Core IT infrastructure cannot be viewed as an afterthought

By Chris Larkins, Business Unit Manager: Enterprise

Every chief technology officer (CTO) and chief information officer (CIO) wants to help their organisation achieve its goals and be successful, and to do this, they cannot view their core technology infrastructure as an afterthought, or they could be limiting the company’s potential instead.

A modernisation drive or technology refresh enables an organisation to assess its IT infrastructure's current state and evaluate the benefits of trying something that might be more effective. However, any modernisation journey is not without its complexities, and areas such as time, a lack of skills, resistance to change, and financial constraints are all important points. This is why before embarking on a modernisation drive, there are several factors that CIOs and CTOs need to consider.

Covered In This Article

Strategy
Setting goals
Setting a budget
Deciding what is most important
Integration
Partnering for success

Strategy

Any infrastructure modernisation drive should be based on the company’s long-term strategy and vision. Simply ripping and replacing, or adding infrastructure each year with no solid plan in place, will only waste time and money. A clear and concise understanding of where the organisation is now, and where it wants to be in the near future, is key. If the core infrastructure is preventing the business from growing, it’s time for it to go.

Setting goals

In order for a major technological change to be successful, the CTO and CIO need to set goals, which requires making challenging decisions and confronting the reality of the organisation and its technologies. Once they have established the direction they want the company to head towards, they can create a technology roadmap and set out weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly goals. These should include what the business is aiming to achieve, how technology can help them accomplish this, and what is currently hindering progress.

Setting a budget

Before embarking on any modernisation journey, a budget needs to be established. Here, the CIO and CTO need to ascertain how much money the company must spend on the initiative, whether they are willing to go beyond the budget if the value to be gained makes business sense, and if so, how much they can exceed the budget by. Consider any technology modernisation budgets as a way to align the company’s IT infrastructure with its vision, instead of a grudge purchase or wasted spending.

Deciding what is most important

If the company hopes to stay within the budget they have set, they need to prioritise which technologies need updating most urgently when planning the modernisation initiative. To start, determine which ICT investments are critical and which are optional or nice-to-haves. Technology upgrades that will help the organisation reach its true potential, boost user and customer experience, or speed up time-to-market and innovation, should be viewed as top priorities.

Integration

Another important factor to consider is integration, or ensuring that any new technology investments work with each other, and with the company’s existing systems. Ensuring integration will enable a centralised infrastructure that boosts the efficiency of data exchange and workflows, resulting in enhanced productivity. In addition, it lowers operational costs, speeds up reaction time and guarantees the availability of information.

Partnering for success

Upgrading core IT infrastructure is critical to keeping abreast of technological advancements that can make a real difference to the bottom line, and help the business stay ahead of the curve.  An experienced partner like Tarsus Distribution can help with the planning and implementation that suits the needs of your business and gives the company peace of mind.

Modernise your IT infrastructure by contacting us today.