FINAL WORD
T
he lightning-fast pace of
technological innovation
is forcing organisations to
change the way they operate or risk
falling behind. As IT leaders and
analysts say, every company is now
becoming a software company.
We’ve entered a new era of the
Always-On Enterprise, where
businesses operate globally on
an 24.7.365 basis, and where IT
services and applications must
run continuously. The need to
deliver round-the-clock access to
applications and data has never been
more critical. Companies want to
ensure business continuity and thus
cope with the new demands of their
customers, employees and partners
to remain competitive.
Mobility, connected devices, cloud
technologies and virtualisation are
transforming business operations
in every industry. Healthcare
organisations are improving patient
outcomes with digital patient records.
Financial services companies are
delivering mobile banking while
keeping pace with growing regulations.
YOUR CUSTOMERS
INCREASINGLY INTERACT WITH
YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
DIRECTLY THROUGH THE
SOFTWARE THEY TOUCH. IF THE
SOFTWARE FAILS – OR FAILS TO
DELIGHT – THE BRAND SUFFERS.
Manufacturers are driving
efficiencies and cutting costs
through logistics. Higher education
institutions are keeping students
and faculties connected with apps,
data and virtual classrooms across
devices. Retail companies are finding
new ways to interact with customers
to keep their registers ringing, both
online and in store.
The digital transformation is having
a huge impact on how products and
services are created and delivered
and how your customers interact
with you. As Forrester says in its 2014
‘Software Must Enrich Your Brand
report’: “Your customers increasingly
interact with your products and
services directly through the software
they touch. If the software fails – or
fails to delight – the brand suffers.”
The highest spending IT budgets are
allocated to improve the customer
experience. Customer loyalty, which
plays a primary role for every company
and covers all industries, relies on them
having confidence in uninterrupted and
always available services.
Companies spend billions on building
brands and getting loyal customers,
but all these efforts and investments
can be lost or seriously damaged
very quickly.
Internal events like power failures
and negligence, or even external
things like hacking, lightning and
flooding, may undermine the proper
functioning of a company. This
can cause the loss of key data, in
addition to negatively impacting a
company’s reputation and revenue.
In the latest Veeam market and
customer survey conducted with
ESG, the 2017 Veeam Availability
Report, CIOs reported that downtime
incidents are on the rise, costing
Middle East enterprises an average
of $21.8 million annually.
On top of the financial damage,
there’s always irreparable damage
to reputation and customer
confidence. The study shows that
90
INTELLIGENTCIO
www.intelligentcio.com