Miles Jennings - Blog

IT Professionals Adopt New Attitude Toward Tech - Miles Jennings

Written by Miles Jennings | Dec 11, 2013 9:35:32 AM

Professionals in the information technology field are no strangers to the dynamic nature of their work. Even though innovation is constantly causing this industry to evolve, those holding tech-related positions still come across a number of challenges in acclimating to emerging solutions.Most recently, some of the most significant IT trends appear to be presenting exceptionally difficult hurdles for chief information officers and their staff members to surpass. In particular, tech professionals are finding it hard to incorporate elements like big data and mobile solutions into their companies’ functions, adjusting all of their operations accordingly.Tech trends demand more thinkingBy and large, these tech advancements posed more of a problem for IT executives because they require more thought in order to implement them properly. CIO Magazine explained that these developments are not just technological hardware that professionals can purchase, nor are they simply computer programs that CIOs can download and start using in the same day.Instead, the most recent wave of tech capabilities are more conceptual. They challenge the way in which IT executives and their personnel view technology, in addition to the manner in which they use it. For this reason, professionals have had to overhaul not only their infrastructure, but also their entire mentality when it comes to employing IT as a business resource.CIOs have grown accustomed to only looking internally when they are hoping to integrate IT solutions into their operations. However, technologies like big data analytics now require them to shift their view so that they base their functions off of external factors.The source highlighted the fact that analytics are most helpful to businesses and their tech departments when they are used to investigate consumer behavior.Shifting perspectives on ITIt is logical for companies to examine their own methods of conducting business from an inward facing perspective, as it may reveal certain aspects that are impeding their abilities to perform efficiently. That said, analytics conducted on consumer data could be even more useful in pinpointing the areas organizations should address to grow their businesses.IT professionals should compile information about the public, examining everything from its purchasing preferences and how it usually interacts with the market to its current economic conditions. After performing tests and dissecting this data with the use of technological tools, CIOs and their staff members may have a clearer picture in terms of the current consumer climate. With this in mind, companies can then make modifications to their business models, catering to customer trends so that they maximize their economic impact.On top of this, tech executives should take into account that accurate analytics actually affects the adoption of other IT innovations. According to Forbes, CIOs planning on implementing mobile capabilities throughout their operations in an effective manner have to refine their analytics.Make mobile work for youSure, there is a whole slew of generic mobile applications that companies can choose to use. However, if IT professionals want to incorporate solutions that will truly benefit their businesses to the utmost degree, they are going to have to get a bit more personal. Only by designing or developing their own applications can companies ensure that they are profiting from increased mobility.”The expectation for mobile should be transformation, not just 10 to 15 percent savings,” Chris Clark, president of mobile solutions company Fiberlink, explained to Forbes. “Increasing the mobile GDP, meaning fully realizing business impact of mobile, has the potential to be the biggest transformative event for most companies I’ve seen since the arrival of the Internet.”For this reason, CIOs must view the effects of mobile app implementation as more than just the potential to give their companies a temporary boost to isolated areas of their operations. On the contrary, these solutions should be considered tools used to overhaul their businesses as a whole.To accomplish this, IT professionals should first uncover all of the minute details pertaining to their operations. By subjecting their organizations to analytics and tests, they can identify precise problem areas in need of improvement. From there, CIOs can create and incorporate customized mobile applications that address their companies’ specific demands so that they can revolutionize how they do business in general.