Unless you were speaking to a particularly pessimistic virologist, very few experts could have predicted the disruption we’ve seen in 2020. Some industries have been hit harder than others, but every aspect of our daily lives has been upended by this pandemic – not least of which our workplaces.
IT leaders have been attempting to prepare their technology environments for disruption in some form, but even the most well-prepared organisations have been caught short in some way, shape or form by these circumstances. While virologists and economists are enjoying the worst-case scenario for testing their models, technology leaders also have an opportunity to learn their own lessons from this situation.
Apps everywhere, let’s all download an app
If you ask an app developer, we have all the tools we’ll ever need to facilitate a remote workforce. From Microsoft Teams to Slack and Zoom, there is no shortage of applications for driving collaboration, communication, and engagement for remote teams.
Unfortunately, this is a part of the problem, as all of these applications generate and store data in their own silos, while also creating their own unique set of security risks. According to research by Technologent, during one week in March, business app downloads increased by 45% compared to the previous week—amounting to 62 million downloads.
Many of these app downloads are also unsanctioned by IT teams, adding to the already growing issue of “shadow IT”. While an entirely remote workforce may seem like a worst-case scenario, a massive data breach could prove catastrophic in these circumstances. Getting a handle on this situation requires IT leaders to ask:
- Which applications are generating data and where is this data being stored across hybrid cloud environments?
- Which users, devices and applications currently have access to enterprise data?
- How can employees gain secure access to data remotely without creating unnecessary security risks?
- Can storage infrastructure scale rapidly to support new virtualised workloads?
- Can your business quickly recover from a massive data breach?
Ideally, we want to have answers to these questions before we realise there’s an issue. This means regularly testing your environment’s ability to hold up in a variety of scenarios.
Yet we also need to realise there are options available for working smarter, not harder to prepare for disruption. Leveraging automation and AI within your storage infrastructure can help you to ensure data is being stored safely and securely in the right locations throughout your hybrid cloud environment.
In our new eBook: Preparing for disruption with agile IT, we suggest the best way to meet our employee’s new demands for connected workplace experiences and integrated data is to focus on:
- Real-time connectivity between databases across CRM, ERP, HRM, and supply chain platforms.
- Well-integrated cloud tools across collaboration, communication, and productivity.
- Robust data governance and data quality practices to ensure accuracy and security.
- Scalable and secure storage combined with reliable backup and recovery solutions.
- Scalable virtual environments for keeping a remote workforce connected and secure.
Our team of infrastructure specialists can work with you to understand your current technology environment, and where your opportunities lie for creating a more agile IT foundation. We can help you to implement the latest range of intelligent storage solutions from HPE that deliver:
- streamlined, large-scale management of virtual workloads
- data insights in minutes.
- 99.9999% guaranteed availability.
- 30% reduction in costs through elimination of over-provisioning.
Get in touch with us today to learn how you can prepare your technology environment for any eventuality with agile and intelligent IT solutions.