Even though the dust has barely settled on the likes of Big Data and cloud computing, talks are already turning to digitalisation and how it will benefit your business. But instead of being a separate entity, this is a natural progression to making your organisation more cost-effective and efficient.
South African companies are realising the importance of changing from legacy environments into more agile, digital ones. Not only is technology evolving in such a way that this has become part of meeting customer expectations, but businesses who choose to ignore the progression to digitalisation will become irrelevant in the months to come.
One of the central ICT themes of 2016 has been one focused around integration. So, whether it is a hybrid cloud system or real-time data analytics, Internet of Things or online collaboration, incorporating new technologies into existing systems and processes is a fundamental step in the digitalisation process. Not every organisation has the luxury of ripping and replacing its entire IT infrastructure. As such, it is best to find out how best to combine the new with the old – partnering with an organisation that understands this and knows how to guide you in the best possible way.
Key to this is simplicity.
As the responsibilities of IT departments shift because of more virtualised solutions, decision-makers do not want to be encumbered with bulky solutions or slow-performing systems. After all, being a digital business means you can meet the continuous changes in stakeholder requirements. If the ‘marriage’ between digital and legacy is not a smooth one, then all the benefits of a new approach are lost. This also means there must be less of a focus on hardware and more in how well to integrate cloud solutions et al in the modern organisation.
2017 brings with it a wealth of digital opportunities. How best local businesses embrace those in the context of organisational requirements will be fascinating to watch.
Digitalisation is not your enemy – embrace it!