CIO Applications - 2021 Business & Technology Predications

Adam O'Hare, Business Director, CloudStratex

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The COVID-19 pandemic has been described by Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the IMF as “the worst economic crisis since the 1930s” with recovery in 2021 likely to remain "difficult and prone to setbacks." In spite of recent vaccine announcements, its disruption is expected to continue into the spring of 2021, if not beyond. This has forced companies to not only reconsider their business strategies but to also safeguard their budgets, in order to mitigate the worst excesses of the coronavirus. For corporates, this is a particularly difficult time, as they are more at risk of being impacted, because they do not benefit from economies of scale, have fewer financing options available to them, and have a smaller number of employees, so are more at risk of being shut down if infection occurs.

In order to survive, grow and prosper in 2021, corporates will have to streamline their businesses and focus on efficiency and cost savings like never before. Currently many corporates are filled to overflowing with a multitude of niche, high-priced, tech products, sourced from a range of boutique vendors.

Like hoarders they have accumulated technology on an ad hoc as opposed to a strategic basis, that is rarely integrated holistically into their digital infrastructure, and therefore not fully utilised. In 2021, the squandering of hard-earned profits that could have been put to better use elsewhere, will more likely lead to foreclosure rather than “business as usual”.

Though not immune to poor procurement decision, high-end corporates and enterprises typically have access to better advice. Their resources allow them to not only hire and train their own inhouse IT staff, but employ the services of leading technology consulting firms, so as to build core competencies in digital, data and the cloud. This also allows them to enjoy the benefits of “one hand to shake” vendor accountability, as well as economy of scale cost savings, therefore ensuring their competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Increasingly, corporates will be looking to somehow replicate these benefits themselves. This is possible but only by investing in the right technology and embedding it utilising an operational integration approach. Fortunately, a cloud-based platform revolution is underway that will enable them to sweep away the multitude of vendors that are only interested in getting fat off the long-term service contracts their products secure them. ServiceNow is a great example of a platform provider that provides companies, regardless of size, an all-encompassing suite of applications that are focused primarily on automating processes and workflows for IT, Human Resources, and Customer Service. This ensures costs are minimised while increasing efficiency outputs. ServiceNow is able to bridge the gap between traditional IT practices and the needs of a modern business with a single IT platform.

Expect corporates, then, to start investing more heavily in platforms in 2021, so they can procure affordable, high end technology that is fully supported, integrated, and proven to work. As a ServiceNow partner, CloudStratex will naturally be championing its services. There are few in the marketplace with our wealth of IT experience and we have a track record of knowing what “good” looks like, so naturally we choose to work with the best. So we look forward to supporting our corporate clients in 2021 bring together under one digital roof, their tools, teams, data, and processes using our client-side Incubator approach, which combines IP with deep engineering and change management experience, to accelerate successful operational integration. Remember that once you start weaving these all together holistically, you really begin to exploit the power of these platforms on a far wider and greater basis.



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