routinely confused with that of an enterprise architect. A good network architect will provide you the building blocks to have a network that integrates the cloud and provides optimal uptime. An enterprise architect will understand the fundamentals the business relies upon from IT and how it can leverage IT long term to provide effectiveness, efficiency, agility and durability to allow the business to sustain and prosper in the future.
As an environment becomes more complex or the business grows organically, or through acquisition, there will be a time when an enterprise architect is a necessary need for an organization to plan appropriately and build an agile, flexible IT Roadmap.
3. Challenge of Resource Dynamics
A good network architect is expensive and not an easy resource to access, a good enterprise architect for many organizations is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Extend beyond those two specific examples, the added complexity of technology and the specialization of skillsets leaves organizations with a critical risk when considering the makeup of their teams from a resource perspective.
In today’s market, many IT resources are specialists in one area. Diversifying their skill sets is no longer coming through formal training, but through trial and error. It’s this trial and error which leads a snowball effect for organizations feeling the need to add additional resources to meet the specialized skill sets to overcome the ongoing challenges of managing a more complex environment.
4. Financial Impact
With budgeting season always around the corner, the requirement for IT leaders is to truly define the needs and wants for the organization from an IT perspective. Having a strong strategic alignment with the business will make budgeting decisions much easier during executive budget reviews.
The added complexity in environments and needs for resources can multiply costs quickly in IT; it’s important to have a roadmap in place and be able to justify investment in IT with the defined ROI outlined in your strategy.
The biggest challenge ahead is to have a roadmap and vision in place to meet said obstacles. Knowing ahead of time and having the appropriate time and information to plan will allow you to enact your strategy and see long term ROI more easily. Trapp Technology provides IT Roadmap services that can help you provide a 3rd party perspective to your unique internal challenges and provide a remediation strategy to overcome.
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