2020 Brings Enterprise CIOs To Managed Services To Get Ahead

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By R2 Unified Technologies

business people group with  headphones giving support in  help desk office to customers, manager giving training and education instructions-1The age of the digital transformation has arrived and enterprise organizations are realizing that to compete they must embrace outsourced business models to address gaps in technical skills and education and training time needed to capitalize on the management and maintenance of new technologies in house.

Chief Information Officers (CIOs), who until recently were seen as technology gatekeepers or even roadblocks, are now tasked with creating business value through technology. Developing innovative solutions, driving integration of emerging technologies, addressing big data’s role, and facilitating cloud transitioning are pressures modern CIOs face.

Top Challenges CIOs Face Heading Into 2020

The first decade of the 21st century can be viewed as a time of great technological innovation. The second will see a return to making the environment new technology exists in more collaborative and people-centric, with managed IT services playing a huge role. Here’s how:

  • With a continued focus on data, 2020 will be about leveraging the right data, and creating actionable information that moves the organization onward. CIOs must find ways to cull through the massive amounts of data to glean real insights that will benefit their business’ objectives and drive growth.

  • While keeping equipment and infrastructure up-to-date still matters, CIOs need to encourage their organization to become agile businesses that reimagine what innovation is and can be. They must create a culture where employees feel free to share ideas, and think outside of their traditional industry roles and responsibilities to gain a competitive edge to expand deeper into current accounts and open up new lines of revenue.

  • As IT creates new job categories and specialized skills, landing the most skilled people will continue to prove difficult. Looking ahead, it’s estimated that 75% of companies will face considerable disruptions due to the skills gap while hires will fall by more than 5%. CIOs must not only double their efforts to find top talent to fill these roles, but they must also develop these skills in the people they already have.

  • There will always be a hardware and software element to a CIO’s job. Today, it’s more about timing: recognizing when legacy systems need to be upgraded and understanding that every new shiny system may not be the solution to their particular problems.

Finally, security remains a top priority, but it comes with a modern twist: how to implement cybersecurity measures that don’t alienate users. This balance is crucial. The push-pull effects of shadow IT as well as the need to provide a culture where employees are empowered to decide where and how they spend their time leave the C-suite in a constant dance between enterprise security and employee satisfaction.  

Facing cyberattacks head-on will now be a regular part of life for CIOs and the risks will likely grow larger as attackers find new ways like IoT and crypto-jacking to pose threats to organizations. With ransomware damages alone now clocking in at over $11 billion per year, CIOs are recognizing that in-house efforts alone are not likely to keep them safe, or financially sound. Enter, the rise we see in outsourced managed IT services in enterprise business. 

2020 Brings a Rise in Enterprise Outsourcing of IT to Managed Services Providers

As organizations struggle to find staff that can meet these challenges, they must also keep a finger on the pulse of current and future business needs. To help CIOs reach their goals, managed IT services are now playing a larger role in enterprise organizations for IT functions like storage, backup and recovery, network monitoring, and security.

Nearly 65% of organizations now report they are using some sort of managed services and it is expected that by 2020, the managed services market will grow to $183 billion. What is driving this switch? Studies show it’s much more than cost savings. Improved security tops the list but additional benefits organizations cite include:

  • Access to the newest technologies that enable a proactive approach to IT problems.
  • Better uptime.
  • Cost savings over in-house IT.
  • Peace of mind.
  • Increased internal staff productivity as workers must no longer deal with routine IT problems.

Another advantage increasing adoption of Managed Services in large organizations is the ability to tap into cloud solutions, particularly concerning the area of security. With nearly 85% of enterprise workloads expected to be in the cloud by 2020, CIOs are diligently trying to understand how they can use the approach to better address current and future organizational needs. Solutions such as hybrid/multi-cloud solutions, server-less architecture, and backup and disaster recovery are being explored as ways to create a collaborative environment designed to move strategies forward.

Modern CIOs Capitalize on Outsourced IT to MSPs in the Enterprise

The modern CIO is one who helps their organization align, anticipate, and adapt to a changing digital world. They are not waiting for circumstances to force a change in direction. Rather, they are taking the reins, embracing a new technological reality, and fostering the confidence their team needs to achieve success. If you're ready to reprioritize your time and optimize your output, learn more about managed services and how they can help your enterprise with our eBook: The Understated Value of a Managed Service Provider.

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