For IT managers, the days of “just” keeping the data center up and running are about over. In IT today, it’s no longer just about managing and maintaining assets, and providing support for the back office. In this blazing-fast digital age where collaboration is king, IT is in a better position now more than ever to help drive key business initiatives and help businesses meet strategic goals.
Automation is a hot topic today. We read about autonomous cars and trucks that drive themselves over long distances, eliminating the consequences of human error and maximizing productivity as drivers can now focus on tasks that add far more value to their lives. We read about automated cooking robots that prepare the perfect burger or cappuccino every time for a steady stream of customers. Many of today’s network managers would appreciate more automation when it comes to managing their network. In fact:
Today’s IT Manager has to walk a tightrope. Management is saddled with the inherited role of supporting the traditional data center that remains built around an inflexible hardware-based infrastructure. At the same time, management and market pressures are compelling them to try to and transform this rigid environment into a modern data center—designed around flexibility, operational velocity and borderless adaptation. It is a quandary of duality that IT teams frustratingly have to deal with.
Douglas McArthur once said, “There is no security in this world, only opportunity.” That statement is more profound for the business climate of today than perhaps any time in history. There is no longer any security for a company regardless of its size, history or market share. There is also limitless opportunity for new ideas and innovation that can bring recognized value to customers. Ideas are the new substantive matter that has the potential to create or destroy entire industries. A new idea can yield unbridled success to its originator, and irrelevancy to its competitors. Welcome to the Idea Economy, a new age that Meg Whitman, CEO of HPE, says is defined by the ability to turn ideas into value faster than the competition.
