Expand from Network Security to Cloud Security
Learn how to expand from on-prem network security to cloud security with these best practices and resources.
Beyond Hybrid IT: Get Your IT to Where It Needs to Be
If only meeting any IT need or overcoming any IT challenge was an easy as pulling a solution off the shelf. Life would be so much easier. Unfortunately, neither IT or the business world work that way.
There are investments in legacy systems that can’t just be written off. There are applications written specifically for those legacy systems that aren’t ready to be discontinued.
Then there are those applications that require far more than legacy systems can deliver, as well as those initiatives that can’t get off the ground until more leading-edge technologies can be supported. That’s not to mention those projects that may never see the light of day simply because there are insufficient in-house IT resources to power them.
That’s why, in part, that hybrid IT has become so popular. It’s a strategy that doesn’t rely on a single solution but allows for mixing the variety of solutions required to meet a company’s diverse, often changing IT and business needs.
The problem with many hybrid IT strategies, however, is that they really are just a collection of disparate solutions. Each solution may fulfill a specific need, but the solutions don’t work together and there’s no plan for them to do so. There’s also no plan for phasing some out and ramping others up as needs change. It’s not exactly a cost-efficient approach to IT.
The Value of a Technology Assessment
By taking the time to review your IT resources and practices and how they support your short- and long-term business and technology objectives, you can get a better understanding of what is really needed. That’s what makes technology assessments so valuable. They enable you to get a read on the state of your IT infrastructure and services, so you can better understand what you have and what you need to get you where you need to be.
Technology assessments vary based on the vendor conducting them, but most draw on industry best practices, business insights, technology trends, and other information to help establish a baseline for your IT processes. From there, a technology audit or other follow-up exercise can be conducted to delve more deeply into how well your IT service portfolio supports your company’s current and future goals and lay the groundwork for the next steps.
In many cases, a hybrid IT strategy will make the most sense. But the more important result coming from these exercises—or that should come from them—is the roadmap for implementing that strategy. Many companies stumble at this point because they can’t segue from one IT solution to the next as needed. Often, they’re held back due to issues regarding current investments or vendor lock-in.
The Benefits of Portability
One of the advantages of working with US Signal is that it not only can conduct the technology assessment and create the strategic roadmap. It can also help phase in the overall solution by offering “solution portability.”
For example, say colocation makes the most sense for your company’s current needs but moving to the cloud is desired in the near future. US Signal can provide the colocation services now and then help you migrate workloads over to the appropriate cloud environment when needed, transferring any contracts or costs with it.
US Signal understands the need for agility—and for flexibility. A hybrid IT solution, or any other solution for that matter, will only be beneficial if it can easily and cost efficiently adapt or change to accommodate evolving or new needs.
Schedule an Assessment Now
Get your IT to where it needs to be. Call 866.2. SIGNAL or email [email protected]. A US Signal solution architect will be happy to talk to you about technology assessments and other services that can help you make sure your IT services can meet your current and future needs.
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