This week’s five is a weekly column on five recent reads from all over the web. This week, we’ll talk about the risks and challenges involved with IT innovations.
Digital transformation has taken many shapes over time. There was a time when installing a room-sized mainframe was the big step for digital transformation. Today, there’s no one big step. Instead, there are several. The cloud could be called a big step. Mobility could be called a big step. Even IoT could be called a big step. All these technologies are like waves. And the rising tide, whether good or bad, always brings something extra along with it. In short, digital transformation doesn’t come without risks and challenges.
Compared to the cloud and mobility, mainframes may seem less important to you. But that’s not the case. Where do you think all the data in the cloud goes? It goes to server rooms, which consist of mainframes as one of their major components. The cloud isn’t disconnected from the physical world. Today, IT is about hybrid environments of interdependent platforms, so the related technologies have to evolve accordingly. Take applications for example. Most enterprise apps, whether in the cloud or end user devices, touch a mainframe at least once. Thus, you need a unified cross-platform approach to application performance management (APM) that can support physical, virtual, and cloud environments—in short, a hybrid environment. Only then can you ensure an optimal user experience for web applications.
[To learn more about the challenges of digital innovations, click here.]
But APM is not the only solution that has to evolve. According to a survey by Fruition Partners, 85 percent of IT decision makers are still having control issues with the cloud. In the context of service management, 80 percent of participants said that they don’t apply the same comprehensive ITSM processes to cloud-based services as they do to on-premises services. They need more control.
[To learn more about ITSM’s maturity in the cloud, click here.]
And that’s not all. We haven’t even touched on network and mobility yet. Now, mobility is a true example of the productivity versus security dilemma. It provides immense flexibility as work can be done from anywhere. But at the same time, it raises security issues such as data breaches and identity theft. And as if the cloud applications and mobile devices didn’t introduce enough risks and challenges, every other component of IT—including virtual machines, servers, switch ports, and more—has an equal potential to host an attack. In short, anything connected to the network poses a risk and network tools need to evolve into an integrated, all-in-one management entity.
[To learn more about the mobility dilemma, click here.]
[To learn more about the evolution of network management, click here and here.]
So, what actually can be done here? I say turn the tide your way. Bring out your cavalry. Implement solutions that not only monitor, record, and audit user activities, but also automate and streamline regular processes, providing more freedom and flexibility to both your enterprise IT and your end users. Only then can the expanding universe of IT management be optimized.
[To learn more about the cavalry, click here.]
[To learn more about ManageEngine’s tide-turning knights, click here.]
Check out last week’s five here.
