Why Shadow IT will drive you to a hybrid cloud Posted on July 7, 2016 by Tim Burke Given how much cloud apps can boost your business agility while reducing maintenance, labor, and capital costs, chances are you’re spending a sizeable chunk of your IT budget on them (probably more than you realize). You’re not alone. Industry watcher IDC predicts that in just a couple of years, at least half of all IT spending will be cloud-based, and by 2020, 60%-70% of all IT infrastructure, software, services, and technology spending will be cloud-based. Continue reading →
5 strategic moves to embrace your network’s future Posted on June 22, 2016 by Tim Burke By any measure, a smoothly operating data network is a business essential; the typical unplanned network outage, which lasts an average of 95 minutes, now costs upwards of $740,000 — and more than 80% of that cost is due to business disruption, forsaken revenue, and loss of end-user productivity. Yet every enterprise’s data network is different. So what does it take to get your unique network services requirements right? Continue reading →
Facing your network services future: 3 things you can do improve capabilities Posted on June 9, 2016 by Tim Burke If you’ve been stalling about data network upgrades while also planning to expand your use of cloud services, mobile capabilities (especially corporate wifi), voice-over-IP (now present in two thirds of enterprises, according to one study), and video streaming, you might want to rethink the order in which you proceed. That’s because these sorts of capabilities require network services that just weren’t needed before. Without the right networking capabilities, your cloud, wifi, and VoIP efforts may well stall. Continue reading →
Network services drive the managed tech environments you depend on Posted on May 26, 2016 by Tim Burke In my last post, I wrote about the crucial role network services play in underpinning cloud and managed services — and notably in enabling your technology services provider to wield a mix of customizable services they can tailor specifically to your business’s needs. Continue reading →
Leverage the power of data gravity with a network services assist Posted on May 12, 2016 by Tim Burke As you migrate more and more of your data to cloud environments, you’ve probably noticed a couple of things: 1 Data gravity It’s not your imagination: as you’ve embraced cloud computing, the data still outside your cloud(s) really does get pulled toward applications running in your cloud(s). Continue reading →
What to look for in a technology staffing services provider Posted on April 21, 2016 by Tim Burke Finding the technology skillsets you need when you need them is getting tougher all the time, as my last post attests. If you’re like many enterprises, you’re engaging more than one staffing service in hopes of ending staff deficits. So here’s my advice about what to look for in a technology staffing services provider: Continue reading →
Screening now: The great technology talent show Posted on April 7, 2016 by Tim Burke By some reports, hiring (and keeping) competent information technology talent has never been so difficult. To an extent, technology talent struggles vary in degree according to industry subsector and location. Cybersecurity, for instance, faces particularly intense shortages of much-needed experts. Some expect one million cybersecurity job openings this year, and even demand for entry-level cybersecurity slots, like information security analysts, is projected to climb by 37% over the next six years. Continue reading →
Where technology consulting services can help Posted on March 24, 2016 by Tim Burke In my last post, I advised that a technology consulting services provider should offer a range of capabilities that encompasses integrated managed services, cloud services, and assessments as well as an extensive professional services portfolio emphasizing technology customization and solid technical staffing. Such technology consulting depth means your provider can help you in many ways, including: Continue reading →
Are you lingering too long in your IT legacy? Posted on March 10, 2016 by Tim Burke For a long time, the most effective way for an organization to benefit from the power of IT required committing to a single vendor’s technology ecosystem. You bought or leased the designated hardware on which you ran the designated software and, perhaps, a compatible service or two. But when you inevitably bumped into the limits of your chosen technology ecosystem, you faced a stark choice: Either give up on that capability you were hoping to implement in the manner that would serve your business best — or alter the way your business operated in order to “sort of” get at least some of what you needed from the technology ecosystem in which you’d already invested plenty. Typically, technology customization stayed out of reach and businesses were cornered into the second option, forced to adapt to the technology tools available rather than the other way around. Certainly, the ecosystem vendors didn’t mind, as customer lock-in proved extremely profitable. Continue reading →
What Kind of Cloud Customer Are You? Posted on February 26, 2016 by Tim Burke When clients contemplating a move to the cloud ask for advice, we tell them to start by being realistic about what cloud computing actually offers. Yes, the cloud frees budgets from constant investment in infrastructure, reducing CapEx expenditure. But the cloud is a technology, not a solution that will automatically deliver benefits like faster time-to-market or streamlined methods or a fix for personnel or process issues within your enterprise. Next, we advocate a know thyself approach. You’ll get the most out of a cloud implementation by understanding what you’re trying to accomplish. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses. If you’re certain about having access to the technical talent you’ll need to get from purchase to actual delivery of services, then go it alone. If you’re less certain about what to do once you’ve ordered up servers and terabytes of data, you’ll want some help — which brings us to the last bit of advice: know thy cloud provider. Cloud providers, like cloud computing itself, come in a dizzying array of options. So don’t let a cloud provider tell you there’s only one way to get something done. Those vendors are trying to sell you their product rather than a solution that fits your business. But you can in fact get exactly what you need without giving up the economies of scale the cloud promises. Ask a trusted technology advisor how.
