Talk to any IT veteran and they’ll tell you efficiency is top of mind in almost everything they do. That becomes more essential and challenging as global economies skid and waves of new technologies complicate decisions.
Worldwide spending on IT solutions is expected to grow 5.1% to reach $4.6 trillion in 2023, according to Gartner. More than half of enterprise investments in application software, infrastructure software, business process services and system architecture are expected to shift to the cloud in the coming years. However, those who rushed to the cloud too hastily are realizing a hybrid cloud approach may be the best way forward. Meanwhile, firms are concerned an economic recession could lead to significant spending cuts.
As IT decision makers aim to get more for their budget, they assess total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) scenarios for blending owned and rented computing resources. Technologies such as hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) help them build hybrid multicloud operating that allow them to optimize workloads to meet changing needs.
“As IT leaders, we’re always operating with the ‘do more with less’ kind of mindset,” Sharon Mandell, CIO of Juniper Networks told Nutanix.
“For example, when you’re working with a startup, particularly if you're considering it in any critical area of the business, you want to understand where they are financially to begin with.”
Especially during challenging economic times, IT functions are managed like a hawk because often they’re viewed as a business cost. But even those who see IT as essential for their future are becoming more strategic about spending their budget on only what they need. The ability to quickly scale up or down computing resources is essential, just as the ability to understand what resources are underutilized or under capacity.
Enterprise tech can now help IT departments right-size resources, deploy and update applications and manage other critical functions before problems hit. These can help enterprises reduce total costs of ownership, tackle business challenges and operate efficiently as they build for future growth.
Cycle times are becoming faster, changes are smaller, and iterations happen more quickly for many enterprise technology providers. Relying on these new technologies means companies can operate on systems with flexibility and can more easily modernize over time. These new technologies can introduce autonomous operations that bring efficiencies and economies of scale, which can translate directly into cost savings.
"Despite strong headwinds from global supply chain constraints, soaring inflation, political uncertainty, and an impending recession, investment in digital transformation is expected to remain robust," explained Craig Simpson, senior research manager with IDC's Data & Analytics Group.
"The benefits of investing in DX technology, including automation, strong intelligence, operational transparency, and direct support around customer experience all support targeted areas of business focus to weather the current environment of uncertainty and to make the most of any opportunities in the recovery."
According to global consulting firm McKinsey, the enterprise technology market is currently being disrupted from top to bottom. Companies are turning to external vendors for added IT expertise and insight. On the other, they want simple-to-use, self-service experiences that allow them to use whatever technology or service is available. In both cases, they want to work with partners who can help them get the most from every IT investment.
“There’s more pressure [lately] to make tough decisions around prioritization,” Alvina Antar, CIO of Okta told Nutanix.
“It’s been a huge area of challenge for many companies, to ensure that we're ruthlessly prioritizing those things that are truly moving the needle and that we focus our capacity on in terms of our bets. We need to be really selective.”
