Intelligent CXO Issue 07 | Page 15

TECH TRENDS measurable business outcomes , making EAs key collaborators for CIOs in driving data-driven decision making .
Spiralling technology costs and increasing complexity
As we move to a more interconnected and complex environment , the demand for suitable technologies is increasing – this is so much so that an average enterprise pays for approximately 1,516 applications .
With a shift to remote working , we ’ re also seeing an overwhelming imperative to migrate to the cloud and today , application costs are estimated to make up 80 % of the entire IT budget . While IT clearly represents an important part of total spending , its direct contribution to overall revenues and profits is sometimes difficult to assess .
ensuring the alignment of the business and IT , EA can deliver these much-needed valuable insights .
With clear visibility across the entire IT portfolio , and a comprehensive view on how different projects interface together , Enterprise Architects can prioritise high value , low complexity tasks . As such , EA helps to fundamentally establish a single source of truth in otherwise somewhat chaotic technology landscapes . This helps CIOs develop a clear roadmap to remove redundant technologies and data , thus reducing costs .
Cybersecurity attacks
ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTS CAN HELP BRIDGE THE DIVIDE BETWEEN IT AND THE BUSINESS , DRIVING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION INITIATIVES .
For the modern CIO , it ’ s their responsibility to understand these technology costs and bring these under control across the IT portfolio by focusing on controlled investment . What ’ s needed is a way to gain valuable insights to make datadriven decisions to overcome these spiraling costs and complexities . This is made possible with the support of Enterprise Architects and their ability to lay foundations for teams to determine what will be of most use to the business . By providing a strategic view of change and
In December 2020 , an advanced persistent threat group orchestrated a supply-chain attack on SolarWinds . Using a backdoor program referred to as ‘ Sunburst ’, the group was able to gain access to sensitive information while remaining virtually undetected , infecting many of SolarWinds ’ customers and exposing leading technology businesses such as Cisco and Microsoft . This latest attack has served as a wake-up call for CIOs to find new ways to defend themselves against sophisticated cybersecurity attacks www . intelligentcxo . com
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