The rapid technology evolution is accelerating the pace of business change. New, sometimes disruptive competitors are emerging as the internet dissolves traditional market barriers. These newcomers are leveraging the latest technology to offer products and services that change customer expectations, creating pressure to meet new demands.
Organisations that have invested heavily to build up their own IT footprint for differentiation, only to find themselves out-manoeuvred by more agile competitors, now find themselves stuck: should they invest more in internally managed technology, or should they continue with their existing technology, and risk being supplanted by the competition?
Fortunately, there is a third option that lets organisations get the greatest value out of their existing infrastructure, while also tapping into the latest technology without having to worry about a large, upfront investment.
What is managed hybrid IT?
Managed hybrid IT is emerging as the architecture of choice for organisations that have already invested in on-premise or internally managed technology infrastructure, but want to leverage cloud technology to increase efficiency while lowering their total cost of ownership.
This emerging technology delivery model gives organisations the greatest value for money as well as the best performance, with the dedicated infrastructure on which managed services are based purpose-built for specific requirements.
As technology demands grow and associated costs balloon, the managed hybrid IT approach makes sense for businesses that want to outsource certain elements of their technology infrastructure. Moving to a managed hybrid IT model can solve a number of challenges companies may face. It lets them assemble a custom infrastructure, service, and delivery model for their business that can be changed at any time to meet evolving market and business conditions.
Outsource IT services
The managed hybrid IT model can include any number of outsourced IT services operating alongside existing internal systems. It reduces IT obsolescence risks, and can create a powerful and highly responsive infrastructure capability mix for a business. This is especially important in today’s climate where IT systems underpin almost every customer and supply-chain interaction.
However, as companies begin their managed hybrid IT journey, they should start by first establishing their core business strategies and goals. Once an organisation has identified why it wants to adopt managed hybrid IT, it can better determine the elements involved in the implementation of such a plan.
3 key questions for CEOs considering managed hybrid IT
1) What are your business drivers for change?
There is a broad range of business drivers for hybrid IT strategies. For example, it delivers flexibility, saves money, can help keep the business competitive, or help it grow quickly. Once an organisation determines its primary business goal, it can more clearly define which services to outsource first.
2) Who manages the new model?
Some companies choose to work with multiple IT services providers. However, to gain significant competitive advantage, companies will likely consolidate critical services with a best-of-breed provider. Companies should choose providers based on minimising risk and identify providers that are known for excellence in several service areas.
3) Where is the infrastructure located?
While on-premise, private clouds remain popular, public cloud adoption is a viable alternative for specific workloads. Companies need to determine what information they want to keep for internal or private cloud environments, and what data can be placed in a public cloud, in terms of privacy or safety requirements. Some needs can be met with either option, depending on where the provider’s data centre infrastructure is geographically located.
The old model of building and operating IT infrastructure internally is coming to an end, even if the infrastructure in question still has a lot of life left in it. This is why the managed hybrid IT approach stands as the best way forward for organisations that want to maintain their core strengths while also adopting new capabilities for a competitive edge.
