IDG Contributor Network: Firefighting: How do we know when IT and cloud organisations have gone over the tipping point?

The rate of technology change and voracious competition for market share are producing cloud organisations that are seriously overburdened, and it’s going to get worse if Kevin Casey’s “5 cloud computing trends for 2018” materialize. Trends such as multiple hybrid cloud models require multivendor management, in addition to the integration of the technologies. This all…

IDG Contributor Network: Build vs buy for your next-gen data center network infrastructure?

As you implement digital transformation strategies, you need to plan for an explosion in traffic growth. Consequently, you need to build data centers using the same state-of-the-art principles the hyperscales have adopted: A leaf spine Clos design, which accommodates large amounts of east-west traffic, is essential to support today’s web applications A multi-hardware vendor strategy,…

IDG Contributor Network: 5 keys to digital transformation

While global enterprise businesses are perpetually challenged to grow revenues while improving their margins, the current generation is also wrestling with the threat of industry-wide disruption driven by new, “digital first” entrants. Consider how entire industry verticals – media, payments, shopping, travel, hospitality, to name but a few – have been up-ended by new entrants…

10 early warning signs of IT outsourcing disaster

There are a number of reasons why IT outsourcing engagements fail — from unrealistic expectations and lack of governance to misaligned interests and poor communication. Sometimes the problems lie with the IT service provider; other times, the customer is at fault. In most cases, the two parties each share some of the blame. However, there…

IDG Contributor Network: Why it’s dicey to de-prioritize digital innovation

Digital technologies present an immense opportunity for organizations to grow their revenues through innovative customer experiences and business models. However, the same opportunities are also available to competitors and digital disruption is now one of the biggest competitive threats that organizations should be prepared for. A recent study by MIT Sloan Management Review (SMR) determined…

6 expert budgeting tips for IT leaders

The IT budget says a lot about its owners: whether executives have a roadmap for the future and whether they’re willing to pay for it, whether company leaders value innovation or whether they still see technology as only a behind-the-scenes function. So what then, does your budget say about you, your IT department and the…

Wal-Mart CIO repackages IT service as a product

The proliferation of consumer technologies is shifting the way CIOs are delivering technology services to their businesses. Nowhere is this more evident than at Wal-Mart Stores, where CIO Clay Johnson is delivering IT as products rather than as projects or systems. Wal-Mart’s culture change underscores how traditional companies are following in the footsteps of companies…

9 IT outsourcing mistakes to avoid

As IT outsourcing moves well into its third decade, IT decision makers have made great strides in maturity, managing to avoid some common and costly pitfalls of the practice. As clients enter into their next-generation outsourcing deals today, they’re doing a number of things right, says Randy Wiele, managing director with KPMG’s Shared Services and…