NTT DATA, a global IT infrastructure and services company, has discovered that globally, 80% of organizations agree that inadequate or outdated technology is impeding organizational progress and innovation efforts. In fact, 89% of C-suite executives in South Africa believe that legacy infrastructure greatly hinders their business agility. These findings are from NTT DATA’s inaugural Lifecycle Management Report.
Challenges vs opportunities
The report, drawing on 25 years of data-led insights from NTT DATA, delves into the challenges and opportunities facing organizations as they navigate infrastructure lifecycle management. Conducted between 2022 and 2023, the research gathered data from over 248 million active assets across 130 countries, complemented by responses from nearly 1400 senior technology decision-makers.
Lifecycle management stands as a critical enabler of business success. Unfortunately, rapid modernization, the proliferation of technology consumption models, and an increasingly complex and fragmented supplier ecosystem pose challenges for many organizations in maintaining their technology infrastructure adequately to promote business agility and innovation. Adding to these challenges, the report reveals that 80% of currently active hardware in South Africa (scheduled for end of support) will no longer be supported by 2027.
Tech and business alignment
As per the report, only 63% of South African enterprises have completely aligned their technology approach with their business strategy needs, whereas 68% of South African organizations indicate that their network assets are predominantly aging or obsolete. Unfortunately, lifecycle management can also exert a more direct impact on operations. Misaligned lifecycle patterns can lead to inadequate coverage levels, labor-intensive renewals, prolonged incident resolution times, security breaches, and even expensive license violations and compliance issues.
The Lifecycle Management Report offers timely, actionable insight to help IT leaders mitigate these risks, while maximizing the value of their hardware and the software that runs on it, including:
Advice for developing a holistic view of technology assets that allows for the rationalisation of potentially misaligned lifecycles.
Support for standardising procurement practices and streamlining an organization’s multi-vendor environment as the ecosystem becomes increasingly fragmented.
Guidance for optimising cost while improving service provision, both internally and for external stakeholders and customers.
A greater understanding of the sustainability benefits improved lifecycle management procedures can deliver.
Infrastructure lifecycles critical for businesses
Vice President of Networking GTM for NTT DATA, Inc., Gary Middleton, says, “Infrastructure lifecycles are a critical part of the IT management process. They represent an opportunity and a challenge for leadership, as effective lifecycles can result in huge business benefits – from increased efficiency to fostering greater innovation. However, inefficient lifecycle management can equally be a meaningful operational blocker, posing numerous risks to security and business continuity. Through the Lifecycle Management Report, our aim is to help organisations enhance their infrastructure lifecycle processes and unlock the huge benefits doing so presents.”
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