Many companies still store and manage data on-premises servers to ensure the fast access speed and meet the essential compliance regulations for data storage systems. — Photo courtesy of Schneider Electric

Digital transformation forces many businesses to take advantage of the strength of cloud computing, moving infrastructure to the platforms of service providers.

According to the Annual report on business transformation in 2022 published by the Department of Business Development under the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in February 2023, only 36.7 per cent of businesses have a budget to cover their digital transformation expenses, while 43.3 per cent of businesses have a budget for investments but are unable to cover the costs.

Many companies still store and manage data on-premises servers to ensure the fast access speed and meet the essential compliance regulations for data storage systems. Moreover, there are many businesses that are outsourcing hybrid IT management services due to the shortage of human resources. The above factors make IT systems more complex, both distributed and integrated. Therefore, Chief Information Officers (CIOs) are facing more and more challenges in fighting these complexities in IT systems.

To address hybrid IT management challenges as well as lessen the CIO’s pressure, Schneider Electric, the leader in digital transformation of energy management and automation, has released White Paper 281, "How Modern DCIM Addresses CIO Management Challenges within Distributed, Hybrid IT Environments” and a supporting TradeOff Tool, both available for immediate use.

The new White Paper focuses on Data Centre Infrastructure Management (DCIM) software and takes a close look at the rapidly-changing role of the CIO as IT has taken centre stage in the past few years. The document demonstrates how the success of a CIO is ultimately rooted in a solid foundation of maintaining resilient, secure, and sustainable IT operations.

In an environment of highly distributed hybrid IT, this goal becomes harder to accomplish. This document is regarded as a lifeline for people working in the IT industry, particularly in the context of limiting the availability of free reference materials while still preserving high standards of reliability and research in Viet Nam.

“Business requirements are forcing CIOs to hybridise their data center and IT portfolio architecture by placing IT capacity in colocation facilities and building out capacity at the local edge – sometimes in a big way,” said author Patrick Donovan, Senior Research Analyst at Schneider Electric’s Energy Management Research Center.

“CIOs have always been tasked with managing and maintaining resilient and secure operations, but generally have been focused on core data center sites. Now, on top of having many more distributed sites needing resiliency and security, they are also being asked to report on the sustainability of their IT operations. This marks real sea changes in terms of their responsibilities.” — VNS