CIO opinion
CIO OPINION
“
THERE IS A
GROWING APPETITE AMONG
ORGANISATIONS TO LOOK
AT NEW NETWORKING
TECHNOLOGIES AND
APPROACHES.
/////////////////
Eyad Shihabi, Vice President, Middle East, Africa and Turkey, BT
How CIOs are shaping
their networks for a
digital future
CIOs responsible for
network architecture should
understand how well-
prepared their organisations
are in comparison to their
peers, says Eyad Shihabi,
Vice President, Middle
East, Africa and Turkey,
BT. But, he says, with the
right information, a well-
prepared CIO can harness
the flood of data to create
new business opportunities,
deploy a network and
security apparatus that
drives differentiation in
the marketplace and ride
the wave of progress to a
brighter networked future.
www.intelligentcio.com
Towards future networks
An organisation’s network is often the ‘long pole in the tent’ – the thing
that takes longest to adapt to changing business requirements. That’s
because networks are inherently complex. The entire business depends
on them working properly – and configuring and managing them
effectively takes deep expertise.
What companies really want is the ability to meet the business
objectives of their users and internal stakeholders as quickly and
efficiently as possible, while simultaneously assuring the reliability of
their day-to-day operations. And although businesses welcome the
opportunity to reduce costs, they see agility and flexibility as bigger,
more liberating benefits.
Organisations are also looking to sweat their current investments. But
their networks are clearly feeling the strain from the rapid growth in data
volumes, as well as from increased use of cloud applications. Networks
are also being disrupted by more mobile, agile and flexible working.
As a consequence, businesses are beginning to revisit their networking
strategies and seek alternative technologies to help them transform. For
now, though, they are in almost all cases taking an evolutionary, step-by-
step approach rather than risk a premature ‘big bang’.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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