IT must adapt to dramatic shifts in the enterprise apps market

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: IT executives must change their approach to enterprise applications if they are to take advantage of dramatic shifts in the market and prevent them from being disruptive, according to Ovum.

In a new report, the independent technology analyst claims that IT professionals must adapt their applications strategy to take into account the rapid changes currently under way or they will find themselves at a disadvantage.

Carter Lusher, Ovum chief analyst and author of the report, commented: “The enterprise applications market is changing fast due to disruptive new technologies and aggressive new players. IT cannot continue with ‘business as usual’ as the tried and tested IT planning methods are no longer adequate. A change in approach is needed to allow IT to exploit the opportunities offered by this complex new system and ensure it is not disruptive to the organisation.”

According to the report, the enterprise applications market was once thought to be a graveyard for innovation, but it is quickly changing to a powerful environment that leverages new technologies to deliver business benefits.

Lusher believes that to navigate this complex and ever-changing landscape, IT executives should take an “ecosystem” approach and treat applications and their vendors as an interlinked community as opposed to stand-alone products.

Lusher continued: “There are several business benefits to taking this approach, such as improved vendor relationship management and governance and leveraged economies of scale. But just as important as the business value is the fact that is highly likely that there will come a point when IT will not have a choice as vendors move towards launching a unified platform running an integrated suite of applications. If IT is not ahead of vendors in terms of understanding ecosystems then it is the vendors who will have a negotiating advantage.”

The report advises IT professionals to audit their existing applications strategy, infrastructure and installed software to identify where there are potential opportunities for development and where there are risks. They should then plan a strategy, starting from the very bottom and covering everything, which takes account of new technologies and services, as well as disrupters and issues.