Quite often, in pursuit of digitalization, managers think about implementing ERP systems , artificial intelligence , and creating new products . But they completely forget about the importance of IT infrastructure. Let's look into this issue in more detail.
Content
What is IT infrastructure
Maintenance
Maintenance and development
Information security
Resume
What is IT infrastructure
Let's start with the simplest thing - what do we mean by IT infrastructure?
IT infrastructure is all the equipment and software that allows us to engage in automation, digitalization and digital transformation from a technical point of view.
To put it simply, it can be divided into 2 directions.
Hardware infrastructure
a) Equipment for data processing and storage: servers, system data storage, computers, laptops, monitors, printers, scanners, etc.
b) Network equipment (data transmission): switches, routers, telephones, cables, access points, traffic analyzers, etc.
2. Software (SW)
This software is for both IT services (Active Directory, DNS, database management systems, information security, etc.), and standard software for users' computers (operating systems, office programs), as well as specialized software for business tasks.
Maintenance
What do you think happens when the equipment capacity and communication channel bandwidth remain the same, but the number of IT services grows? It's about the same as with people working in emergency mode or with a car if you constantly drive in the high engine speed zone. It wears out and breaks down, starts to slow down and malfunction. The most harmless thing that can happen here is an increase in maintenance costs (people, work, consumables) and people's dissatisfaction. That is, instead of saving, we start spending more and more and lose staff loyalty.
As an analogy, I will give an example with production equipment. The most advanced companies do not operate the equipment until it is completely destroyed, but replace it when its standard service life is exhausted.
But this can further develop into staff turnover, loss of data and the suspension of business processes, and losses from customer fines.
In addition, it is necessary to separately note the possibilities for restoring operability. Over time, spare parts become less and less, which means that prices and terms of their acquisition grow, up to complete impossibility. Consequently, the risks of equipment / data loss / process shutdown / fines increase.
Maintenance and development
In addition to the increase in maintenance and repairs, the issue of support and operation must be considered.
The old infrastructure will be:
have limitations in terms of integration with other IT services, which imposes restrictions on the ability to automate business processes and build high-quality data analytics;
demand more complex and specific competencies from IT service personnel, which will require an increase in payroll costs, and in general, such specialists will still need to be found. That is, these are risks for business from the labor market;
with a lower level of automation. This means that more people are needed to maintain the IT infrastructure;
have confusing and unintuitive interfaces, which will reduce the productivity of IT service users. And here, too, people with specific competencies will be needed. That is, again, a burden on the payroll, risks for the business and an increase in the induction period.
A separate issue that IT services face is modifications and temporary solutions in the current IT infrastructure. Over time, their number increases to such an extent that the systems cannot operate stably, there are constant failures and failures. And any modifications begin to take more and more time due to the need to constantly correct errors, which grow like an avalanche.
Information security
One of the fundamental problems of the IT industry is the presence of vulnerabilities in software. More precisely, the speed of response to the elimination of identified vulnerabilities. According to research by Positive Technologies, more than half of the identified vulnerabilities were not eliminated within a year after informing the developers of the solutions.
Accordingly, for the company these are risks from the point of view of information security: data leakage, equipment control by intruders and business process shutdown. And also again the risks of fines, but from the state and regulators.
Resume
When developing a digitalization strategy and determining priorities, drawing up a roadmap, special attention should be paid to projects for the modernization and/or development of IT infrastructure. Moreover, these are often projects of zero or first priority. Particular attention should be paid to communication issues.
All business automation/digitalization projects need to be planned taking into account the capabilities of the IT infrastructure. For example, to implement a new corporate portal, taking into account information security requirements and to reduce the load on the IT service, all work laptops need to be transferred to domain accounts. But to do this, you first need to update the network infrastructure so that there is a corporate data transmission network everywhere. Otherwise, after the launch of the IT service, people simply will not be able to use it.
As a result, many IT managers and companies have developed a simple rule: IT infrastructure should be reviewed and modernized every 5 years. Factors in favor of this:
wear and tear and savings on maintenance and people's salaries;
development of technologies and their automation capabilities (reducing the burden on people and risk factors), increasing convenience for users;
information security;
solving the issue of the number of modifications and crutches in current systems.
As for the last point, there is even a developed algorithm:
when we start to automate something, we look for platform solutions;
then we move on to custom and self-written solutions;
then we move again to more modern platforms to simplify and reduce the load on IT services;
then we move on to self-written solutions again.
Therefore, despite the complexity of substantiating the economic effect of infrastructure projects, they must be dealt with. Otherwise, they will become a limitation of your system , and then the cause of a crisis, disappointment in digital technologies.
To put it simply, automating/digitizing/transforming without the necessary IT infrastructure is like building a house without a foundation. And the key task in modernizing the infrastructure is to develop a target model of the IT landscape, taking into account new integration capabilities between systems, the capabilities of database management systems and industry experience in general.