Business leaders across industries have been making significant steps and investments to transform their organisations in an increasingly digital world. At the core of these transformation strategies, is technology, which is pivotal in enhancing operational processes, employee experiences and customer services.
However, many organisations recently hit a big snag in their digital transformation plans due to the lack of hardware underlying all of it. Supply chain issues have disrupted carefully laid out IT upgrade plans. The scarcity caused price increases and protracted lead times with many technology manufacturers struggling to keep up with surging customer demands.
Additionally, another obstacle that many enterprises face is the lack of the right people on staff to achieve their digitalisation goals. While recruitment is at the top of enterprise agendas today, labour shortages in key disciplines remain a significant challenge.
Coping with the current challenges requires IT and business leaders to rethink their strategies and be proactive by exploring alternative solutions.
Shifting gears
According to recent reports, the IT industry could still experience hardware supply delays in the foreseeable future as shortages may continue through 2022 and into 2023. Moreover, while the IT skills gap could be lessened through training internal stakeholders, this will require resources and time that many organisations may not currently have.
In order to overcome the roadblocks in the market, organisations can look at adopting the technical expertise and services of a managed service provider (MSP). A managed IT service provider can offer tools, solutions and services that can help IT leaders free up internal resources to focus on business-critical functions. Partnering with an MSP can also enable enterprises to keep downtime to a minimum, reduce costs and enable their workforce to be more productive.
“Managed services enable organisations to scale their business with cutting edge technologies without needing to invest heavily in hardware and other resources,” explained Milosz Brzozowski, Business Solution Manager, Comarch ICT. “MSPs can fulfil IT requirements much faster than acquiring them. It’s a highly preferable option, especially at a time when market supply is scarce and budgets are constrained.”
He added, “Maintaining infrastructure in-house can result in huge cost overheads. By utilising a service provider, organisations can get access to various tools to set up an infrastructure on the cloud and the staff required to manage it. This allows businesses to reduce operational costs, lower IT expenses and focus on business strategy rather than infrastructure handling.”
Some of the common IT functions that are often outsourced to MSPs are network management, data backup and recovery, application and software development, security and IT support among others.
Find the right partner
Technology is a vital enabler for businesses to maximise efficiency, boost productivity and thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. This is why IT applications and services would only grow more complex in the coming years. Finding the right MSP can help businesses cut through the noise and simplify IT management without breaking the bank.
“When looking for an MSP, organisations should find a partner that understands the needs of both your organisation and the industry you belong to. You should also find a partner that can offer a wide variety of services,” said Brzozowski.
“Organisations like Comarch offers just that. We offer bespoke cloud infrastructure which clients can readily access. We have a wide range of complementary services, systems and platforms. As a global company, we have longstanding relationships with a number of market-leading technology partners. This allows us to provide our clients with the flexibility to create the applications and infrastructure that suit their specific needs.”
Comarch offers a wide variety of IT platforms managed services including cloud-managed services, network management, database management, data recovery and backup services and more.
“Our data centres in Abu Dhabi and Dubai also sets us apart as an MSP as it allows us to provide our global expertise while ensuring that we also address the local requirements of our customers in the region,” said Brzozowski.
Utilising an MSP is a win-win for any business. Outsourcing IT through managed services is an excellent and convenient option. It allows organisations to function optimally and maintain their competitive edge in an increasingly dynamic business and IT landscape.
