Technology predictions: What will be IT’s top priorities in 2016?

As 2015 draws to a close, business leaders are outlining their goals for 2016. While these can extend to all departments and areas of the company, some of the most important priorities come associated with IT. Not only will technological solutions shape the way employees throughout the business carry out corporate processes, but they will also frame how the brand reaches out and responds to its customers.

So with 2016 edging ever closer, what priorities are making it to enterprise stakeholders’ lists? Let’s take a look at a few of the goals and initiatives that will take center stage next year:

Adaptive, agile IT

In recent years, a number of considerably impactful technologies have made waves in the enterprise sector. Strategies like big data, virtualization and the cloud have fundamentally changed the way employees access, store and connect with critical resources. However, these and other emerging solutions have made it difficult for businesses to keep up in an increasingly advanced world.

“Standardized IT systems can no longer keep pace with the service executives say they need to stay ahead of competitors,” noted CEB Information Technology. “The emergence of cloud computing, analytics, big data and mobile technology has put pressure on businesses to radically rethink the way they manage IT.”

In order to address these pain points, a number of organizations will take an adaptive and agile approach to their IT management going into next year. This strategy will enable them to more quickly respond to new technologies, and leverage the ones that best suit their needs.

“[fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=” border_size=” border_color=” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=” id=” animation_type=” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Adaptive IT] helps IT teams rapidly reallocate resources as new opportunities emerge, switch between a range of models for developing technology, and become more flexible in how they engage with stakeholders,” CEB Information Technology noted. “Taking an adaptive approach will help IT teams switch between a faster and slower pace of work, depending on the needs of their current project.”

Agile, adaptive IT will allow workers to utilize new systems and become more productive, which also supports a faster time to market.

Next year, businesses will take a more agile, adaptive approach with their IT management to ensure they can advance and innovate.

Data storage and analysis

Wizdee contributor Laurie Mascott noted that according to Gartner predictions, business intelligence and analytics will continue to be a main priority for businesses moving into 2016. Now that BI and related analysis processes are less abstract and have led to real value for enterprises, many organizations are looking to take their efforts a step further next year.

One of the biggest driving factors behind this trend is the fact that usable tools are now available, enabling companies to make the most of the information they’ve gathered and are currently collecting. Mascott pointed out that traditional approaches taken with BI and analytics over the past decade or so have been less than successful. However, new technologies for information storage and big data analysis have boosted user adoption and made BI and analytics an important part of business processes. These will continue to be priorities for IT and executives next year.

Digitalization requires a unified platform approach

Gartner noted in its Insights From the 2016 Gartner CIO Agenda Report that one trend that has been taking hold in enterprises across the board recently is digitalization. Now, more critical resources are stored and accessed via digital platforms, and this process will play a key role going into 2016.

Gartner’s survey – which included responses from nearly 3,000 CIOs in 84 countries – found that digital realms will be essential. Overall, CIOs expect revenues from digital platforms to grow 16 to 37 percent next year. In addition, business leaders expect digital processes to increase as much as 77 percent.

In order to support the success of this increasing shift toward digitalization, Gartner suggested utilizing a platform view of company resources and activities.

“Unlike a traditional fixed system, with a clear inside and outside (suppliers providing inputs, and internal people/assets/capabilities creating products/services and delivering them to customers), a platform provides the business with a foundation where resources can come together – sometimes quickly and temporarily, sometimes in a relatively fixed way – to create value,” Gartner stated.

In this way, it will be even more critical to work with vendors that can provide holistic solutions in a unified way. An industry-leading provider like iT1 Source, for instance, can support all the company’s needs when it comes to data storage and management, virtualization, unified communications and collaboration, network and connectivity, procurement and logistics, and professional services. Obtaining solutions from iT1 means all of the business’s activities can take place via the platform point of view Gartner advises.

Working with top-tier solution providers

As enterprises seek to adopt these initiatives and move forward with their 2016 IT goals, another priority becomes clear: Today’s enterprises are requiring the best of the best when it comes to their technology solutions, and will only work with top-notch solution providers to support their needs.

Instead of working with several different industry leading vendors, one of the best approaches to take here is to work with an expert IT solution provider like iT1 Source. iT1 has partnerships with the best technology providers in the industry, including Hewlett Packard Enterprise and HP, Cisco, Dell, VMware and Microsoft. Our knowledgeable consultants can help ensure that your business has everything it needs to be successful in 2016. To find out more, contact us today.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]