IT spending should prioritise data, cloud, security

A recent survey of IT professionals has outlined the importance of cloud and information management initiatives for modern companies. There is a general increase in interest in data management and governance among the IT experts surveyed, which indicates that IT spending should prioritise data, the cloud and security.

The 2023 IT Priorities Survey was conducted by TechTarget and polled over 1 600 IT professionals from around the world. The majority of them outlined cyber security as a broad technology initiative worthy of investment. Cloud computing and storage ranked as the second priority and data management placed third.

4C Group offers several IT services and software solutions for these categories, including information management, business assurance, fintech services and cyber security. These solutions are developed around our intelligent software, iNSight, and are aimed at enterprises in South Africa and the rest of the continent.

Information management sets standards for managing data.

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IT decision-makers from around the world are focusing on information management amid artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) breakthroughs. The effective adoption of these emerging technologies relies on data management, its processing and utilisation for key insights into strategic decision-making.

Many global enterprises have scheduled information management systems for deployment in the next 12 months. Information management sets standards and policies for managing the availability, usability and security of data. It also ‘cleans’ and structures data so that it is easier to understand and use.

Companies should aim to clean their data to improve its quality and set standardisation protocols in place. The more standardised this information is, the faster and more efficiently it can be used. It also enables IT professionals to find and combine data sets for use in ML and AI models.

Other important data management practices include monitoring for changes in consumer trends, macroeconomic events and business process changes. This can allow IT teams to flag certain processes and update them according to the latest information.

Cloud and cyber security go hand in hand.

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Cloud and cyber security often go hand in hand when it comes to IT spending and budgeting. These two areas have ranked in the top three categories in numerous surveys, not just TechTarget’s one. Security and the protection of cloud-based services and information remain a pressing concern for IT managers and business leaders.

Increased threat prevalence and heightened reporting and exposure of security breaches means that cyber security is a leading IT expenditure. Similarly, cloud computing has become a core model for modern businesses – just over 50% of survey respondents have adopted a cloud-first approach. This is spurred on by digital transformation initiatives that rely on the cloud. However, the nature of cloud investments is now shifting from mass migration to refinement and optimisation.

Cloud architecture can be a complex field and many enterprises are starting to simplify their networks. There are many components and a large amount of operational investment that goes into deploying new IT infrastructure. By simplifying and optimising, redundant components can be removed, costs can be reduced and time can be minimised.

Another major shift seen across industries is multicloud networking to improve cloud deployment. This is driven by e-commerce environments and a push to improve the user experience. Various tools are hosted on different cloud platforms, but these need to be interconnected and work cohesively.

This creates the potential for chaos – if one system goes offline, it can affect the whole user journey. Multicloud networking software is now becoming a major investment for enterprises that want to move away from individual cloud networking connectors and provide a single interface for employees and users alike. This simplifies networking and makes it easier to diagnose cloud issues.

IT teams sometimes lack the technical understanding required for data management, cloud migration and cyber security.

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Information management – Data governance, analytics and business intelligence are top areas for quick deployment.

Cyber security – Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and zero trust identity topped the list of investments made by companies.

Cloud migration – This is the area in which most respondents said they would be inclined to use a third-party partner.

Tech budgets – About half of the respondents said their technology budgets have increased every year.

As enterprises adjust their IT priorities, they need to do so within staffing and budget constraints. External service providers are critical to augment these challenges and make processes easier and more seamless. IT teams sometimes lack the technical understanding required for data management, cloud migration and cyber security, so outsourcing becomes the best option.

By using a third-party provider with a proven track record and a solid reputation, companies can improve their chances of success in these fields. 4C Group can help your company shift away from old technologies into new ones through our iNSight framework.

We help our customers invest in the right technologies for their needs, maximising the benefits and alleviating headaches in the process. If you’d like to find out more about our services, please contact us today.