Today there are three macro forces shaping the IT environment –
big data, cloud, and the consumerisation of IT. The good news is IT
is well positioned to deliver significant value to customers so
that they can benefit from these trends:
Cloud
Cloud is no longer a technology for someone else – or just the
early adopters. Growth in cloud spend is outpacing on-premise
software. Companies now realise the benefits of developing private
clouds, or pursuing SaaS-based services. Cloud is now really
happening, it has become mainstream and at FAST Ltd we are seeing
this in our daily discussions with customers.
Big Data
Big Data enables companies to access and link data to create
business intelligence, which is now driving resurgence in the B.I.
market. Through Big Data, companies can deliver relevant
information to customers, partners and staff, anywhere and
anytime. Here are a few examples:
- Telecommunication companies are analysing data for fraud
analysis, churn analytics, rate plans and even route
optimisation.
- Web commerce companies are using customer site traffic
statistics to analyse product trends and marketing
effectiveness.
- Software companies like Salesforce, analyse customer usage
patterns on a secure Social Network called Chatter, to build a
better collaboration engine.
Consumerisation of IT
If you had asked FAST Ltd five years ago whether there would be
a shift in IT towards consumerisation, we would have said
potentially no. We were coming through five years of
standardization, which was driving consolidation of the enterprise
software space. Consolidation was impacting everything from
applications to middleware to the data and storage levels.
Mobile is a major factor in the consumerisation of IT. Go
to any board meeting and all the board members have their iPhones
and iPads. IT is forced to support them – along with RIMM and
Android. And the iPad’s success is also driving a renaissance
of Macs in the corporate world.
This trend of mobile and tablets is putting more pressure on IT
to support multiple platforms – with instant access and high
security the priority. Therefore IT professionals have to deal with
multiple devices, operating systems, and security issues for a
fragmenting end user environment.
At FAST Ltd we see these big forces altering the IT landscape –
The Cloud is coming of age, Big Data is happening but is at an
early stage, and the consumerisation of IT.
At FAST Ltd, we believe what is paramount in all of this is
making sure that you have the right policies and processes in
place. You need to understand what you have within your IT
environment so that you can pro-actively plan projects rather than
just react or fire-fight on a daily basis.
If you’re interested in finding out how your
business can benefit more from the FAST Compliance Programme or our
FAST Consultancy Services then speak to one of our trusted advisors
at FAST Ltd just call us on 0844 815 5742.