The current business transformation initiatives have been made possible by the synergistic combination of expertise from the worlds of Operating Technologies (OT) and Information Technologies (IT). This is bringing about intelligent, interconnected, and autonomous manufacturing equipment and systems. The achievement of shared objectives across OT and IT communities will be enabled by new dynamic -- constantly evolving -- technological resources, such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, cloud computing, and ubiquitous connectivity.

As the industry comes to grips with the highly disruptive implications of a once-in-a-generation pandemic event, executives are bracing themselves for continued volatility as incidences of unprecedented weather events rise, and bad actors target critical infrastructures with malware and ransomware attacks.

Malware and ransomware attacks have achieved an unprecedented level of ubiquity across organizations of all sizes and industries. A Spring of 2021 survey conducted by analysts at IDC revealed that 95.1% of organizations had suffered a malicious attack within the past 12 months, and 36.6% of respondents have suffered more than 25 attacks during that time.

As businesses explore their SAP modernization options, the best way forward for many organizations may lie in hybrid installations of SAP S/4HANA that allow IT teams to maintain their current infrastructure. Most established companies often have application estates that are inflexible, monolithic, and outdated. When it comes to SAP modernization, challenges and opportunities are in the eye of the beholder.

Businesses that leverage mainframe investments while developing a modernization roadmap have better outcomes than those that move off them. These were the conclusions of a 2021 IDC study that analyzed businesses across the globe to measure the efficacy of migrating to the cloud compared to modernizing existing mainframe systems. Replatforming, the researchers found, can be riskier and more costly than modernizing existing investments.

The majority of IT organizations in mid- to large-sized organizations are now using a complex combination of on-prem hardware and software and cloud-based enterprise services that are constantly evolving in response to the introduction of new technologies and changing business requirements.

The majority of IT organizations in mid- to large-sized organizations are now using a complex combination of services that are constantly evolving in response to the introduction of new technologies and changing business requirements. Optimizing data management across hybrid, multi-cloud infrastructure environments is increasingly recognized as a critical area of competency.

Most large organizations that have been around for a while have come to the conclusion that they will continue to operate in an environment in which data centers with legacy systems coexist with private cloud and multiple public cloud resources. As leaders explore ways to automate the management of this hybrid environment, many are looking at SDN as a way to virtualize and integrate disparate assets in a scalable and manageable manner.

As government agency leaders and healthcare administrators execute their transformation initiatives to be more responsive to citizens and patients, IT staffs will be tasked with leveraging virtualization capabilities to integrate resources across heterogenous infrastructures.

Change management has never been easy and will not get any easier as organizations embrace complex heterogeneous infrastructures that mix legacy and next-generation enterprise platforms. This was the central conclusion of a moderated CIO.com virtual roundtable co-hosted with Chuck Tsocanos of IBM.

As the complexity of enterprise infrastructures rise in response to accelerated technology modernization and business transformation, organizations across industries are exploring the role that AI will play in optimizing IT operations while introducing innovative business operations.

New technological developments, the rise of new competitive disruptors and changing customer expectations have elevated the importance of accelerating the pace with which institutions bring new value-added services to market. A growing number of executives are taking a hard look at how fintech services, ISVs and SaaS resources can support this “need-for-speed” in a risk-adjusted manner.

Microsoft in 2018 became the market share leader for total off-premises cloud service revenue with 13.8 percent share, bumping Amazon to the #2 spot with 13.2 percent; IBM was #3 with 8.8 percent revenue share, according to IHS Markit. Microsoft’s success can be attributed to its comprehensive portfolio and the growth it is experiencing from its more advanced PaaS and CaaS offerings.

Amazon (AWS), Google, IBM, Microsoft (Azurea) and Alibaba were named “leaders” by IHS  Markit's new scorecard on off-premises cloud IT service providers.
“Leadership in the cloud IT infrastructure services market requires a diverse portfolio, and all of the leaders have strong brand awareness and a reputation of innovation,” said Devan Adams, principal analyst, cloud and data center research practice, IHS Markit.