Back in April Microsoft's Chief Executive Satya Nadella was reported as saying the effect of the Coronavirus crisis was 'two years worth of digital transformation in two months.'
In a single day that same month more than 200 million people took part in Teams meetings, and the product now has over 75 million daily users. Numbers such as these mark the most unusual economic circumstances in living memory, as organisations use all the tech tools at their disposal to adapt and remain open for business. As the business world starts to focus on the future, we take a look at three key trends to emerge during the last few months, and their effect on ICT infrastructures and their management. Demand for managed services models rises
The business environment during the first half of 2020 has brought home the complexities involved in managing a multi-faceted IT infrastructure, and forced business owners managing their IT in-house to question their approach.
The crisis has highlighted the value of managed services partners (MSPs), who quickly transformed into essential service partners, stepping up to support clients throughout the immediate crisis and beyond.
The priority was getting users securely up and running from home locations, and maintaining a secure, highly available IT infrastructure. Having an MSP taking the strain and delivering IT as a flexible service proved invaluable to organisations struggling to deliver products and services to their own customers.
In our own business we have seen a combination of organisations extending the scope of their managed services contract, and in some cases accelerating support and development plans so they emerge stronger and leaner.
While we are all still feeling our way through the new normal, it is more vital than ever that organisations seek out smarter ways to ensure the IT supports the business goals, particularly for those that have been forced to pivot into a new model targeting new markets.
The MSP market thrived during the last recession, thanks to organisations looking for ways to cut operational and infrastructure costs, and economic experts are predicting a similar upturn in quarters three and four of 2020, despite a global economic downturn.
Increased appetite for cloud
The last few months have shown the key role that cloud services can play in enabling day to day operations, supporting innovation, improving efficiency and driving growth. Market experts say that global spending on cloud infrastructure in quarter two of 2020 rose by 31% to £27billion, as businesses looked to cloud based services to support them through lockdown. In 2019 a Google survey revealed that more than half of the C-suite respondents said cloud would meet three quarters of their IT needs by 2029 and it will be interesting to see how lockdown affects the results of the next survey in the series.
As cloud experts with two decades of experience, we are very open about the fact it may not be the right solution for every business. Yes, it can have a significant effect, but it needs to be carefully thought through and implemented with help from experts in on and off-premise, public and private cloud solutions, if you are to see maximum return on investment.
Security has finally become a board level responsibility
The rapid shift to remote working for a huge proportion of the UK workforce has seen cyber security switch from being seen as an IT issue to being regarded as a strategic risk management issue. Pre-pandemic, cyber security may not have been given the emphasis it warrants, but we have seen a dramatic increase in the number of boards suddenly becoming focussed on security, and the potential damage a cyber attack could have on the organisation, its customers and partners.
It is now very common for topics such as ransomware, phishing and denial-of-service attacks, which were once the sole province of the IT steering group, to be on board level agendas. Directors and senior managers have become very aware that it is a case of when, not if, their business is attacked, and the measures they should be taking to mitigate risk.
IT managers are reporting that proactive management of cyber risk now tops of everyone’s concerns, as we work together to protect key information assets and balance accessibility with security.
What does the future hold for your business?
As the dust begins to settle and we move forward, there are some big decisions to be made, including the chance to do things differently. Smart organisations are already gearing up in the race to take advantage of new opportunities. Don’t be left behind, talk to our experts about a technology roadmap to help your organisation survive and thrive.