Disruptive technologies a catalyst for IT innovation

Transcription

1 TEE_PHOTOLIVE/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK Disruptive technologies a catalyst for IT innovation

2 Survey reveals disruptive technologies are key factor in change to IT strategy Sungard Availability Services research finds that threat of downtime is a growing concern for IT chiefs, as disruptive technologies are increasingly bringing about change. Lisa Kelly reports on the survey s findings Over half of IT directors say that data analytics and big data is the most disruptive technology driving change in their organisations, research by Sungard Availability Services reveals. The survey of 100 IT chiefs in small and medium-sized companies with between 500 and 1,000 employees and large companies of up to 100,000 employees, and in some cases more, reveals that digital disruption is becoming the norm. Other key disruptive technologies identified by IT chiefs include bring your own device, or BYOD, (48%); social media (47%); and a mobile workforce (40%). However, while constant change is unavoidable, the survey reveals that IT leaders are anxious to ensure any transition is pain-free, without disruption to users and a minimal risk of system downtime. In a world that never sleeps, IT downtime risks losing customers and business to rivals. Over a third (38%) of CIOs demand less than one hour of downtime a for mission-critical IT systems; 8% require downtime to be no higher than one minute a. Increasing volumes of structured and unstructured data, and the adoption of new ways of working and interacting with customers, present opportunities and challenges that IT must respond to with agility, and without business disruption. Roy Illsley, principal analyst at Ovum, says that any transition is difficult and must be managed carefully to avoid disrupting work patterns. I believe that making the transition appear as business as usual while making big changes is the real art. People are productive when they understand what they are doing and why. If this is constantly changing as a company moves from one era of computing to another, then people will perceive change as bad. Introducing change in a way that matches people s ability to accommodate it is more beneficial, he says. When IT directors were asked to rank disruptive technologies in order of importance, data analytics and big data took the top spot with a score around twice as high as that of BYOD and social media, which were ranked in second and third place respectively. But for big data to be useful, Illsley says organisations have to focus on how big data can be consumed and translated to actionable information. The sheer volume of information means technology will have to filter and correlate the data, and present it in a way that we, as humans, can assimilate, he says. From a technical point of view, it is how the data is transported from source, to calculation engine, to user, and how it is stored. I think organisations must ask themselves, What do I know? What do I need to know that I do not know? How am I going to use that information? he says. Alongside big data, the survey reveals over a third of IT chiefs regard software as a service, or SaaS, (33%) and cloud infrastructure services (35%) as disruptive Making the transition appear as business as usual while making big changes is the real art Roy Illsley, Ovum -2-

3 technologies, particularly when IT departments are migrating from their legacy technologies. The most popular investments for around half of respondents is business intelligence technology (46%), cloud computing (44%), mobile computing (43%) and updating legacy hardware (43%). Other plans include updating operating systems (27%); developing social networking technology (21%); moving to an internal service model provider (17%); and, perhaps with more optimism than some in the current climate of austerity, increasing the IT budget (14%). Figures from Ofcom, the UK telecommunications regulator, reveal that nearly two-thirds (61%) of UK adults own a smartphone, and this is reflected by the fact that over a quarter (27%) of IT chiefs highlight mobile phone applications as a key disruptive technology. The same proportion identified web and mobile commerce as key disruptive technologies. Disruptive technologies such as the internet and cloud are a great leveler for small and medium-sized companies and big business alike in driving innovation Rob Bamforth, Quocirca Previously, technology forced employees and customers to behave in predefined ways, such as sit behind screens at desks or queue to shop, says Rob Bamforth, principal analyst, business communications, at analyst group Quocirca. But that is changing. Mobile technology allows for more fluid and friction-free interactions. Information sources are moved to where the customer or employee needs them and is most comfortable with them, he says. Bamforth says that big and small companies are affected equally by disruptive technologies, and that is borne out by the survey s findings. It canvassed IT decision-makers three-quarters of whom (74%) identified themselves as IT managers, while a quarter (26%) were senior IT managers or executives with roles including CIO and CTO. The majority of IT chiefs surveyed (43%) were from small and medium-sized companies with 500 to 999 employees; a quarter were from companies with 1,000 to 4,999 employees. Disruptive technologies such as the internet and cloud are a great leveller for small and medium-sized companies and big business alike in driving innovation, says Bamforth. Regardless of the size of the business, only 4% of IT chiefs surveyed say IT is not a major priority in driving innovation for their business or sector. Most businesses in today s digital world are relying on IT to drive innovation, but co-operation between IT and other parts of the business is essential. Q1. Which best describes your role at your company? Q2. How many people does your company employ? Senior IT manager/executive (director, VP, CIO, CTO) 26% 1% 10% 11% 43% 500 to 999 1,000 to 4,999 5,000 to 9,999 IT manager 74% 10% 25% 10,000 to 49,999 50,000 to 99, ,

