Consider all the tasks that CIOs have on their plate: deploying cybersecurity solutions, migrating to the cloud, deploying the latest AI (Artificial Intelligence)/ML (Machine Learning) technologies, ensuring utmost UX (User experience)/UI (User Interface), and leveraging agile technologies. These are just but a few of the never-ending tasks that the technology department needs to undertake.
That said, modernization is a people problem. Every upgrade requires people with the ability, experience, and knowledge to execute strategic plans while at the same time maintaining their day-to-day IT operations.
So what can tech companies and organizations on the road to becoming fully digital do to address shortages of crucial IT talent? This post will walk you through how to better leverage talent to advance your IT operations.
Ways of Leveraging Talent to Advance IT Operations
Here are some of the ways you can make the most of your talent to advance your IT operations:
Migrate to the Cloud
Cloud migration usually enhances agility and operational performance, workload scalability, and security. Taking advantage of the cloud also adds responsiveness for remote workers—they can carry out tasks as efficiently from their corner of the world just as they can in a brick-and-mortar office. The cloud provides a framework for a stronger and more adaptable work environment, giving employees the ability to work from anywhere.
Today, more and more organizations are moving to distributed architectures for their computer networks. The traditional monolithic systems don’t cut it anymore—they don’t provide the flexibility, resiliency, and scalability that distributed computing offers.
Make the Most of Cybersecurity Solutions
Whereas cloud computing models are full of advantages compared to on-premise models, they are still susceptible to inside and outside attacks. As such, it is important to use cybersecurity solutions to keep your cloud infrastructure from threats.
The following technologies make cloud computing safer and more secure, given that they ensure that unapproved access to data and systems is much more restricted –inside and outside the workplace.
- Secure Web Gateway (SWG): A SWG protects users from web-based threats and infections by enforcing company policy and filtering internet-bound traffic. A SWG includes essential technologies such as application control, URL filtering, HTTPS inspection, antivirus, and data loss prevention to provide organizations with strong web security.
- Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB): This is a cloud-based or on-premise security policy enforcement point that’s placed between cloud service providers and cloud service consumers to integrate and interject an organization’s security policies when cloud-based resources are being accessed.
- Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW): This is a network security device that offers capabilities beyond conventional, stateful firewalls. NGFW includes additional features such as integrated intrusion prevention, application awareness and control, and cloud-delivered threat intelligence.
- Zero Trust Network Access: This is a product that creates context-based and identity-based logical access boundaries around an application(s). The applications are usually hidden from discovery, and access is restricted through a trust broker.
Leverage Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning
Technology isn’t a new entrant to the business world. While it may not have always been explicit or visible, it has always contributed to the achievement of business outcomes, enhancing efficiency, and improving operations. And with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) coming in, the way employees interact with technology is set to improve IT and business operations as a whole by leaps.
AI, ML, and other intelligent technologies can learn, perform complex and automated processes, and can identify anomalies in gigantic pools of data. They can also provide you with real-time insights and reports into your IT operations. As such, they are helping replace the repetitive tasks and process information beyond the ability of human grasp.
User Experience (UX)/User Interface (UI)
A good UX/UI has become an expectation for most people, if not all consumers. With numerous software being developed in the market every other year, the vital success factor is no longer merely the existence of your solution. Rather it’s how intuitive its user interface is, and the experience users get from using it.
Delivering a bad UX/UI to users is no longer an option. People want to experience and use the best technology while making the most of their time. The same goes for checking out an application or visiting a website.
So why UX/UI? This is because they improve customer experience, add more user engagement, and build loyalty. They appear on 24/7 accessible channels such as websites and contact portals.
Leverage Agile Technologies
Agile technology is not technology as the name suggests but a methodology. Agile technology promotes ongoing iteration of testing and development throughout the process of developing software. Primarily software, agile technologies are inherently able to work and adapt to business demands. They are predominantly used in software projects, and their key advantage is that they are iterative.
Data Can Help You Determine Where the True Priorities Are
Assumptions and punch lists are not enough to ensure that a solution will work. As such, decision-makers must follow the data. While it’s very impressive that today’s technology enables us to collect tremendous amounts of data, the reality is that most of the time, we don’t use all of this data.
With that in mind, before rushing to start gathering data, every organization should begin by developing a data strategy and acquiring the right set of tools that can help them analyze the data and use it to make well-informed decisions. This is where Power BI reports scheduler by ChristianSteven comes in. This intuitive software saves time and money by automating the filtering, distribution, and delivery of Power BI reports, SSRS & Dashboards on the cloud and on-premise.
Wrapping Up
Power BI Report Scheduler (PBRS) by ChristianSteven works seamlessly with both cloud and on-premise infrastructure. Your team can save time and gain valuable insights through automated reporting features. With PBRS, you can use the data in your database to dynamically populate report filters, formats, email addresses, destinations, body text, and so much more. You can also specify schedules for different recipients based on how regularly they require a given report.