WWT Vice President & Head of Asia Pacific, Nilesh Mistry, authored an article in Industrial Automation Asiamagazine for the June/July 2018 issue. In it, he discusses the role of systems integrators in the complex IT world.

Published by Industrial Automation Asia in the Jun/Jul 2018 Issue:

We live in a world where IT systems are like utility services -- at the touch of a button, companies can rent or buy infrastructure, software and even the skills to manage these systems. While it is easy for businesses to commission complex cloud-ready infrastructure for discreet processes, it is much harder to integrate systems across the entire enterprise, enabling business leaders to have a clear view into processes and allowing teams to provide consistent experiences across the business.

Integration -- that is the biggest challenge facing businesses today. IDC's 2017 C-Suite Barometer for Asia/Pacific reveals that more than 60 percent of organisations in the region are stuck in their digital transformation (DX) journey. While organisations have implemented some transformation initiatives, these are inconsistent, poorly integrated and insufficient to adequately move the DX needle organisation-wide.

This is where systems integrators come into the equation. The demise of systems integrators has been greatly exaggerated -- they are the new technology solution provider, best friend and partner for businesses in their digital transformation journey. Systems integration is about enabling different IT systems to talk to one another. With the relentless introduction of new technology into the enterprise, this capability is more critical than ever. The number of integrations needed for infrastructure to serve as a platform for IT to focus on delivering business-relevant solutions has drastically increased.

As businesses look to integrate new and emerging technologies and breakdown organisational silos, systems integrators can prove out whether new technologies will work as advertised and enhance their existing IT investments across an enterprise architecture. Essentially, they can de-risk experimentation with technology, which is critical for businesses that use technology as a competitive advantage. When executed properly, systems integrators can function as the needed innovation arm of IT and the business.

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