What role does IT play in today's increasingly digital world? That is a question that serious CIOs need to consider and answer within their organizations.
Legacy IT No Longer Works
There is an increasing gap between the traditional role of IT and the reality of today's increasingly digital world. That gap happens because many IT departments are stuck in the old model of being the internal service provider with a limited budget and a large capital investment in legacy equipment and infrastructure. That old model is far from the needs and expectations of the rest of the business.
Modern business is no longer dependent on desktops, wired networks, and internal services. Today, phones, tablets, and efficient laptops are the norm. Accessing services needs to happen on demand. And when a business identifies a new need, it must be easy and efficient to allocate resources for that need without going through a ton of red tape and bureaucracy. The older IT model cannot keep up with these demands.
New organizations are transforming the way IT works and have developed a model that existing organizations need to pay attention to.
The New Model
Instead of being the provider and gatekeeper to technology for an organization's data and technology needs, the new model is for IT to serve as advisor, integrator, and broker.
The sheer number of technology products and services has exploded in recent years. This has made it possible for organizations to get most of their IT needs served by outside vendors. Many start-up organizations have built their entire IT infrastructure using external sources.
The role of IT within these start-ups is different from more traditional IT organizations. Here are some of the ways that IT works within new businesses:
- They identify technologies and services available in the market and assess how they work.
- They identify technology vendors and service providers.
- They advise internal business entities about which technologies fit their needs.
- They integrate technologies for company use.
- They act as broker for departments in the company to get the best prices and services.
- They ensure that all technologies meet company security requirements.
Traditional IT organizations need to make critical moves to adopt this model.
Technology has become fundamental for business success. Business is going to embrace it-- whether IT plays a part of not. IT needs to disrupt things as they are and start moving into the new model. Otherwise, business will bypass IT altogether.