By Bianca Allery, Communications Manager, 3CXTechnology & InnovationPublished: 1 August 2017

When implementing new technologies, such as a Unified Communications solution, the main concern used to be the underlying infrastructure. However, far more attention is now being paid to the applications themselves instead of the network that underpins tem. This is due to the growth of the cloud, after all why worry about the infrastructure underpinning services when they are being hosted by another business many miles away? Yet even with in-house services, the shift in attention is noticeable.

However, this new way of looking at IT management underlines the many challenges issues that have been tied up in background infrastructure. Companies now expect that any new applications they introduce will be implemented quickly, easily and at a low cost. Yet as CIOs well know, it isnt always that simple. Applications and solutions may have very particular software and hardware demands, from installing the correct hardware PBX, to running software on the right operating system. As the role of the CIO evolves, they no longer have time to manage every detail of IT infrastructure. Instead, they just need to know that software works, whether on the cloud or for part of the 90% of desktop users still reliant on Windows.

Back to the futureHistorically, when organisations have invested in new technology, it has traditionally been brought in alongside its own software. While the software would ideally be fine-tuned for its purpose, it would also have its own demands, such as the need to run on a specific operating system.

Understandably, this caused major headaches for organisations, as they needed to maintain multiple operating systems, all of which are deemed necessary because of the add-on programmes they support. This strategy was both expensive, due to the cost of purchasing and managing these systems, and insecure because of the gaps created when systems are not updated regularly; particularly when developers stop providing security updates for legacy systems.

The advent of cloud has fuelled the ongoing simplification of IT infrastructure. After all, if the organisation can access software on-demand, it no longer needs to worry about the underlying infrastructure. At the same time, there is a growing expectation that applications will work on any operating system, so that a business can access Unified Communications whether it runs Windows, iOS, Linux or even a combination of all three mixture of the three and then some.

Nine to fiveAlong with this change in expectations has come a change in the CIOs role. At one point, CIOs were predominantly concerned with infrastructure and day-to-day IT operations, however modern CIOs now command a more strategic role leading the direction of IT in support of wider business strategy, rather than just focusing on the tech. In this environment, the applications become critical. For example, if an organisation seeks to target expansion in Latin America, it will want to know if its CRM and communication applications can support local languages. It will be less worried about what server and OS those applications sit on. The more time CIOs can spend thinking about how technology supports these strategic initiatives, rather than thinking about what is happening under the hood, the more effective they will be.

One of the simplest ways for CIOs to do this, is by adopting a software agnostic approach. Companies need to be able to add the necessary applications to the operating system used on any desktop, laptop or mobile, without limitation. Software agnosticism will ensure that CIOs can create a simplified, forward-looking and productive environment, which will be able to develop alongside the technical IT changes the future will present. The CIOs that grasp this concept, and adopt this approach to simplify their business for the future, will ultimately be the ones who are successful in the long run.

For more information please visit http://www.3cx.com

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