4 Q3. What are the key disruptive technologies driving business change in your organisation? (Please choose all that apply) Q4. From your selection in Q3 (What are the key disruptive technologies driving business change in your organisation?), please rank these in order of importance: Virtualisation 1 Score Overall rank Data analytics and big data Bring your own device (BYOD) Social media Mobile workforce Cloud infrastructure services (IaaS) Internet connected devices Software as a service (SaaS) growth of shadow IT Web and mobile commerce Mobile phone applications Hybrid IT Other (please specify) However, in nearly a fifth (18%) of organisations, IT and the business are driving innovation separately. In a further fifth (19%) of organisations, each business department drives its own innovation. The figures point to a possible disconnect between IT and the business. The problem is that no department is leading the way, and as IT is changing its role within organisations, it is the financing of IT that must change, and this means transparency. We will continue to see organisations buying IT in different ways, depending on need, money and governance, says Illsley. Shadow IT is a thorny topic for many IT chiefs, with nearly a quarter (22%) actively discouraging other departments from deploying their own IT systems. For just under half (46%) of respondents, the IT department is responsible for all the IT in their organisation. More than a tenth (11%) of IT chiefs are aware of the existence of shadow IT but turn a blind eye, which has potential implications for security and efficiency. Only 7% of CIOs say they always encourage and support other parts of the business to deploy their own IT. In these companies, there is likely to be a healthy degree of co-operation, where IT and the business work in partnership to adopt key technologies to help meet business needs. Some 7% of organisations occasionally encourage other parts of the business to deploy their own IT; while 6% promote the departmental acquisition of IT and have process and budget controls in place to support it. Illsley says shadow IT can be reduced or eliminated if corporate governance is clear on what people can and cannot do. This has not been done well enough by most organisations: all too often it is seen as IT rules, not corporate business rules. CIOs are trying to deal with this by adopting either a heavy-handed approach of locking down data so it is secure, meaning shadow IT is only used for activities that carry low risk, such as marketing websites. Or they are trying to accommodate shadow IT by being open and approachable so they can discover the extent of it. The risk is that IT becomes fragmented and different business units do things differently, which costs more money than if a co-ordinated approach is taken, says Illsley. Organisations are not embracing change for the sake of change they are pursuing disruptive technologies for the identified benefits they can bring. Improved customer experience is a goal for nearly three-quarters (73%) of organisations. Putting what the customer wants at the centre of any business Organisations are not embracing change for the sake of change they are pursuing disruptive technologies for the identified benefits they can bring -4-

5 strategy makes sense, says Bamforth. Customers want convenience. Mobile technologies allow useful information to be delivered to them the moment they need it. This may be applications such as e-ticketing or e-receipts, or the payment side of mobile, he says. Organisations realise that the consumerisation of IT is growing and customers increasingly want to be able to choose from an omni-channel option to interact with organisations, whether that be mobile applications, online or social media, adds Bamforth. Greater productivity is anticipated by two-thirds (69%) of respondents as a business benefit from disruptive technologies cloud, SaaS, BYOD and mobile working all offer opportunities to work more efficiently and flexibly. Just under half (46%) of IT chiefs say that in addition to increased productivity, these technologies also come with the promise of cost reduction. Consumerisation of IT is growing and customers increasingly want to be able to choose from an omni-channel option to interact with organisations Change in mindset Disruptive technologies should improve efficiency and productivity and cut costs as business processes are adapted to desktop technologies and stuck to a paper-based in/out way of doing things. For example, flexible working means employees are no longer fixed at a desk; this creates a radical difference in how organisations think about what to do with office space, says Bamforth. Other anticipated benefits identified by around half of respondents include better products and services, new business opportunities and a culture of innovation. SERGEY NIVENS/ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK -5-

6 These benefits point to organisations with their eye on the future and a competitive spirit associated with disruptive technologies. Less critical but still important benefits for over a third of respondents include increased competitiveness (37%); faster time to market for more than a quarter (28%); and new revenue streams. The IT department is the centre of excellence for techniques More effective research and development is anticipated by just under a quarter (21%) and increased market share by 12%. Reaching these benefits often demands techniques. Gone are the days when an IT project could take six months to specify and then a further to implement; organisations need to make transitions quickly or risk losing market share to competitors. Over three-quarters of companies (79%) use techniques to some extent. How they use it varies considerably, however. Under a fifth (16%) of organisations use on half of their projects. Some 28% use for up to a quarter of their projects. And just over a fifth (21%) regularly use for a quarter to half of their projects. The adoption of techniques by the IT department is making organisations more responsive to changing business conditions, but it is a journey; over half (55%) say they are not yet fully exploiting techniques in either the IT department or the rest of the business. For a quarter of organisations, the IT department is the centre of excellence for techniques, and just under a fifth (17%) of organisations have adopted techniques in both IT and the rest of the business. Illsley says, however, that the ability of organisations to use techniques to make changes quickly varies. Agile is a mindset that must be adopted for the right reasons, he says. If constant change is wanted/needed, then is the approach. If stability is wanted/needed, then adds no real value, he says. A new generation of users The next generation of workers who have grown up with better technology in their home life than is often available at work are affecting the IT strategy of many organisations. And this trend is likely to continue, with recent Ofcom research revealing that 12 to 15 olds are twice as likely to say they would miss their mobile phone or online activities such as social media more than the TV. 38% Q5. How big a role does IT play in driving innovation in your organisation? 4% 19% 18% 21% IT and the business drive innovation separately but equally IT drives more innovation than other parts of the business Each department drives its own innovation Innovation is not a major priority for our business/sector IT and the business work together to innovate Q6. What business benefits do you anticipate from embracing disruptive technologies? (Select all that apply) Improved customer experience Improved security 1-6-

