Take an integrated approach to cybersecurity One of the most important conclusions offered by this Cisco study is that cybersecurity is a top of mind for most IT leaders across Asia-Pacific, who are taking matters into their own hands. As good as that is, it’s not enough to be digitally ready. Choosing the right strategy is what will make the difference.
At Cisco, we recommend an integrated security strategy, from the endpoint, to the network, and to the cloud, as a way to reduce complexity and increase effectiveness. Most companies have a multitude of vendors and products for each part of the IT infrastructure, resulting in a security landscape that is weaker and harder to manage because the different security elements are not integrated.
Cisco’s approach is different: adopt a single and intelligent platform that provides visibility across the entire IT infrastructure and is able to detect and fight threats even before they happen – automatically and wherever they are. In doing so, Cisco is able the detect and eliminate cyber threats in just hours compared with the industry average of over 100 days.
Optimize networking and security for cloud Another key takeaway offered by this report is that companies in the region are heavily adopting cloud. Its relevance is justified for the scalability, agility and costs savings it offers in principle. But like a digital transformation strategy will fail if there isn’t a combined change in processes, skills and technologies, so will cloud strategies if the IT infrastructure isn’t optimized.
That said, Cisco’s approach and recommendation is that companies rethinking both their security and the networking framework to avoid common problems companies face, such as complexity of the cloud environment, lack of security or unexpected increase of costs. Also, with data growing by the second, it is critical this optimization framework is done through automated and intelligent mechanisms. Move IT from a cost center to a business enabler Budget constraints are appointed in this study as the number one roadblock to innovate and invest in the relevant technology areas for the future. This situation may be explained by the traditional strategy of outsourcing IT, making this function be seen as yet another cost line in the balance sheet. But the mindset is, and will have to change in face of the digital revolution.
In digital transformation, technology is both the reason and the answer (part of it) why organizations must shift IT from a cost center to a strategic partner with a seat at the table. IT is no longer a function that supports others, but the one function that is embedded in all others – be it marketing, customer experience, R&D or sales.
Another point to consider – perhaps the most important – is that technology is now the means to innovate more, faster, create new markets, and drive customer experience. We only have to look at the newer digital companies to understand what that means. And what that means is that technology has become the reason for new and bigger sources of revenue.
Grow automation in your IT infrastructure to shift focus from IT management to generation of new value Automation can be a very wide concept when we talk about digital readiness. Surely, what comes to mind is manufacturing and the robots in the factory floors. But automation is everywhere when you work with Cisco: networking, security, data center, cloud, and all areas that form the core infrastructure of any company.
The importance in automating these areas - that are still largely manual in most organizations – is to help them shift the focus from IT management to how IT can help the business generate more innovation, better customer experience, or new services. The most foundational reason is that a box-by-box approach can’t keep up with the increasing number of users, devices, and certainly not cyber threats. But when the core infrastructure becomes automated, managing, scaling and securing a company and its assets become much simpler, faster and effective.
A key area of innovation for Cisco is the network. Cisco was the first company to launch the first next generation network, also known as intent-based networking, which can be looked at as a machine learning at scale that allows companies to manage large digital environments centrally and automatically, with just a few clicks. In a non-automated network environment, any given deployment and change can take weeks to months. Build a strong IT foundation for the next level of IT innovation and business differentiation Behind any great digital company, there’s a great IT foundation. This includes networking, data center and security amongst other elements.
Recognizing whether or not your company has a solid IT infrastructure – that is automated, simple, scalable, secure – is the first step to be digitally ready and succeed in digital transformation. Making the right choices and investments for the future, without compromises, are the second one.
While the pace of change to build this strong foundation will be different for larger and smaller organizations, the pace of digital is still the same for both. And for both, the core infrastructure will be the X-factor that will set winners and losers apart in the digital transformation battle.