Big data technology has been a huge gamechanger for countless companies in every sector. Around 60% of companies rely heavily on data analytics technology to meet their goals.
However, despite, the many benefits of big data technology, many companies still have difficulty implementing it properly. Only 13% of companies that have instituted data strategies are delivering on them.
There are a number of reasons that companies have difficulty meeting their objectives with big data. One of the biggest issues is that they don’t manage their IT infrastructure properly. This can lead to a number of problems, such as data storage issues.
IT Infrastructure Issues Are a Major Source of Problems for Data-Driven Companies
Your business relies heavily on its information technology, and its IT lives and dies by the maintenance of its infrastructure. If you and your IT team improperly manage your business’s IT infrastructure, you will suffer unbearable amounts of downtime that will cut deep wounds in your budget and potentially cause your business to fail.
The first step to setting your IT infrastructure up for success is to understand some of the most significant challenges affecting infrastructure management that can impact your data strategy. You can read about those here, so you can make important changes that keep your business alive and well:
Network Access
It should go without saying that high-speed internet is essential for smooth operations — and yet, many companies continue to struggle with weak internet connections for a variety of reasons. In any environment, it is possible to achieve fast internet speeds, and an experienced team of IT professionals can help your business achieve and maintain a fast and efficient connection to the internet.
Data Management
Many businesses run on TCP/IT networks, which utilize routers and switches to protect emails, apps, internet browsing and more. Unfortunately, these components can radically reduce network speeds, negatively impacting workflows and making online communication difficult. Worse, when poorly managed, these networks can lose packets of information, and substantial data loss is dangerous to an organization in dozens of ways. A secure IT infrastructure needs to upgrade its networks to the latest high-speed, high-security options.
Workforce Retention
It may sound facile, but your workforce is the most valuable resource you have for maintaining a secure and efficient IT infrastructure. Without knowledgeable and skilled IT staff who have a deep and thorough understanding of your infrastructure, your infrastructure is likely to suffer in various ways. Therefore, you must make it a priority to attract top IT talent and retain it. You may need to reconsider how you approach IT recruitment and create systems for rewarding and empowering existing staff to ensure they feel engaged and excited to contribute to your company into the future.
Hardware Age
Computers and other devices have estimated lifetimes of between three and five years. This is not necessarily because devices break down so severely after this relatively short period of time but more often because the new hardware available on the market is so much more advanced and offers compelling advantages like speed and power that can enhance productivity. However, replacing an entire organization’s hardware every few years is a monumental endeavor that is expensive and time-consuming. It might be more efficient for IT to focus on repairing hardware as necessary and only replacing hardware that is supremely out of date.
Workforce Mobility
Even before the pandemic, many businesses were moving toward increased mobility of their workforce, with more and more mobile devices added to business networks. Today, in addition to workforce mobility, more than 16 percent of companies have to contend with a fully remote workforce, which offers a tremendous challenge to IT staff tasked with maintaining integrity and cohesion in an infrastructure. IT needs to be able to develop strong policies for the types of devices and applications permitted on the network and carefully controlled strategies for securing all manner of devices and data.
Cloud Computing
Almost every business utilizes the cloud to some degree, but rarely is cloud usage straightforward. More often, cloud computing involves a diverse environment of public and private clouds as well as on-site data storage to accommodate all business needs. IT teams should work with business leaders to manage their existing cloud systems effectively, which may involve finding solutions for consolidating and simplifying the cloud to enhance its security.
Capital Investment
You must strike a careful balance in how much capital you invest into your IT infrastructure. Too much funding could overwhelm your IT team and overcomplicate your IT infrastructure, resulting in more technology than your business needs. Then again, not enough capital will force your IT team to cut corners that will inevitably result in inefficiencies and insecurities that will hamper your business growth. You need to ensure that you have IT leaders that you trust, and you may want to welcome IT into upper management with positions in the c-suite such as CTO, CIO, CSO and CISO.
As tempting as it might be to imagine IT infrastructure as a one-and-done project — something your IT staff can construct and forget — the truth is that infrastructure requires careful and continuous maintenance. By paying attention to some of the most pressing IT infrastructure problems, you can keep your business’s technology up and running for years to come.
Data-Driven Companies Need to Make it a Priority to Manage their IT Infrastructure
There are a number of challenges that you need to contend with when you are trying to run a data-driven organization. You will need to implement the right IT management practices to handle data effectively. Fortunately, you will have an easier time if you are willing to follow the guidelines listed above.