7 Digital natives are often the impetus for BYOD schemes, with a quarter of organisations introducing such programmes. Similarly, 24% are relaxing controls over social media and internet use. The familiarity and expertise the new generation has with innovative technologies presents an opportunity for organisations; over a quarter (26%) are exploiting this and encouraging employees to experiment with technology. Ofcom research finds that the proportion of adults using social networking sites in 2014 is 47% up from 45% in However, there is a difference between an employee who uses a social media, blogging or crowdsourcing site to attract customers and one who spends all day on Facebook updating their status. Not all organisations feel confident with the technologically advanced newcomers and around a tenth (11%) limit employee access to social media There is a difference between employees who use a social media, blogging or crowdsourcing site to attract customers and those who spend all day on Facebook % Q7: To what extent do you use techniques in your IT projects? 10% 21% % 44 14% 46 28% Up to 10% of our projects use Up to 25% of our projects use 25% to 50% of our projects use 50% to 75% of our projects use More than 75% of our projects use We don t use techniques Q9. How do you plan to change your IT department and IT strategy in response to changing business demands? (Select all that apply) Q8. To what extent has the adoption of techniques by your IT department enabled your organisation as a whole to become more? 55% 3% 25% 17% We have adopted IT techniques but the rest of the organisation has yet to make its processes and procedures more We have adopted IT techniques and the rest of the business has the processes and procedures in place to respond in an way We are not yet fully exploiting techniques in either the IT department or the rest of the business Other (Please specify)* - We are a buy not build shop so are not engaging with techniques - We use techniques on client projects depending on its complexity and priority - Not using Q10. What is your company's approach to shadow IT? The IT department is responsible for all IT in our organisation % 7% 7% 6% 1% 46% We actively discourage other departments from deploying their own IT systems We generally turn a blind eye to shadow IT, unless it causes major problems We occasionally encourage other parts of the business to deploy their own IT 0 22% We always encourage and support other parts of the business when they want to deploy their own IT We actively promote the departmental acquisition of IT and have process and budget controls in place to support Other (please specify)* - Business and IT system automation and collaboration - Change mindsets - The only department with separate IT is libraries. Libraries have separate IT supplied by their Library Management System vendor. -7-

8 and the internet at work and receive lots of complaints in doing so. Some 12% of organisations require employees to use only company phones and computers at work to limit their access to social media. The issue is how to focus technology and ensure personal and work use are separated and do not compromise the integrity of the enterprise. A troll tweet from an employee s account made at work has implications, says Ovum s Illsley. The research findings show that a new role for the CIO is emerging an ability to deliver availability of systems, despite dramatic levels of digital disruption and growing data streams. Technologies such as co-location, cloud, hosting and consulting services can help ensure guaranteed uptime for organisations to thrive in an alwaysconnected world. IT chiefs are increasingly moving away from being controllers of technology to enablers as they become closer to the business Any transition involves a degree of risk, but must be undertaken without disruption to the critical IT systems on which the business depends. The evolution of the CIO Bamforth says the role of the CIO is adapting and IT chiefs are increasingly moving away from being controllers of technology to enablers as they become closer to the business. The biggest change for the IT chief is from an old-fashioned director of technology to one who is a real CIO, because it is not about the hardware and the technology, it is about information and data and innovation, he says. Technologies such as BYOD and SaaS mean that IT ownership is moving away from the organisation, but the key point is that the organisation still owns the data, says Bamforth. Understanding data better and not putting it all in one basket, knowing what is critical to the business and how it should be dealt with differently, is shaping the CIO s new role to help make the business more innovative and, he says. n Q12. How is the entry of the next generation of workers, who have grown up with consumer technology, impacting your IT strategy? We are relaxing controls over social media and internet use Q11. What levels of availability do you need for your mission critical IT systems? 12% 2% 24% We have introduced bring your own device programmes 4% 8% 1% 8% Less than 1 minute of downtime a Less than one hour of downtime a Less than 12 hours of downtime a Less than 24 hours of downtime a Less than 48 hours of downtime a Less than 72 hours of downtime a Other (please specify)* 11% We are encouraging employees to experiment with technology 13% 28% 38% 26% 25% We limit employees access to social media and the internet at work so we get a lot of complaints Employees are only allowed to use company phones and computers at work to limit the access to such platforms Other (please specify)* - Not sure but within my department I would say not more than 48 hours per. - Wait and see - We allow use of personal devices to access social networking and internet sites. We block social networking on work devices. Internet access on work devices is allowed but some sites are blocked. -8-

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