Techscope 2004

The next big thing in enterprise technology

A look at the infrastructure trends that have impacted enterprises around the world recently, and that are likely to impact Indian Enterprises in 2004

It's the beginning of another year and a time to speculate once again. This time of the year magazines (ours included) usually feature their 'Outlook 2004' stories and retrospect on the year gone by. And the analysts are putting the finishing touches to their surveys and reports.

In the past, everyone was interested in knowing about the "next big thing" in technology.

Not anymore.

While conducting its annual survey, Gartner asked CIOs if they are interested in new technology. 37 percent said a flat 'No'. About 150 CIOs from Asia participated in this survey.

Enterprises around the world are no longer interested in investing in new technology. Rather, they are adopting solutions and strategies for making their infrastructure more agile. So in 2004 we will encounter strategies aimed at making optimal use of IT infrastructure.

Infrastructure is the core issue in all these strategies, and it will be the key concern for CIOs in 2004, says Gartner.

To quote from the Gartner study: "CIOs believe that infrastructure is key to delivering enterprise agility—expect cost savings in the area of infrastructure through consolidation and outsourcing."

TECHSCOPE 2004

Network Magazine (India) produces its annual Techscope issue in the month of January. For Techscope 2003, we got CIOs from Indian Enterprises to give us their views and share strategies and best practices in managing various areas of IT infrastructure.

For Techscope 2004 we at Network Magazine identified six areas in IT infrastructure that are crucial to business: Connectivity, Security, Storage, Infrastructure Management, Outsourcing, Enterprise Applications. We also considered aspects of Business Continuity and linked these with Storage and Security. Asset Management has gained significance and we have written about this in our Infrastructure Management story.

Our editorial team has put together six stories that highlight trends in these six key areas. The tone for the stories is: Infrastructure Trends that have impacted enterprises around the world recently, and that are likely to impact Indian Enterprises in 2004.

Here's Network Magazine's take on each of the six areas.

Connectivity: The year 2004 promises much for enterprise connectivity, be it internal or external. With connectivity prices falling constantly, there has been a constant increase in demands made by enterprise users on the connectivity front. It's interesting to see that the Indian enterprise is expecting more benefits rather than just looking at (new) technology. (More...)

Security: Over the years IT security in the Indian enterprise has progressed from being almost a non-entity to being an integral factor that cannot be ignored. Although there is much more to be desired on this front, these changes are indicators that the Indian enterprise is now more aware about the need to be secure. (More...)

Storage: Indian companies will need to optimize their storage infrastructure and create strategies for this purpose. The aspect of business continuity planning will need a lot more CIO attention, if companies want to conduct uninterrupted business. (More...)

Infrastructure Management: In 2004, Indian enterprises will need to automate systems, introduce better management practices, and have a practical view of IT assets. (More...)

Outsourcing & Managed Services: IS Managers in India and around the world acknowledge that Outsourcing and Managed Services will enable them to do more for less. (More...)

Enterprise Applications: Enterprises will leverage technologies such as SMS, XML, chat and Web-enablement, to foster a collaborative work environment with mobile employees, customers, suppliers, and other partners. (More...)