Most of today’s IT and business conversations include references to big data, analytics, mobility, Internet of Things, social media, security, and cloud – and while they all play increasingly critical roles in the evolution of business, the bottom line is all about going digital. Digital transformation, what IDC calls DX, will determine the winners and losers. It’s a case of transform or perish – and your infrastructure, centered on your network, will be the foundation on which your success will be built.
“Digital transformation is not just a technology trend, it is at the center of business strategies across all industry segments and markets,” stated IDC Research Vice President Bob Parker. “Enabled by the 3rd Platform technologies of social, mobile, analytics, and cloud, digital transformation represents an opportunity for companies to redefine their customers’ experience and achieve new levels of enterprise productivity. Investment related to digital transformation will constitute the majority of growth in technology markets over the next five years and, as such, is becoming a priority for technology vendors as well.”1
According to IDC, the DX future will include the following:
- By the end of 2017, 66% of the CEOs of the G2000 will have digital transformation at the center of their corporate strategy.
- By 2020, 60% of the G2000 will have doubled their productivity by digitally transforming many processes from human-based to software-based delivery.2
- By 2019 worldwide spending on DX technologies will be more than $2.1 trillion (over $730 billion in the US) with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.8% over the 2014–2019 forecast period.3
The network will be at the heart of the DX evolution, fueled by big data, analytics, mobility, Internet of Things, social media, security, and cloud demands. “The network is at the core of any digital initiative,” said Chris Formant, Global President, Verizon Enterprise Solutions. “So when it comes to what any company’s network has to deliver, performance, reliability, and security are key.”4
According to a recent survey, ‘Network IT: The Beating Heart of Digital Transformation’, the primary drivers of networking investments are:
- Improving network speed and performance (55%)
- Improving data security (53%)
- Ensuring availability (50%)
- Ensuring business continuity (46%)
- Improving IT process efficiency (43%)
- Improving business process efficiency (41%)5
Cost cutting and reducing capital expenses were way down the list, at 19% and 15%, respectively.
Just over half of the respondents to our recent networking trends survey – 52% – are struggling to increase bandwidth requirements. Security, reliability, and scalability seem to be at the forefront as organizations work to keep their networks up to date.
A secure, reliable, and resilient network is essential in today’s technology-driven world, and that’s only going to become more critical as the digital transformation accelerates. Our Networking Practice can help you upgrade your network to digital-class, addressing your network efficiencies, collaboration, increased speed, and greater productivity requirements.
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