Intelligent Tech Channels Issue 01 | Page 19

EDITOR’S COMMENT Racing back after the business pit stop I s there an opportunity for Government and private organisations to use the slow economic climate as a time to reevaluate their IT infrastructure? In motor racing, a pit-stop is an opportunity to pause from one’s position, make tweaks that will enhance performance, and get back into the race better set for success. This strategic pause is an equal part of winning, enabling the racer to come back stronger and competitive, and prepared to face the real challenges that have been identified. And why is that important in the business world? Because sometimes global economic conditions allow businesses to get into the pit-stop, spending time and effort on getting the operations back in fighting shape. Economic downturns are seen as business opportunities to trim the fat in a number of ways, and while many of these are approached with the intention of boosting the bottom-line, it is also an opportunity to move operations and processes onto more advanced systems. Common thinking is that a downturn is not really a time to be initiating new expenses, but this can be easily challenged with the right question: Would you rather use an opportunity to equip yourself for future challenges or hide under a rock waiting for the storm to pass? The conscious decision by the GCC leadership to move the economy from reliance on the hydrocarbon sector brings other industry sectors into the spotlight. A Government diversifying its dependence signals opportunity for diverse sectors, and shows that the economic environment is one in which there is a premium placed on performance and contribution. Governments in the GCC have already strengthened their focus on sectors such as healthcare, education, construction, and others. This focus has two goals: increasing private sector contribution to economic growth, and streamlining of costs through digital transformation. If your business is one that sees the future as ripe with opportunity, then your digital transformation process can be kicked-off right now. Before you run to your CFO to unlock that big budget, the good news is that your conversations can actually begin with the happiness of the end user in mind, to ensure that the new digital infrastructure and applications address current and future issues that the people face on a daily basis. For a government department, this could be the seamless offering of online and mobile-based services so that there is added convenience in the engagement, and for businesses, it could be creating solutions for teams to collaborate better or even to engage with their customers using a number of multimedia technology solutions. Any discussion around this would also involve financials and this is where the beauty of subscriptions come in. Why put down a huge lump-sum as capital expenditure, when you can opt for digital transformation-as-a-service, in an operating expenses model? A transformational IT architecture no longer calls for a rip-and-replace of every single system every time you want to add video calling capabilities, for example. With the enterprise networking moving towards a consumerised model, where even enterprise apps can be run to quickly activate services and capabilities, there are no longer any limits to what an innovative organisation Mohammed Areff is Avaya Vice President for MEA region If your business is one that sees the future as ripe with opportunity, then your digital transformation process can be kicked-off can provide and achieve. We all know that tough times do not last, tough organisations do. It is only a matter of time before the strong strategies and steps implemented by the visionary leadership in the GCC begin to result in a positive economic revival. Governments and businesses in the region will emerge from the pit-stop and drive into position as innovative regional leaders once again. 19