Day-to-day responsibility in Digital Infrastructure Management
Our survey reveals shared responsibilities across various departments in managing an organisation’s central platform, IT systems or digital infrastructure, highlighting collaborative efforts in day-to-day operations.
Key Insights
- IT Department/IT Services: Leading role (32.5%), central in core technological operations.
- Engineering/Development Team: Significant involvement (27.4%) in technical upkeep and innovation.
- DevOps Team: Contributes 12.8%, enhancing operational efficiency through integrated practices.
- Digital Transformation Office: 10.3% involvement is essential for strategic oversight.
- External Vendors/IT Support Services: 6.8%, highlighting external expertise in managing complex infrastructures.
Important Note: Percentages represent the proportion of times each role was selected, indicating shared responsibility across departments, emphasising the collaborative nature of managing digital infrastructure.
Recommendations by Maturity Stage
To achieve optimal digital infrastructure management, organisations must implement strategies that align with their level of digital maturity. This section offers tailored recommendations to strengthen core IT and engineering capabilities, foster cross-functional collaboration, and optimise external partnerships, ensuring a structured and progressive enhancement of digital infrastructure practices.
Strengthen Core IT and Engineering Capabilities
Emerging and Developing Stages
- Investment: Fund essential tools and basic training.
- People & Team: Build a foundational team with basic digital skills.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Implement essential digital tools.
- Process & Operations: Develop simple, standardised processes.
- Measurement & Reporting: Establish initial metrics to track progress.
Maturing and Advancing Stages:
- Investment: Increase funding for advanced tools and comprehensive training.
- People & Team: Expand and upskill teams.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Integrate advanced management tools.
- Process & Operations: Automate processes for efficiency
- Measurement & Reporting: Use advanced analytics to measure performance.
Leading Stage:
- Investment: Invest in pioneering tools and continuous development.
- People & Team: Foster a culture of innovation.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Implement state-of-the-art tools.
- Process & Operations: Explore new methodologies.
- Measurement & Reporting: Utilise sophisticated frameworks to optimise performance.
Foster Cross-Functional Collaboration
Emerging and Developing Stages
- Investment: Invest in basic collaboration tools and team-building.
- People & Team: Encourage communication and teamwork.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Use simple collaboration platforms.
- Process & Operations: Facilitate teamwork and information sharing.
- Measurement & Reporting: Track initial collaboration efforts.
Maturing and Advancing Stages:
- Investment: Fund advanced collaboration tools and regular team-building.
- People & Team: Foster a culture of collaboration.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Integrate advanced platforms.
- Process & Operations: Refine processes to enhance interactions.
- Measurement & Reporting: Measure the impact on project outcomes.
Leading Stage:
- Investment: Invest in innovative collaboration tools.
- People & Team: Foster continuous collaboration and innovation.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Innovate with state-of-the-art technologies.
- Process & Operations: Explore new collaborative models.
- Measurement & Reporting: Use sophisticated frameworks to optimise efforts.
Optimise External Partnerships
Emerging and Developing Stages
- Investment: Fund initial partnership efforts.
- People & Team: Develop a small team to manage partnerships.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Implement essential partner communication tools.
- Process & Operations: Develop simple processes for managing relationships.
- Measurement & Reporting: Track initial partnership impacts.
Maturing and Advancing Stages:
- Investment: Strengthen and expand partnerships.
- People & Team: Expand the partnership management team.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Integrate advanced tools for partner interactions.
- Process & Operations: Improve coordination and collaboration.
- Measurement & Reporting: Develop metrics to measure effectiveness.
Leading Stage:
- Investment: Invest in pioneering partnership strategies.
- People & Team: Foster strategic collaboration.
- Tooling & Interfaces: Innovate with advanced management technologies.
- Process & Operations: Explore new models for industry leadership.
- Measurement & Reporting: Use sophisticated frameworks to optimise partnerships.
Summary
This analysis highlights the importance of strengthening core IT and engineering capabilities, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and optimising external partnerships. By following the maturity model, organisations can enhance their digital infrastructure management practices and achieve greater operational efficiency.
Digital Infrastructure Challenges Across Industry Sectors
In our study of digital infrastructure challenges across various industry sectors, we employed a reversed ranking system where 1 represents the least challenging and 5 indicates the most difficult. This method assessed the severity of different challenges based on the question, 'Select and rank your organisation's top five digital infrastructure challenges.'
This approach enabled us to identify and prioritise the most pressing issues faced by industry leaders. We visualised the data using a heatmap, which provided a vivid depiction of the landscape of digital challenges by displaying the mean rankings for each.
Top Challenges by Industry Sector
ISVs
Independent software vendors (ISVs) need help with digital development, managing complex environments, auditing tools, and cloud costs. These challenges highlight the need for robust development strategies and effective cost management.
Fintech
Migration from legacy systems is the most pressing challenge for Fintech companies, followed by security compliance and roadmapping priorities. These issues highlight the sector's focus on modernising infrastructure while maintaining strategic planning.
Insurtech
Managing complex environments, digital development, and cloud costs are Insurtech's primary concerns, indicating a need for scalable solutions and cost-effective cloud management strategies.
Telecommunications (Telco)
Security compliance tops the list of challenges for the Telco sector, followed by sustained investment and managing complex environments. These challenges underscore the importance of continuous investment in security measures and effective management strategies.
Leisure
The leisure industry faces the most significant challenge in measuring digital ROI, with roadmapping priorities and security compliance also being critical issues. This sector needs to focus on strategic planning and robust security practices.
Edtech
The top challenges for the Edtech sector are migrating from legacy systems, securing sustained investment, security compliance, and digital development, indicating a need for comprehensive investment and security strategies.
Healthtech
Healthtech prioritises security compliance as its main challenge, followed by digital development and cloud costs. Migration from legacy systems and managing complex environments are vital concerns, highlighting the need for secure and scalable solutions.
Consumer Goods/Services
Security compliance, migration from legacy systems, and digital development are the most significant challenges for the goods and services sector. Effective cloud cost management and handling complex environments are critical for this sector.
Other Sectors
Migration from legacy systems, digital development, cloud costs, and security compliance are the primary challenges across different sectors. Onboarding training and auditing tools are also notable challenges, indicating robust training programmes and governance frameworks are needed.
Key Takeaways
The analysis of digital infrastructure challenges across various industry sectors reveals several critical insights:
Migration from Legacy Systems: This is a predominant challenge, especially in sectors like Fintech, Edtech, and the "Other" category, highlighting the need for modernisation and the difficulties associated with transitioning from outdated systems.
- Security Compliance: Almost universally, industries like Healthtech, Telco, and Goods/Services identify security compliance as a top concern, underscoring the importance of robust security measures and regulation adherence in a digital age.
- Managing Complex Environments: Sectors such as Insurtech and ISVs struggle significantly with managing complex environments, indicating the complexity and interconnectivity of modern digital infrastructures.
- Digital Development and Delivery: Accelerating digital development is a significant challenge for ISVs and Insurtech, pointing to the pressure on these industries to innovate and deliver digital solutions quickly.
- Sustained Investment: Telco and Edtech sectors highlight securing sustained investment as a critical challenge, reflecting the ongoing need for financial resources to support digital infrastructure initiatives.
These key takeaways illustrate the diverse yet overlapping challenges different industries face, providing a roadmap for prioritising solutions and investments to address these critical areas.