The increasing intertwining of business and technology, resulting in the `intelligent building`, is placing increasing pressure on areas such as facilities management to ensure an organisation`s technology infrastructure - `technostructure` - runs optimally without negative impact on the business operations.
"Not only do companies have to face organisational issues, but they have to ensure their technostructure is efficiently and effectively set up and maintained to ensure maximum productivity and flexibility," comments Dawie de Villiers, managing director of AIM (Advanced Infrastructure Management), launched today by the Dimension Data Group.
"To manage this complex environment, companies are currently liaising with numerous suppliers, juggling facilities contracts and running into great expense whenever business changes demand changes in the physical working environment. In many cases, valuable information technology resources are utilised to manage mundane yet critical tasks such as moving staff within premises - this scenario cannot continue within the current competitive, fast moving marketplace where skills are at a premium and profitability must be carefully managed."
Realising this, Dimension Data Holdings has combined infrastructural, project management, cabling, workspace design and facilities management skills to form AIM. The company, which provides a single contact point for managing the modern infrastructure, is the first in the country to offer such a service.
"Our vision is to provide a holistic approach to managing a company`s entire technology infrastructure. Businesses depend on this infrastructure, which we term the technostructure.
"Today, nearly all building functions, such as access control, air conditioning and power supplies are technology driven. Also, the intelligent building environment is far closer to becoming a reality. The problem is the elements are still segmented with facilities management and IT management worlds apart.
"Our vision is that with the technology advancing into building controls, just like voice and data convergence in the IT world, the need for convergence is increasing - we see the technostructure encompassing the entire structure within a building."
De Villiers points out that in the United States, Europe and the UK, companies do not have separate budgets for IT and building facilities. However, it is not common practice for one company to manage both aspects.
"We believe it is a logical step forward and we intend to lead the way. If one looks at current IT and property budgets, the savings to be enjoyed by companies that combine both into a single entity and then outsource the management thereof are significant, not to mention the people and time savings.
"Quite simply, companies cannot operate effectively in the high-tech environments of today using traditional methods of managing their building and IT facilities - it requires an intelligent infotech service."
Research from the US reveals that of the total cost expended on a building over a 40 year lifespan, 11% is for the initial construction, 14% for financing, 25% for changes to accommodate tenants and the remaining 50% is for operational costs.
"Our aim is to take our model and to apply it as effectively as possible to produce huge savings in that 50% bracket," says De Villiers.
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