How will faster digital transformation affect your IT infrastructure?

Digital transformation relates to the adoption of digital technology across all areas of a business, which fundamentally changes how an organisation operates and delivers value to its customers. We have witnessed a rapid expansion of initiatives and projects to assist digital transformation in recent years, but, the rate of digitisation will never be as sluggish as it is today. All companies want to be digitally transformed, but 55% say their digital strategies, as they stand, can’t keep up with their businesses. 

More resilience and agility will always be required to keep up with emerging trends and to update legacy systems. The need for IT infrastructure to enable change will increase along with the rate of change, and the ability to react quickly to future changes will become more important than ever before. It will demand a new way of thinking, one that goes beyond the technology itself and incorporates an organisation’s team and its culture.

New digital technologies are altering infrastructure sectors out of the consumers’ sight. Various industries may provide a quicker, cleaner, and more effective business environment thanks to new uses of artificial intelligence (AI), faster wireless connection, and the proliferation of reasonably priced edge computing equipment. Technology is becoming an essential component of any business strategy rather than merely an option. Better collaboration within and between organisations, more individualised methods of customer engagement, increased employee productivity, and more insightful data insights are all made possible by the intelligent deployment of IT service management tools, which will aid in a business’ post-pandemic expansion.

Overcoming the challenges

The global digital transformation market is expected to grow to $1,009.8 billion by 2025 from $469.8 billion in 2020, at a CAGR of 16.5% during this period. According to the Foundry’s 2022 State of the CIO report, IT executives in EMEA are increasingly in charge of digital transformation initiatives, with 84% of CIOs attributing responsibility for these efforts. But there are still big obstacles to face in the future. According to the report, their most urgent concern is the requirement for technology integration skills to support digital business objectives. 

For many businesses, the skills gap has emerged as a top barrier to achieving their digital transformation goals. With the rapid development of technology, employers struggle to keep their employees adequately trained, producing limited results which can impact the business’s bottom line in the longer term. Talent resources have also become increasingly misaligned with work processes and remote organisational structures. Teams need to be agile enough to keep up with today’s fast-changing conditions and flexible enough to adapt to new technologies that are to be utilised in their day-to-day work. 

Additionally, a lot of businesses are having trouble updating their IT architecture to support digitisation. It was recently reported that 70% of digital transformation initiatives do not reach their goals. Additionally, of the $1.3 trillion that was spent on these advancements last year, it was estimated that $900 billion went to waste. These initiatives are hampered by a lack of direction, increasing complexity, legacy devices and a lack of urgency. It’s time for businesses to reassess their transformation initiatives and adopt new strategies to further their digital ambitions – and should begin by looking at their IT architecture to ensure that it’s scalable and offers options to expand with the business whilst it grows in the future.

Infrastructure-as-a-service

There is a constant need for more flexibility and agility to keep up with future developments, and as the speed of change continues to grow, so will the demand for IT infrastructure to support it. According to IDC, digital transformation investment is expected to reach $7 trillion.

The number of companies who want to invest in owning their infrastructure is decreasing; instead, they prefer to consume their infrastructure as a service. This means servers as well as storage and network solutions on-demand as they turn towards a digitisation-as-a-service.

When it comes to all forms of digital transformation, the “as-a-service” approach has fast gained popularity. IDC also predicts that by 2024, more than 75% of technology applications and more than half of data centre infrastructure will be consumed as-a-service. This is primarily because this strategy fulfils the requirement for more agility and flexibility, as well as providing organisations with the ability to scale up and down in terms of IT capacity and modify their infrastructure over time. 

Future of transformation

All facets of a business are impacted by digital transformation, and organisations of all sizes are looking to digital technologies to help them stay competitive and future-proof their operations. In fact, a recent study found that companies that accelerate their digital transformation efforts benefit from a 19% increase in profitability and a 12% decrease in business costs. With these rewards available, it’s no surprise that faster digital transformation is top of mind for IT leaders, which leads to them considering the hurdles that they need to overcome in order to achieve sustainable success.  

There are a number of factors that businesses need to consider on their path to digital transformation. The support of leaders and a culture that is in agreement on which new technologies to accept and how to effectively integrate them into daily life is essential for it to succeed. This includes the digital foundation, digital operations, and a workforce that is proficient in using digital tools. Future survival and progress will depend on having strong digital literacy and an understanding on the best approach to accelerate digital transformation.