Being able to answer these requirements, and developing a core business competency to deal with these challenges in the future, is the essence of business agility. This capability will become the vital differentiator to drive global business success in the coming years.

 

But realising true business agility requires more than simple technology upgrades. It demands the creation of a global operating model and support processes that empower organisations to adapt rapidly and cost efficiently to future changes in the business environment.

 

Terminologies such as Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), Business Process Management (BPM) and Business Intelligence are increasingly targeted at enterprises to assist them to operate their businesses leaner, smarter and faster. Given that finance is a key decision-maker in technology investments, with the IT department in many companies directly under the CFO, what can CFOs do to help IT maintain a competitive edge, whatever the market conditions?

 

As businesses strive to differentiate and increase profitability, demands on the IT infrastructure inevitably increase. Challenging requirements for larger data transfers to enable high-bandwidth shared applications and lower latency connectivity to ensure effective global distribution of services become critical. To enable delivery of these elements, the underlying network that support business applications must provide high levels of scalability and flexibility to meet the business’ demand for efficiency.

 

Cost-beneficial selling points that CFOs should look for when choosing support services and providers include flexibility through “in service” design reviews and the promotion of new technology and supply options throughout the contract term. Being able to transition to new network solutions smoothly and efficiently, based upon the latest business drivers in their industry or by accessing new service options that were not previously available in particular geographies, will give companies the advantage when dealing with real business requirements.

 

Reducing cost, supporting new business applications, or integrating new geographical locations or infrastructures from expansion, merger or acquisition are all immediate, international business challenges that need to be addressed.

 

Equally as critical as the network itself are the business-support services that can be run over it.

 

A cloud-based service can reduce capital expenditures. If it is a hosted service, it removes the requirement for customers to identify and implement future upgrades themselves — it is all provided within the service — creating a very cost-effective solution.

 

Cloud computing is arguably the most talked-about development within IT. It promises the enterprise the benefits of increased scalability, agility and speed to market (for IT services), while reducing capex and opex. However, the cloud computing services available today are not yet business class, as they lack the end-to-end service assurance the enterprise demands.