3 Trends to Watch in IT Modernization

Call it “IT modernization,” “digital transformation” or simply a “technology refresh.” Whatever term you use, organizations that want to be competitive in the future need to take a hard look at their existing tech environments and strategically adopt solutions that meet their evolving needs. 

This is perhaps especially true in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, when many organizations scrambled to simply keep up with changing conditions. In the early days of the pandemic, businesses quickly rolled out video collaboration technology and procured devices for employees to take home with them. But now that things have settled down somewhat — and many employees are returning to the physical office — it’s crucial for business and IT leaders to take a step back and assess new opportunities to modernize their IT environments. 

Here are three IT modernization trends that we’ve seen playing out in organizations across industries.

For years, savvy organizations have been embracing automation in the data center (and, where possible, throughout the enterprise). However, very quickly, automation is turning from a “nice to have” into a “must have.” This is particularly true when it comes to cybersecurity. The number of threats continues to grow, and the consequences of a successful attack are ballooning as well. According to some studies, cyberattacks increased by nearly one-third just between 2020 and 2021, with an average data breach causing more than $4 million in damage. Many organizations continue to struggle with security basics such as patch management. Automated tools can ensure that patches are always up to date, preventing a scenario where a destructive attack slips through an organization’s defenses before a scheduled monthly or quarterly patching effort can be completed.

We may be at the point where the cloud is more of an old standby than a hot new trend. But we’re seeing more organizations start to get really strategic about when, where and how to utilize public cloud resources. By now, most IT and business leaders have realized that simple “lift and shifts” of existing on-premises resources tend to have a limited upside. Instead, they are seeking ways to rearchitect and replatform, as well as ways to optimize their use of hybrid cloud models. For instance, many organizations are using a hybrid cloud approach to help them solve the supply chain problems that have plagued the IT world over the past couple of years. If IT leaders see that their resource requirements are about to spike but know they won’t be able to roll out new physical infrastructure in time to meet demand, they can use a hybrid cloud model to create temporary burstability, then roll back their public cloud environments when they get their new hardware installed.

Until recently, it may have been fair for jaded tech observers to note that the practical applications of artificial intelligence were greatly exaggerated. That’s changed. Around 18 months ago, we started seeing realistic AI applications that businesses can scale. Among other use cases, AI is driving automated checkout, computer vision for security cameras and healthcare diagnostics. Today, those advances are leading to a richer software ecosystem that can be leveraged by more and more organizations. It may still be a heavy lift for many customers to spearhead their own customer AI initiatives, but AI is no longer just a science project. When deployed effectively, it’s a technology that can yield a real return on investment.

Story by Chris Gibes