EDITOR’ S COMMENT

While some businesses are attracted to these technologies by the potential cost savings they offer, others are motivated by a desire to drive new levels of innovation, become more agile, and enhance their overall competitiveness. But as with any new technology, there are a number of factors that IT teams must consider if they are to ensure a successful deployment, including cost, risk, and user experience. And the criticality of these factors can vary depending on the technology in question.

When it comes to deploying cloud technologies, cost typically outranks risk and user experience. This is because the overall total cost of ownership for cloud solutions offers a strong value proposition. That said, many of the functionalities currently being addressed via public cloud services are not mission critical in nature, although some verticals such as retail are increasingly moving core applications to the cloud in a bid to simplify management.

While cost overrides risk, it does not entirely negate it. Security has been highlighted as a major inhibitor of widespread cloud adoption. And it is true that cloud solutions bring with them challenges around data protection, privacy, and governance that must be addressed by both cloud service providers and internal IT teams.

Jyoti Lalchandani is Group Vice President and Regional Managing Director for IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa

When it comes to deploying cloud technologies, cost typically outranks risk and user experience

The ease with which cloud solutions can be procured also creates concerns around the issue of shadow IT, where individual business units purchase solutions without the IT department’ s knowledge. Shadow IT causes governance issues and can increase the number vulnerability points when the IT department is not involved in ensuring compliance with internal security standards.

Organisations seeking to deploy enterprise mobility solutions will need to prioritise user experience, because any deployment that interferes with the provision of a seamless experience can negatively impact productivity and business outcomes. Risk is also a critical factor in this regard, since mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and wearables all add to the number of vulnerability points for maliciously accessing the corporate network.

In relation to big data analytics, organisations must weigh all factors equally, as these technologies involve high-value information and inform high-level decision making. Both IT and the business must take cost into account since data aggregation and classification use up a considerable amount of time and resources. Risk is a critical consideration as the solutions in question have access to various levels of information, which raises concerns about sensitive data being compromised.

The weightage given to cost, risk, user experience, naturally varies from one technology to another, but what is a universal success factor is how well the IT department engages with the business. This is because the consumption of cloud, mobile, social, and big data analytics helps merely to lay foundations for digital transformation to be truly digital, the organisation must ensure proper alignment between IT and business.

To ensure the highest chance of success, IT and the business must work hand in hand to determine what metrics are critical, what level of risk is acceptable, and how best to deliver high standards of user experience. Only then can IT truly move on from being a business enabler to being integral to the business itself.

20 Issue 01 INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS