On-Going IT Response to the Global Pandemic: The View from a Front-Row Seat
In January’s “2020 State of the CIO Executive Summary,” the news was good for CIOs… They were getting increased recognition from CEOs and colleagues for their growing and essential leadership role in business strategy, innovation, and revenue generation — while decreasing time spent on important yet “back-office” activities such as optimizing the enterprise IT infrastructure […]
Third-Party Support: A Strategy for IT Agility, Not Just a Cost-Cutting Measure
The financial benefits of dropping vendor-sourced maintenance in favor of third-party enterprise software support are very tangible; the lure of cutting expenditures by 50% – for what are commonly agreed to be superior levels of service – has proven compelling to thousands of companies. However, for many CIOs, the transition to third-party support presents advantages […]
Use AI to Enhance the Human Connection in IT Support Services
Global disruption and competition are placing new demands on the delivery of IT support services. As global turbulence rocks the business environment, CIOs that use artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance — not replace — a human-first digital strategy in IT support services as part of a strategy to improve service levels and responsiveness will likely […]
5 Questions on S/4HANA Migration — Answers for SAP Business Suite Licensees
SAP’s extension announcement of ECC 6.0 support from 2025 to 2027 is an apparent acknowledgment that SAP customers do not see value in a prompt migration to S/4HANA. Even prior to the pandemic, nearly 80% of SAP licensees planned to continue to run their current customized, mature SAP systems for five additional years or more.1 […]
The Time to Act is Now to Meet SAP’s September 30 Maintenance Deadline
By September 30, many SAP customers need to retain SAP Enterprise Support at 22% of license contract price,1 or save 50% of that support price, and up to 90% of overall support costs with third-party support? It is no news that 2020 has turned out to be an unusual year! For IT leaders, this means […]
Automation 101: An Essential Tool For CIOs And IT Teams
This article originally appeared on Forbes.com; it has been modified for this space. Automation is a key element of digital transformation, a paradigm shift that many IT teams are undergoing. This shift could replace nearly 70% of manual, repetitive tasks, according to the Brookings Institute. Automation — the tools and practices used to programmatically execute tasks, […]
A Strategic CIO/CEO Partnership Allows Innovation to Thrive in a Turbulent Global Market
This article originally appeared on Forbes.com; it has been modified for this space. CEOs need their CIOs’ help more than ever as they navigate through today’s global market turbulence. Shifting their focus from being overseers of data center operations to being strategic partners with their CEOs enables tech leaders to develop a business-driven innovation roadmap […]
Roundup: Gartner IT Cost Management Reports
Controlling costs is a constant strain on IT teams. The business wants enterprise-grade IT, but it also wants to execute big goals with a lean budget. Add to that the global disruption that has touched both lives and livelihoods around the world. The cost of adapting can bring with it even more budget turmoil. Making […]
The Hidden Tax that Comes with Traditional Application Management Services (AMS)
The model for traditional application management services (AMS) is broken. It’s dated and complex with a time and materials contract structure and a “man-hours” billing system. While the model was originally provisioned for issue resolution, the reality may lead to a continuous, almost unwitting client accommodation of large and growing numbers of billable hours for […]