In 2023, IT leaders will keep having to face some familiar challenges. These recommendations point the way forward. The New Year has arrived. I wish we had modernized more IT systems—and we had worked to eliminate all technical debt.
What has yet to change is that IT leaders will continue to face the same challenges and concerns as they lead digital transformations that strengthen their businesses while improving the customer and employee experience. According to Deloitte Insights research, although 85% of CEOs increased digital initiatives, most still need help explaining how their overall strategy and technology investments stack up to deliver business outcomes. What are the most common annoyances? What, more importantly, can you do about them? These suggestions will assist IT leaders in illuminating the path for their teams.
Data Security
When you poll IT leaders, you’ll find that ransomware, bad actors, and other threats are at the top of their concerns, thanks in part to the proliferation of high-profile hacks over the last decade. According to a Dell survey conducted in 2022, 67% of organizations cited increases in ransomware and malware as major concerns. Furthermore, corporate boards of directors are increasing pressure on CIOs to increase resilience against cybersecurity attacks. Recommendation: With the threat landscape becoming more complex, having data protection, as well as cyber recovery systems that help you remediate compromised data in an intelligent digital vault, is your best bet. You should also rely on reliable cybersecurity partners to help recover your data and applications. Barring a cybersecurity tool brought back from your time machine trip to the future, proactive measures are the best defense.
Lack of Talent
Most positions require technical talent, which is in short supply. Even so, seasoned personnel is required to manage modern operating models, such as cloud infrastructure and cloud-native technologies, if digital transformations are to be implemented. And there always needs to be more software programmers in this digital age. Recommendation: To increase your potential talent pool, provide optimal work-from-anywhere flexibility, as well as a secure, consistent, and frictionless experience. Greet candidates with modern tech stacks and provide them with opportunities for continuous learning so they can learn new skills on the job. Such offers may assist you in retaining talent in a highly competitive market.
Technical Indebtedness
Perhaps the most difficult challenge to overcome—which is why it rarely is—technical debt continues to burden most businesses of a certain age. Technical debt is also increasing in multi-cloud estates due to the disparate interfaces, configurations, and codebases associated with working with multiple cloud vendors. Some experts recommend measuring technical debt to determine how to get rid of it.
However, to modernize your company’s position for future growth, consider the strategic approaches alongside refining your IT. This will necessitate some financial jujitsu, which you probably already do as you deal with the final pain point.
Cost-Cutting Measures
Companies are more focused on cost-cutting as interest rates and inflation rise. CEOs and CFOs ask tough questions of their line of business managers, such as, “Are they spending their money efficiently?” Should they cut their capital spending? In response to these inquiries, IT executives will examine their portfolios for excessive spending on public cloud services and shadow IT. However, more than whack-a-mole cost-cutting will be required. Recommendation: Be wary of flashy new technology. Determine which business outcomes are linked to corporate strategy and focus on the technology required to deliver them. An IT model based on consumption can help you save valuable capital by syncing technology solutions with business requirements. Ideally, this will assist you in achieving the desired results for your company.
Untrustworthy Software and Websites
You may have a strong digital presence and a solid software infrastructure. But what if those things are in place but need to give your customers or team members the consistent experience they require? For example, your in-house systems may fail more frequently than you would like, causing downtime that disrupts their workflows and leads to a loss of productivity. Your website may experience outages, which affects your sales and bottom line because when customers try to access your site and are unable to do so, they go to your competitor. Perhaps your website and software aren’t as simple to use or navigate as you — and your users — would like. This also implies that your tools and technologies aren’t as dependable or as high-quality as you require.
Communication Barriers
Is communication a technological issue? It most certainly can. While technology has made communication more accessible, it does not necessarily imply more fluid communication. One of the most serious issues is that technological tools can create communication silos within and outside an organization. In digital communication, something is often lost in translation, and the meaning could be clearer. Alternatively, specific teams or individuals are left out of the loop. These silos are even more prevalent in a world where remote work is the norm. This can be problematic for organizations because workflows rely on strong communication and keeping people updated. A solid communication plan is essential for making sound decisions and keeping things running smoothly. While providing multiple channels of communication (such as Slack, Zoom, email, and so on) is usually necessary, you must ensure that your team members understand when and how to use each tool, as well as the purpose of each.
Mediocre Experience
One common complaint businesses face is that they need to provide a personalized experience to their customers. Whatever product or service you offer must be in accordance with the specific needs of your customers. This will help you differentiate yourself from the competition and demonstrate your value as a business. Yet, all too often, businesses provide users with a standard experience. Essentially, you must make it distinct no matter what service or product you offer. Nobody wants to be treated as a number. Unfortunately, the rise of automation and self-service portals or options is interfering with this in some ways. However, technology can assist us in avoiding boilerplate experiences and creating a strong customer experience (CX) and user experience (UX).
A New Year Brings New Chances
Sure, 2023 will present significant challenges and financial pressures, but digital transformation can be out of the box. The new year allows you to reset your IT portfolio and reallocate resources to initiatives to help your company level up by providing optimal outcomes for employees and customers. As it happens, you can concentrate on strategic innovation while containing spiraling costs.
