Despite intent, cos not geared to adopt new technologies, says IBM study

Only a third of 750 participants say they are prepared to adopt new technologies like SMAC

New technologies like cloud, social media, data analytics and mobility may have created a loud buzz among businesses, but several organisations globally are still far from being prepared to implement these and derive full benefits.

A study conducted by IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV) along with Oxford Economics has shown that only one-third of the of 750 participants believe that the information technology (IT) infrastructure in their organisations are prepared to address these new trends, and less than 10 per cent of these said they are "fully prepared", meaning they have clarity in terms of how to undertake the adoption of new technologies.

The study, titled The IT Infrastructure Conversation, included enterprises across geographies, including one-thirds in emerging markets like Asia. The survey covered companies between $500 million to over $10 billion in size.

"There is absolutely no ambiguity with enterprises now about their need to transform themselves. It is no longer a debate about whether these technologies are relevant to them or not. Every customer that we talk to today has it as the top of their priority as to how to undertake that journey. But despite all the right intent, the real issue, I think, is their readiness to take this journey," said Ajay Mittal, director-systems and technology group at IBM India and South Asia. "The mismatch between the need to implement these new technologies and the preparedness to do so is very significant."

While social, media, analytics and cloud (referred to as SMAC) are being looked at by companies across industry sectors, several experts have said that these cannot be implemented without each company understanding how it needs to be used. Additionally, in several cases, there is a need to modify traditional and legacy infrastructure to effectively use SMAC.

IBM's study also said that the increased interest in SMAC has led to a shift in the 'content, participants and tone' of the discussion for infrastructure contracts with clients.

"Today's conversations about IT infrastructure are changing. Specifically, the content is changing. Traditional issues of computing speed and reliability remain important. However, the continued advancements and integration of cloud technology, mobile devices, social media and business analytics are significantly reshaping the discussion," the survey said. "The participants in IT conversations are also changing. No longer is the discussion solely among IT architects and data center leaders. More and more, the business is taking a closer look at IT infrastructure - and whether it is able to keep up with a continuously changing and increasingly complex business environment."