In my previous article, I discussed the importance of data helping organisations transition to smarter, hybrid IT solutions. In this, the second of four articles, I explore how leveraging platform capabilities can further unlock the benefits of technology and data in a connected business environment.
If data is the key to unlocking insights, then platforms should be seen as the mechanism to deliver that analysis at scale and speed. All the data in the world means nothing if management cannot access the insights needed to make informed decisions in real-time.
Waiting a week or a month for data analysis to be completed and only then being able to decide how to adapt business strategy is no longer feasible.
Understanding platform potential
Smart platforms give companies the ability to operate their workloads as effectively as possible, especially in the hybrid world of work that has become part of the new normal.
To this end, data has become massively distributed. Employees use their personal devices to access the corporate network, further adding to these data touch points. And from a customer perspective, the ability to engage with a brand using their digital channel of choice results in more dynamic levels of data that must be managed.
These platforms’ capabilities can therefore enable the control of edge devices, such as the mobile phones and laptops employees use to remain productive, while also remaining cognisant of the social media, web chat, e-mail and other platforms customers use to communicate with the organisation.
All the data in the world means nothing if management cannot access the insights needed to make informed decisions in real-time.
However, this control is not about micro-managing people or spying on them. On the one hand, it is about gaining fresh insights to understand customer behaviour and how to optimise employee productivity. And on the other hand, this brings with it better control of the cyber security requirements of the business; for instance, optimising the use of anti-virus and other cyber security measures.
It can even require drilling down to a firewall level on the employee’s router at home. The pandemic has highlighted just how prone these home networks are to cyber attacks.
But managing the perimeter security is just one aspect. Another one is to continually educate employees on best practice when it comes to identifying potential cyber attacks. Platforms help provide the impetus for this, as the artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities that are enabled can proactively detect and monitor for potential cyber attacks even before the employee needs to do anything.
The end goal is to minimise the risk of any compromises on the network that is external to the on-premises infrastructure.
Shifting workloads
What began with workloads moving from on-premises environments (think the office) to edge devices (smartphones and laptops at home) has now accelerated to the transition to the cloud. Whether it is a start-up or a multinational, the critical part of this is to ensure the business adopts the right platforms according to its specific needs.
There is no-one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to this transition. Each business has its own requirements that can vary significantly even between competitors in the same industry.
Lifting and shifting existing data to the cloud is not something every company will be able to do, and nor should it. A gradual migration should be preferred to monitor the impact that this new environment can have on existing processes both from data and compute perspectives.
This has resulted in the software development teams of organisations spinning up platforms to help manage the business requirements. Customised solutions tailored for each business unit requirement can significantly aid the move to the cloud.
It is this programmatic approach that empowers companies to embrace a new world driven by code, data and high-performing platform environments.
Hyperscalers have certainly made things easier in this regard. The high-performance computing capabilities provided by these environments help ensure organisations can adopt the likes of predictive analytics, machine learning and other technologies without impacting on their own on-premises resources.
While each hyperscaler has strengths and weaknesses in different areas, organisations will likely turn to a multi-cloud approach. But that does not mean interoperability between the likes of Amazon Web Services, Azure and others should not remain a concern.
The way things work in one environment might not necessarily translate to another one. This extends to everything from data ingress, analysis, usage costs and billing.
Balancing multiples
Even so, it is becoming increasingly important for businesses and their development teams to master balancing the current organisational strategy with the realities of hybrid, multi-cloud systems.
With things like virtualisation, containers and serverless infrastructure available to make processes easier, at least in theory, decision-makers need to rethink their approaches to 2022 and beyond.
It is finding the right mix of new and existing technologies to make everything work optimally in the business environment.
Business and technology leaders therefore need to ask themselves how they can make everything smarter, how to architect, scale and operate their platforms.
Whether it is in the cloud, on-premises, or in a truly hybrid environment, more must be done to inject platforms into processes to enhance systems for the road ahead.
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