Will Polly and Bob be able to save GigaFood from certain doom?
The cloud enters the picture
The gap between business and IT seemed well-nigh insurmountable in our last episode. IT Manager Bob Fasthack and Sales Director Polly Perfect were just shy of getting into a knock-down, drag-out fight. ‘Come on, not every single IT modification needs to be done manually, does it?’ Polly cried out. ‘Just let that sales broad whine,’ Bob was thinking to himself. ‘I would be happy if all the printers finally start working, and my Alka-Seltzer does too!’
Before the situation really explodes, business and IT find common ground. How? Read more in this next episode.
A company activity: will that bring about the turnaround? During the annual company kick-off, Polly and Bob run into each other at the bar. It’s no surprise that their chit-chat rapidly deteriorates into a debate about the troubles on the workfloor. ‘Can’t you outsource some parts of IT to an external party?’ Polly proposes. ‘So you can finally start managing the IT environment instead of frantically mopping up after things go wrong?’ Bob takes a deep breath and bites back his initial reaction. ‘Easier said than done, lady. We also have other considerations, like compliance, security and integrity of our business data,’ Bob retorts.
Bob tries to make it clear to Polly that he is tied hand and foot. That it is actually their data center that calls the shots, not he himself. ‘Take our customers’ personal data, for instance,’ Bob explains. ‘We cannot just transfer it to some random data center run by an external cloud supplier. Where is that data center located? Is our data properly protected there? We also need to be able to prove it to the authorities. So before we start transferring our systems into the cloud, we first need to carefully consider security and compliance.’
Well, Polly had never really considered things from that angle. ‘Poor old Bob really means well. But he actually has no time to spare to start any new projects. Meanwhile, the competition does have integrated applications to keep track of orders, not to mention fancy web shops. And my sales team is delighted if we can just keep all the printers and administrative systems up and running! So how can we solve this? And preferably before we completely lose out to our competition?’
Bob also realizes that something needs to change before it is too late. Polly and her team are bringing in the money. What if they are no longer able to keep generating sales because IT has become the obstacle? ‘I need to find some way to ensure that Polly does get the IT tools she needs in order to do her job and generate revenue – or our company might go belly-up. Perhaps outsourcing commodity IT might give me the time I need to focus on core applications that are crucial for our business?’
Bob and Polly both reach the conclusion that they need to get help fast. Help from a reliable IT service provider which will provide GigaFood with some much-needed breathing room, while allowing the company to keep control of their data and applications. Will Polly and Bob save GigaFood from certain doom? Tune in for the next episode to find out!
And if you can´t wait for the next episode and want to start now transforming your business in a hybrid IT environment, register for BusinessConnect and read IBM´s Hybrid Cloud for Dummies ebook.