In an increasingly complex cloud environment, speed is critical to win. But tech investments can often be piecemeal and siloed, driven by the most convincing business case or the latest “cool tool” on the market customers feel they absolutely must have. IT budgets get pulled in all directions and often the most well-thought-out investment strategy fades away to the background. Some gains are made – but these are marginal and sporadic; and IT organisations the world over are full of siloed artefacts as a result.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Investment in the right technology solutions should lead to substantial digital transformation, agility to adopt the latest tech and significant competitive advantage, easing the pressure on IT teams. One way to do this is to bring strategy firmly back on the table, zooming out to prioritise overarching business goals and the role that technology must play in achieving them. Here are three questions decision-makers should ask themselves as a starting point:
Am I sure I am getting the most from my existing infrastructure?
IT solutions and platforms often bring with them a wide variety of tools – many of which are not part of the core product but get added on through multiple iterations and updates. This often results in an increasingly convoluted IT infrastructure where IT teams may not even fully realise the extent of the tools and services they can deploy. In turn, organizations often find themselves doubling up on some products by procuring additional software to provide functionality they already have but were not even aware of.
A recent conversation with a customer comes to mind: the CIO of a well-known media company was looking to build a sustainability dashboard for their IT operations and had an active tender out for almost a year when they came to us with the problem. What they didn’t realise was their existing VMware dashboard could do that sustainability work for them at no extra cost. Once the customer knew how that solution all fit together, they were able to get more out of it. Problem solved.
By regularly looking at your existing IT investments more holistically and as one, integrated system, you may be surprised at how many tools you already own and how seamlessly they can operate. With that more holistic view of your toolkit, you’re better positioned to get full value and return on investments.
Do I really need a bespoke product?
Building your own bespoke tech stack is often viewed as the ultimate state of nirvana for all technologists to strive towards. This results in tech investments being made piecemeal, which are focused on specific tools and products that are then joined together to make something completely different – which often don’t all work well together and require constant work from considerable-sized teams just to maintain.
It’s time for some radical simplification. There are solutions and platforms out there that can be bought off the shelf and deployed rapidly. Solutions that are industrialised, reliable and scalable – and can deliver faster innovation with more value to customers.
Leave the headache of getting the basics right and instead focus on where you can find pockets of innovation in your business. In fact, critical infrastructures that handle millions of transactions, such as those run by Orange France and NatWest Group, run on these solutions.
By choosing VMware Cloud Foundation, NatWest Group was able to create a centralised development environment that quickly responds to customer needs and delivers on new requirements based on what their customers asked for.
Am I in an “innovation” mindset?
This is where you need to zoom out and consider whether you’re prioritising investments in tech that will either just keep the lights on or allow you to unlock innovation. Often, innovation is associated with a rush to public cloud networks and more recently an impulse to buy the latest generative AI tool. But innovation can happen on-premises or in a private cloud environment too, with the same level of agility but better focus on cost, data sovereignty and security.
All you need is the right solution, one that has built-in resilience for non-stop operations, threat prevention, and fast recovery from cyber threats – allowing you to layer innovation on top. Just like you don’t build your own operating systems, you should not be building your own cloud platforms - you should be focusing on innovating above that, where the real differentiation is.
IT investments and strategy shouldn’t be dictated by the latest tool on the market, or the latest product that your competitor has unveiled. Answering the questions above and delving deeper into the answers you come up with will help you understand your IT infrastructure better, and in turn, determine what investments you need to make.It all comes down to a change in mindset. You don’t need to create a tailored IT solution from scratch, or even make sure you buy every new tool on the market. The focus should be on creating an environment that allows flexibility and choice through the use of proven solutions, enabling your organisation to start delivering innovation where it matters most.