Business Technology Roundtable

Three years ago, ChatGPT's launch sparked a wave of excitement that swept through corporate boardrooms. Executives marveled at the AI tool's potential while simultaneously wrestling with questions about practical application, return on investment, and workforce implications. Fast forward to today, and the picture has transformed dramatically. According to Wharton's latest research tracking enterprise Generative AI (GenAI) adoption, we're witnessing not just incremental progress but a fundamental shift in how businesses integrate artificial intelligence into their core operations. The numbers tell a compelling story of maturation and desired business outcomes. Daily GenAI usage among enterprise decision-makers has surged to 46 percent — that's a 17-percentage-point leap year-over-year — while 82 percent now engage with these tools at least weekly. This isn't casual experimentation; this is mainstream adoption. What began as fascinated tinkering has evolved into ...

The democratization of artificial intelligence (AI) has created an unprecedented opportunity. Are you prepared to skillfully apply this digital transformation catalyst? While enterprises invest millions in proprietary information technology (IT) solutions, readily available free Generative AI (GenAI) tools now match or exceed many corporate capabilities — enabling dramatic productivity gains across functional groups and business units. The strategic advantage lies not just in the tools, but in their skilled application. Experienced practitioners can rapidly deploy these technologies within appropriate risk boundaries, neither compromising intellectual property nor exposing proprietary content. This combination of powerful capabilities and pragmatic governance creates immediate value without traditional enterprise IT constraints. It presents a strategic imperative for executive decision-makers. The Business Technology Landscape The artificial intelligence technology market has evolved ...

What are the best practices for deploying managed cloud services? Case studies have now confirmed that cloud services can be a better, faster, less expensive and less risky way to source Information and Communications Technology (ICT) solutions, according to the latest market study by Ovum. Results from recent research conducted by Ovum details the experiences of five public sector organizations that have successfully deployed cloud services -- either with Infrastructure-as-Service (IaaS), Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) or Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS). Highlighting the known benefits and the catalysts that empower organizations to embrace the cloud service delivery model, Ovum says they have developed a framework to assist government agencies in understanding the organizational factors associated with early adoption of managed cloud services . Moving Beyond Analysis Paralysis "Cloud services have long been debated across the globe, but it is now time to stop discussing theor...

The proof-positive business impact from managed cloud services deployment, including the numerous associated productivity benefits and anticipated cost-savings, have pushed cloud computing well into the mainstream during 2011. As we move into 2012, International Data Corporation ( IDC ) predicts that this evolution will continue as more users test the growing capabilities of the public cloud services that are already available. However, by 2015, IDC envisions a very different scenario -- one where cloud services will become commonplace, thereby forcing significant changes in the ongoing adoption of progressive business technology practices throughout legacy IT organizations. "In the next 24 months, the 'cloud' as a marketing label will cease to exist, as the success of cloud services will mean that it will permeate the sourcing strategies of the CIO and business unit manager alike," says Chris Morris, Lead Analyst for Cloud Services at IDC Asia/Pacific. He ad...

Adoption of cloud computing services continues to accelerate as organizations move from limited deployments to comprehensive solutions, according to the latest market study by CompTIA, the non-profit trade association for the information technology (IT) industry. More than half (56 percent) of the organizations surveyed for the CompTIA study said their investment in cloud computing will increase by 10 percent or more over the next 12 months. “This additional investment will likely be accompanied by greater complexity in the overall cloud strategy, such as moving to a hybrid cloud model or adopting more advanced services beyond Software as a Service (SaaS),” said Seth Robinson, director, technology analysis, CompTIA. ”Organizations may begin exploring options such as Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS), which will allow them to experiment with custom application development.” IT departments are often a key driver behind the transition to ...

The anticipated benefits from adopting managed cloud services have reached the executives suites of many corporations. Proactive CEOs and CFOs are pushing their IT leadership team to seek out actionable information and guidance. There's also a constant stream of service providers announcing new offerings -- and the momentum is becoming a global phenomenon. As a result, Forrester Research has witnessed an expanding number of client inquiries around cloud computing. The acceleration in market development has been building for some time now. Forrester analysts responded to more than 264 client inquiries about cloud computing between January 2008 and April 1, 2009 from companies of all sizes and industries. IT Teams are Adopting Cloud Strategies Once considered a niche business technology where awareness was viewed as optional, Forrester now says that knowledge of cloud computing has become an IT organization necessity. Interest is fueled by expectations of major cost savings, scalab...

Here are the final three questions from our ten-point Q&A that's designed to help guide your procurement process. Part 1 included the first three managed and hosting service buyer's guide questions and Part 2 had the next four questions. 8. What are the type and scope of management capabilities that you routinely offer? Request a list of capabilities and associated benefits, relative to your needs. Historical reporting is essential, forward-looking insight is valuable. Examples of typical basic management tools include a service desk and management of various activities including assets, configuration, fault, change, release/update, performance, capacity reporting and planning, and trend reporting with recommendations. 9. If required, how will you support existing or acquired IT/networking infrastructure? Service providers may have policies that limit the device types they support. In addition, some providers only support devices they install and configure. If you are lik...

