CIOs express concerns about long-term viability of infrastructure and skills enabling 24 / 7 ‘ always-on ’ business operations ( 68 %), lowering operational costs for IT ( 65 %) and strengthening security and control ( 60 %) as the main drivers . Only 45 % consider providing a fast and efficient IT service for their end-users as a driver behind the modernisation of their data centre .
INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Data Centres
WHILE THE PUBLIC SECTOR IS NO WORSE OFF THAN THE PRIVATE SECTOR WHEN IT COMES TO RUNNING LEGACY SOLUTIONS , CHANGES IN COMPLIANCE AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS MEAN GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE LEADING THE CHARGE FOR CHANGE
At a glance …
CIOs express concerns about long-term viability of infrastructure and skills enabling 24 / 7 ‘ always-on ’ business operations ( 68 %), lowering operational costs for IT ( 65 %) and strengthening security and control ( 60 %) as the main drivers . Only 45 % consider providing a fast and efficient IT service for their end-users as a driver behind the modernisation of their data centre .
While the public sector is no worse off than the private sector when it comes to running legacy solutions , changes in compliance and regulatory requirements mean government should be leading the charge for change .
“ Government is enforcing new regulation , and should be championing for an Always-On approach . In many respects , there is a need to set the example for public sector departments and companies across South Africa to follow . The South African , and other , governments need to adopt and accept the move to the modern data centre in order for them to adapt quicker in terms of deployment and consolidation . This will lead to improved actions with more successful results .”
He adds that with government wanting citizens to have access and information to services online , the Always-On approach will enable it to streamline its ability to transact and have available data .
“ For its part , the government has to look towards partnering with modern vendors that can guarantee high-speed recovery of less than 15 minutes in order for citizens to have access to always available data . It is a connected world in which we live and citizens have come to expect access to information at any time , using any device . This environment requires a public sector that is willing to embrace change and foster an Always-On culture ,” he concludes .
( For the full article , please visit http :// www . intelligentcio . com / me / 2016 / 04 / 14 / public-sector-needs-to-embrace-availability /
New research by EMC exposes a concern among CIOs that their current IT infrastructure and the skills of their IT professionals may not be enough to meet long-term needs as technology becomes embedded across the business .
The findings indicate that three-quarters of CIOs believe that five years from now they will need to be able to launch new products , services and applications in half the time it takes them today . Forty-one percent say that extracting value from ever greater volumes of data is the top IT challenge facing the business , with 37 % expecting this to still be the top challenge in 2019 . Ranked second in 2016 is the need to accommodate business unpredictability and the associated demands for rapid scaling . By 2019 this is expected to be replaced by the challenge – and opportunity – of enabling real-time business operations .
However , the study reveals that many CIOs are concerned that their company will struggle to overcome these challenges and harness these opportunities . Sixty-nine percent worry that business growth will reveal weaknesses in traditional IT operations and infrastructure and could lead to IT inhibiting rather than enabling innovation in the organisation if they do not have the right infrastructure or tools .
This point is not lost on CIOs and their business colleagues and many are taking active steps to address the situation . For example , 80 % of the leaders surveyed feel that implementing a more advanced and agile IT infrastructure would reduce risk and complexity and provide a solid platform for future growth . Further , nearly half are already training IT professionals in skills including converged infrastructure , cloud computing and business skills .
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