Here’s how regional firms can improve tech operations despite reduced budgets

Organisations across the GCC have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in different ways. Even as regional economies have reopened, companies are still trying to figure the best way to balance economic considerations with the health and safety protocols.

“When we used to talk about digital transformation, we usually talked about it in terms of growth and of extending the ways in which we interacted with our customers, business partners and employees,” explains Vijay Babber, senior channel manager, Middle East and Africa at Gigamon.

“We also imagined that it would be a planned, medium to long term process where we had the time to assemble the expertise and tools we needed. However, what we’ve learned in the last few months, is that digital transformation isn’t necessarily a planned process, it is a process that has been forced upon us by unforeseen circumstances and it is an adapt now or die process for many organisations.”

With the Covid-19 pandemic pushing many companies to switch suddenly to remote working, it has created new challenges on the IT infrastructure.

“IT teams have been put under huge pressure to scale up their remote technologies, networks and digital infrastructure. And this sudden change resulted in communication infrastructures that serve employees coming under new and significant constraints as the communication suddenly needed to traverse external networks. Quite simply, the scale, performance and security that was never built to serve this ‘new world’,” says Babber.

“This pandemic hit every organisation by surprise and no CEO ever saw this coming. Those who were in the phase of planning their digital transformation strategy, probably over the next few years, had to suddenly re-strategise for it to happen in a few weeks. It may sound like an exaggeration, but it really was the case,” he adds.

However, the pandemic has also adversely impacted global economies, with businesses reeling from the impact of lockdowns worldwide. Many regional companies have been forced to furlough employees or layoff staff and trim their cost structures as they cope with dropping revenues.

In such a situation, many companies are reluctant or unable to invest on technology right now. So how can they manage?

“The key word that springs to mind is “optimise”. You can work with reduced budgets to do more for less. Organisations need to optimise their existing vendor tools to achieve business continuity and operational efficiency,” explains Babber.

He provides four suggestions –

* Optimise visibility to prioritise critical network traffic and filter safe, low-risk, or irrelevant traffic

* Decrease appliance and server demands to increase efficiency and reduce complexity

* Improve team efficiency and focus on limited team resources

* Lower infrastructure management costs and drive positive ROI

To understand more on what organisations should do to respond to the evolving situation that Covid-19 has brought about and how they can prepare for whatever comes next, join us for a special webinar with tech experts Gigamon and Riverbed.

They provide context on creating and implementing the right digital transformation strategy, and on saving time and money while doing it.

Date: Monday | July 6, 2020

Time: 11.00 Gulf Standard Time

Register here