The following are questions four through seven of a ten-point Q&A designed to help guide your managed or hosted service procurement process. Here are the first three buyer questions and service provider answers . 4. What is the depth and breadth of your current managed service portfolio? A service migration path provides the means to adapt to your growth needs. Service providers that are specialists may offer services through their partners. It helps to have a forward-looking view of your needs when selecting a service provider. Sometimes a specialist is preferable to a multi-service provider. Otherwise, try to anticipate future service requirements, and consider giving preference to a provider with those combined skills. 5. How can I be sure you will apply the best people, processes, and tools? Is your company certified by a leading vendor, and are your offerings delivered using industry-leading technologies to meet the highest quality of service? Service providers have data on ho...

The process of researching, reviewing and selecting a managed or hosted service provider can be a daunting task for those business and technology decision makers that have never performed this task before. Like any other process, there are some best practices. The following candid questions will help you determine if a provider of managed services can meet and exceed your expectations. Also included are examples of specific details that you should seek. How do you select a best-fit service provider? Ask all the right questions. Where do you start the selection process? Focus primarily on how the service offered will help to solve problems or create new opportunities -- not merely what it does (its features and functions). 1. Are you prepared to offer only the features and functions that my business needs, instead of the ones that you include in your one-size-fits-all service bundle? Ask for a list of all the "standard" items included in the base bundle. Request details of all...

I received an email the other day congratulating me on a column I wrote for NetworkWorld nearly three years ago entitled, "Why Managed Services Fail." The 'shelf-life' of web content always amazes me, but it is gratifying to have people stumble across my past writings and still find them timely. What struck me as I revisited this 2005 column was how many of my points were still true, "...Almost every supplier and service provider I talk to admits that selling managed services has been harder than expected." "The first problem these managed service providers face is packaging." "The second issue is pricing." "The third challenge is positioning these services properly." "But the biggest obstacle to selling managed services is poor sales skills." Sound familiar? Although industry research clearly shows that customers are becoming more receptive towards managed services and the economy is even driving an increasing numbe...

Are you puzzled about how to choose the best-fit managed service solution for your particular business needs? As a basic guide, the following are three typical high-level scenarios for deploying managed network services . Scenario 1: Customer Owns Network and Shares Management Responsibility Companies that already have an internal IP network can continue to manage it while out-tasking the management of onsite equipment -- usually known as customer-premises equipment (CPE), used for the managed service (see Figure 1). The Roles and Responsibilities are as follows: Managed service provider -- Sets up, maintains, and administers the equipment needed for the managed service, including company-owned equipment such as servers. Company -- Managed service customer maintains and administers its internal network. Scenario 2: Service Provider Owns the CPE; Customer Can Share Equipment Management with Service Provider Some companies do not own a LAN, either because the location is new or the compa...

I was interviewed today by a journalist from one of the CIO-oriented pubs who surprised me by asking a series of questions which came back to many of the same fundamental misconceptions about Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) which I thought I had dispelled in a BusinessWeek commentary I published in 2006. The first misconception the journalist had was that SaaS solutions are not robust enough to satisfy large-scale enterprises, as well as small- and mid-size businesses (SMBs). I pointed out to him that large-scale enterprises have been leveraging SaaS solutions for a long time, but have only recently begun to talk about their successful experiences. One of the most recent announcements of a major deployment of SaaS by a large-scale enterprises was by Flextronics who is adopting Workday's on-demand human resource management (HRM) solution to support its 200,000 employees. Real Total Cost of Ownership The second misconception the journalist revealed was the old "buy vs. lease...

Managed services, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and 'cloud computing' are gaining increasing attention in the press and among IT and business decision-makers because they promise to alleviate many of the day-to-day hassles of deploying and administering technology and applications. While these new forms of remote and web-based services have demonstrated many tangible business benefits, they have also disrupted the traditional value-chain of the technology industry. Traditionally, technology vendors relied on channel partners to extend their reach into market segments they couldn't address either by offering lower costs of sales or by delivering more customized solutions. Often the channel partner also took on the role of pre-sales consultant and on-site support provider. This model worked well when customers needed help with the initial planning and design, as well as the installation, integration and ongoing maintenance of the hardware and software. And, customers needed p...

With more and more managed service providers (MSPs) entering the market, your choices are expanding. If you choose the wrong one, however, you might wind up with more challenges than benefits. How do you know? According to Matt Cowall at Appia Communications , it’s often as simple as asking. In part one of this post , we covered three of the top five questions to ask a managed service provider: How long has an MSP been in business? What kind of support does the MSP offer? And what kind of redundancy does the MSP offer? Today we’ll cover the remaining two questions that Matt recommends you ask, and they’re arguably the two most important: What quality of service does the MSP provide? This is probably the most important question, of course. You’ll learn quite a bit about an MSP’s service quality when you check its references. Be sure to ask what happens when there are issues. Does the MSP respond quickly and take ownership of the problem? Another key indicator is the MSP’s service level ...

The benefits of outsourcing make a simple and strong case, and more organizations are choosing to do so. As a natural result, more and more companies are entering the managed services provider (MSP) market. According to Matt Cowall at Appia Communications , some of them are well-qualified; others are simply trying to take advantage of a market opportunity. Price is important, but it's not the only consideration, and the benefits of using an MSP can quickly evaporate if you choose the wrong one. Matt recommends five key questions to ask before selecting an MSP. We'll discuss three of them today. How long has an MSP been in business? As in any business, there's an art and science to offering managed services. One obvious way to separate the experienced MSPs from the wannabes is to ask how long they've been in business. If they've been operational for some time, they probably will have already addressed any service delivery issues they may have experienced in the begin...