In-house IT department urged to go from maintenance hub to growth driver

“Going digital” is a trend among businesses right now since it boosts overall productivity in the workplace and in the market. It means maximizing new and available technologies and models in the areas of Social Media, Mobility, Data Analytics, Cloud, and Security in order to make work and processes more efficient and effective.

Its apparent benefits are more than enough reasons to start the digital transformation. Stressing the importance of IT, TJ Rosal, the Assistant Vice President for Sales and Marketing of CuroTeknika, a managed IT services company said, “In light of the global digital shift, IT is in a position where it can make significant business impact. It is time for IT to take on a more strategic role within the organization by developing technology-driven tools, systems, and processes that add value to the business. This is an opportune moment for IT to make a shift from being a company’s mere maintenance hub to a major growth driver.”

Based on a study made by management resources firm Brilliant, majority of companies surveyed have no plans to increase their in-house IT staffing in 2017. However, as companies grow, their IT infrastructure become more complex, placing IT in a dilemma of keeping their current infrastructure up and running rather than focus on strategic initiatives. “The time that should have been spent in researching, evaluating and testing new technologies that add competitive advantage are spent mostly on operational activities which of course are equally important. Unfortunately, the culture of learning is pushed to the side and for the most part, IT resources are hired primarily for maintenance,” said Rosal.

Interestingly enough, there are some business owners who recognize the potential of a fully dedicated IT department in a business. A study by the Computing Technology Industry Association which surveyed 350 executives revealed that companies outsource IT in order to improve efficiency and to free their IT staff to work on strategic projects. Rosal explains, “Managed IT providers like CuroTeknika have the infrastructure already in place. We have the skills, tools and processes needed, and the required manpower spread geographically to support even regional locations. Companies see us as a strategic partner because we function as an extension of their in-house capabilities.”

“We’ve worked with financial companies to handle their technical helpdesk to support their end-users nationwide. This allowed them to realign their IT group’s focus towards the integration of their disparate applications. They were able to offload operational functions such as desktop support, recruitment, re-training, work scheduling and service level adherence,” shared Rosal. “With regards to large enterprises, some of them let us handle the technical support of their provincial offices.”

Working under a “Business.Life.Simplified” insight, CuroTeknika helps organizations focus on delivering consistent and efficient customer experience while enabling a continuous and simplified operations environment that can thrive in a global, customer-driven economy.

"Businesses today need to be dynamic and agile. The IT of the future will be the enablers in enhancing value creation for businesses, paving the way to compete not only locally but globally. This is the time to explore new technologies and while they are at it, CuroTeknika can support the day-to-day upkeep of their IT infrastructure,” said Rosal.

Attention turns to business trends and opportunities
There is no doubt that technologies will continue to develop and evolve at an accelerated pace, thus presenting more opportunities.

One of the hottest trends is that many companies are starting to reap the benefits of data analytics – especially with the proliferation of social media which is arguably a source of more accurate feedback. Marketers are now able to predict customer preferences, behavior and buying patterns by mining the data that they collect from consumer profiles, interests, geo-locations and other useful information. More successful implementations enable brands to make quick and relevant decisions in marketing and customer experience.

Another trend is heightened data security against cyber-attacks which increases year on year. Information has become the new currency and as more devices get connected, the chances of getting hit by a cyber-attack increase. Any organization should be ready with its preventive and corrective security measures. This is why many of the large enterprises have shifted their resources in establishing a Security Operations Center that protect all data touchpoints including their applications, databases, core systems, network, and up to the end-points/devices.

The role of IT has become more dynamic these days as trends demand a more careful deliberation in light of companies’ unique business problems. As new systems are implemented, new policies and procedures have to be put in place as well. It is therefore imperative for IT to focus on these. “There’s been a lot of talk about IT having 2 modes: One to run the business and another to change the business. This is an exciting time for IT professionals because these trends allow IT to enable their organization to redefine or enhance business models. Companies have to deliberately reallocate internal skills to focus on changing the business, rather than maintaining it,” said Rosal. “This is why there is value in outsourcing the management of IT infrastructure.”

While keeping and managing operations in-house has its benefits, it may lead to divided priorities – a factor which can hamper business. More often than not, an in-house IT department handles all aspects of technology despite having only limited resources and capabilities. With the help of a managed IT service provider like CuroTeknika, companies can stay on track or better yet ahead with strategies and projects that add more value to the business.