Logicalis US to CIOs: On-Demand is the Future of IT

NEW YORK, May 26, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- We live in a "right now" society where services are available on demand – videos on demand, cell service on demand. So why wouldn't business users expect the same of their computing capabilities? The problem for CIOs today is that they're accustomed to providing efficiencies and capabilities while their users are looking for an experience. Corporate users want the same right-now experience they're accustomed to in their outside-of-work lives.  According to Logicalis US, an international IT solutions and managed services provider (www.us.logicalis.com), delivering a consumer experience inside the corporation requires a whole new way of thinking among corporate IT leaders; it requires an underlying shift from IT as a provider of "always on" technology to a department that supports a service-defined enterprise able to offer an array of a la carte computing experiences when and how the organization's users need to access them.

"Changing the way IT leaders think about technology is the first step in the process," says Bob Hankins, Vice President, Data Center Solutions, Logicalis US. "Technology still forms the foundation for the services that corporate users want and need, of course.  For example, you could start with an HP converged infrastructure, then add operational analytics, orchestration and automation software as well as an array of implementation and managed services; those are the key ingredients.  But in order to evolve to a 'right-now' IT environment, you have to map the technology to the SLAs that match the organization's overall goals and objectives. Simply providing technology that works is not the goal anymore, it's the expectation.  That's why so many CIOs are considering changing the name of their 'IT' departments to more closely reflect the service-defined nature they are adopting.  The goal has shifted from simply providing security, availability and performance management to providing the same levels of service at better price points in the right-now way line-of-business users want and need to work."

Logicalis predicts that CIOs who embrace the service-defined movement will regain control of the IT department, redefine shadow IT, and will make their departments more relevant to their organizations as a whole.  Accepting what changes need to take place and implementing a services-led IT transformation is, perhaps, the most difficult part.  To help, Logicalis data center experts have identified six key benefits common to successful on-demand, service-defined environments.

Six Benefits of an On-Demand Infrastructure

1. Kick-Starts Communication: Line-of-business users don't want to wait for computing capabilities. They want IT services on demand, but to offer that kind of access taks significant pre-planning by IT leaders. In a services-led organization, IT once again has a seat at the line-of-business table and regains the ability to guide the organization in its technology resource usage, properly planning for where and when those resources will be consumed.
2. Provides Flexibility: As the organization grows, so too must its technological resources. Users want flexibility in the IT services they use. That kind of flexibility is possible, but only in an IT department that has a deep knowledge of the expectations coming down the road. Developing that knowledge takes significant planning and collaboration between IT leaders and line-of-business department heads. The end result, however, is an on-demand, flexible IT infrastructure that can morph quickly and easily in response to changes within the organization.
3. Anticipates the Future: To offer the kind of flexible, on-demand IT environment corporate users expect, the company's top IT experts need to adopt proper management techniques and processes that help to anticipate and prepare for future demands.
4. Fosters Efficiency: Today's on-demand, service-defined IT departments are focused on delivering a wider array of services more quickly with a lower, very manageable op-ex price tag than they would be able to do by building and managing everything in house.
5. Verifies Security and Reliability: Always-on reliability and impenetrable security are givens today; nothing less will be accepted, which is why smart IT pros scrutinize every technology decision with these characteristics in mind.
6. Creates a Center of Excellence: A service-defined enterprise provides IT in the way its users want to consume it.  IT becomes an experience, and SLAs are used to spell out the expectations for that experience.  The service-defined enterprise creates a center of excellence by dispensing with second guessing; in doing so, it offers both business agility and velocity while continuing to provide security, availability and performance management.

• Find out how a converged infrastructure can be the first step in solving shadow IT: http://ow.ly/Myv1n.
• The next critical shift in IT is from technology-based to service-based thinking. Here are five things you need to know about the service-defined enterprise: http://ow.ly/MytSs.
• As technology evolves, so do the needs and expectations of those who use it. Learn more about the service-defined experience in this short video from Logicalis, then learn why every CEO wants to lead a service-defined enterprise and why the CIO needs to make it happen: http://ow.ly/Myu8a.

About Logicalis
Logicalis is an international IT solutions and managed services provider with a breadth of knowledge and expertise in communications and collaboration, data center and cloud services, and managed services.

Logicalis employs over 4,000 people worldwide, including highly trained service specialists who design, specify, deploy and manage complex IT infrastructures to meet the needs of almost 6,000 corporate and public sector customers.  To achieve this, Logicalis maintains strong partnerships with technology leaders such as Cisco, HP, IBM, EMC, NetApp, Microsoft, VMware and ServiceNow on an international basis and has specialized solutions for enterprise and medium-sized companies in vertical markets covering financial services, telecommunications, media and technology, education, healthcare, retail, government, manufacturing and professional services helping customers benefit from cutting-edge technologies in a cost-effective way.

The Logicalis Group has annualized revenues of over $1.5 billion from operations in Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific and is one of the leading IT and communications solution integrators specializing in the areas of advanced technologies and services.

The Logicalis Group is a division of Datatec Limited, listed on the Johannesburg and London AIM Stock Exchanges, with revenues of approximately $6 billion.

For more information, visit www.us.logicalis.com.

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To learn more about Logicalis activities through a variety of social media outlets, click here.

Media contacts:
Lisa Dreher, VP, Marketing & Business Development,
Logicalis US
[email protected]
425-201-8111
www.us.logicalis.com

Karen Franse, Communication Strategy Group for Logicalis US
[email protected]
866-997-2424
www.gocsg.com

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SOURCE Logicalis US

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