The rapid evolution of technology has ushered in a new era filled with potential, yet also packed with challenges. In order to shed light on the trends and opportunities, my co-author Andrew Marsh from Platform 3 Solutions and I compiled insights from over four years of research and 100,000 participants. The results, which we highlight in our whitepaper, show how corporate technology is changing, its profound impact on businesses, and the strategies corporations are employing to maintain a competitive edge.
Here are some of noteworthy highlights from our Fourth Annual State of Corporate Technology white paper:
- Embracing Tech Advancements: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, IoT, blockchain, cloud computing, and augmented reality have reshaped the landscape of corporate technology, driving profound changes, opportunities and challenges. These technological strides have put the corporate sector at the crossroads of innovation.
- Navigating the Data Deluge: Data is often called the new oil. Like oil, the challenge lies in refining, harnessing, and processing the data to unlock the value and yield the desired outcomes.
- Optimizing Efficiency and Costs: Baseline technology continually offers improved performance and capacity at reduced costs. However, the growing complexity of tasks, expanding workforces, and escalating data volumes can make it difficult for organizations to increase efficiency.
- Ensuring Data Security and Privacy: The increasing reliance on technology raises concerns about data security and privacy. In the white paper, we assess the state of data security in corporate settings and emphasize the critical role of robust cybersecurity measures.
- Cultivating Workforce Success: As technology and data move forward, being successful requires cultivating an environment where employees can keep pace with evolving demands.
- Open Source: Beyond Cost Considerations: The shift toward open-source technology is driven not only by cost savings (63%) but also by factors such as innovation (60%) and improved terms and conditions (59%). Open-source technologies like Postgres have experienced substantial growth in their popularity.
- Embracing a “Cloud-First” Perspective: A significant majority of organizations are embracing a cloud-first perspective in their future projects, with Azure emerging as the preferred cloud platform, followed by Amazon (36%) and Google Cloud Platform (16%).
- Vendor Relationships Under Scrutiny: Vendor relationships are central to technology adoption. Oracle is the main vendor that organizations seek to reduce spending with, and SAP and IBM have seen substantial increases in this regard.
- Data Retirement Strategies: Surprisingly, approximately one-third of organizations overlook the critical aspect of data retirement when migrating to the cloud. This oversight results in inefficiencies and increased costs, underscoring the importance of a well-thought-out cloud migration strategy.
Explore more trends and observations
Next steps for leveraging technological advancements
Our research shows there are a number of things organizations should keep in mind to ensure successful data and technology migrations:
- Conduct a thorough assessment and inventory of your current technology stack: Determine what should be retained, what can be migrated (e.g., from Oracle to Postgres), and what can be retired.
- Focus on data cleanup during cloud migration: Consider removing outdated, unnecessary, and low-value data as part of the re-platforming process.
- Facilitate smoother transitions with appropriate tools: Opt for a new platform that minimizes risks during database migrations to ensure a successful shift.
- Leverage third-party expertise: While the cloud offers numerous benefits, platform vendors might not always disclose potential areas of overspending. Collaborate with third-party partners to identify instances of over-provisioning and optimize your cloud spending.
Above all, we’ve found that maintaining a competitive edge requires adapting to evolving technology trends, optimizing data strategies, and carefully considering your cloud adoption and migration approaches. To learn more about the steps you can take to future-proof your business and make a seamless transition from Oracle or other legacy system to open source Postgres on any cloud, just reach out to EDB.