As COVID-19 continues to keep many offices closed, some organizations have digitally transformed their workforces to improve the flow of business. This change will be permanent for many. By the time the pandemic is over, a number of organizations will have embraced a hybrid in-person/virtual workforce. They will also have shifted to multiple cloud and hybrid cloud services.

Many organizations in the early steps of adoption may find themselves at a crossroads between different cloud providers. These providers offer software-as-a-service (SaaS), infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), and platform-as-a-service (PaaS). With a number of third parties hosting their data, organizations will need to consider the security risks. They must take steps to mitigate these risks. One way to get ahead of the problem is to create a single cloud strategy. This strategy will ensure streamlined governance over cloud platforms.

“A best practice is to ensure that for all requested cloud services, [the services] are subjected to proper architecture and security reviews on any IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS vendor platforms, before being approved for use in the enterprise,” Ryan Smith, Chief Information Officer at healthcare provider Intermountain Healthcare, told CIO. “Guidance and guardrails must be established before any public cloud vendor tools can be provided to the organization, including ongoing monitoring of all usage.”

How to Create a Digital Transformation Cloud Strategy

Before you take your organization down the digital transformation path, you’ll want to make sure you have a strong strategy in place. This strategy will allow for easier adaption to a multi-cloud model. Here are three things organizations should consider, according to The Enterprise Project:  

Revise your strategy:
Revamp your strategy to take into account the integration of enhanced security systems, data center providers, voice technology updates, and other necessary changes. You should also document everything as you proceed. In addition, be sure to involve your senior leadership.

Prioritize security:
Make network security your top priority by embedding it into the digital transformation process. Also, establish protocols that ensure all steps are taken. Consider public versus private cloud solutions (each of which carries its own data risks). Establish a robust Mobile Device Management (MDM) or Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) platform. You should also train your staff on how to identify common scams such as phishing, which is the number-one way hackers break into data centers. A good strategy is to implement a multi-layered security strategy. Supplement it with routine testing, assessments, and training. 

Define what “cloud” means to your organization:
Before you execute your digital transformation, decide exactly what utilizing the cloud means to your organization. Also, consider what your cloud strategy will entail. Consider questions such as: 

  • How should the cloud be defined in a work-from-home environment?
  • What do we need cloud computing to accomplish?

By asking questions like these, you will be able to avoid unnecessary cloud projects that could waste your organization’s time and money.  

Digital transformation will come with many risks and rewards. However, organizations that adopt an appropriate cloud strategy will be able to quickly identify and solve problems in advance. They will enjoy a much easier transition in the process.

Prepare Your Organization for Digital Transformation

Get your organization ready for Digital Transformation. The IEEE five-course program, Digital Transformation: Moving Toward a Digital Society, is aimed to foster a discussion around how digital transformation can transform various industries. It also provides the background knowledge needed to smartly implement digital tools into organizations.

Contact an IEEE Account Specialist to get access for your organization.

Interested in the course for yourself? Check out the courses below on the IEEE Learning Network.

Resources

Demetrius, Jim. (25 March 2021). Digital transformation: 3 ways to get infrastructure updates back on track. The Enterprise Project.

Violins, Bob. (8 March 2021). Mitigating the hidden risks of digital transformation. CIO.

The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing organizations all over the world to digitally transform their operations as more employees work from home. As remote work becomes the new normal, many organizations are transitioning data storage not only to the cloud, but to the “edge” in a major shift towards digital transformation. Edge computing, a form of cloud computing where data is stored along the “edge” of the cloud, brings data closest to where it’s produced and consumed, and as a result, reduces latency while boosting speed. Digital transformation through edge computing is allowing organizations around the globe to operate faster and more efficiently, while reducing costs.

Two-Thirds of Organizations in Global Survey Are Adopting Edge Computing

According to a recent global survey from the International Data Corporation (IDC), two-thirds of IT leaders who participated in the survey have begun to adopt edge computing, with 40% planning to adopt new edge technology in under a year. Motivating factors include edge computing’s improved bandwidth and reduced latency and costs. 

“Enterprises around the world are being confronted by a basic law of physics—distance neutralizes speed, causing latency or a delay between an action and an application’s response,” survey sponsor Lumen Technologies stated in a blog post about the survey. “Controlling latency has never been more important, whether data flows to a distributed workforce or a multitude of smart gadgets that make up the Internet of Things.”

How Organizations Will Use Edge Computing this Year

According to a recent TechRepublic survey, 70% of organizations surveyed transitioned to edge computing to deliver enhanced experience for customers and 46% said they use or intend to use the technology to minimize operational costs. 

Among the main applications for which organizations are currently using or intend to use edge computing include laptops and mobile devices (54%), remote networks and servers (50%), locally deployed software and systems (37%), monitoring of remote assets (27%), virtual mobile networks (12%), other IoT applications (8%), and autonomous vehicles (5%). When asked what edge computing technologies they want to roll out over 6 months, remote servers and networks, as well as laptops and remote mobile devices, ranked equally at 42%. Locally deployed software and systems, ranked at 33%, followed.  

How Digital Transformation for Edge Computing Will Accelerate The Internet of Things

The digital transformation to edge computing technology will also give organizations a greater ability to embrace the Internet of Things. This will empower them to solve problems in revolutionary ways. For example, edge computing combined with Internet of Things technology, such as sensors, will allow businesses to roll out super-efficient “smart factories.” Featuring highly connected equipment, employees will be able to quickly spot and fix problems in production lines more easily.

“The industry will continue to move toward more decentralized compute environments, and the edge will add significant value to digital transformation initiatives,” writes Keith Higgins in RFID Journal.  

Digital transformation will continue well beyond 2021, and there’s little doubt that edge computing will continue to play a major role. 

Bring Your Organization to the Edge

Many organizations don’t fully understand edge computing and the impact it can have on their business. From providing real-time data analysis to reducing system malfunctions, edge computing can be customized to meet an organization’s specific needs.

Prepare your organization for edge computing integration. Designed to train your entire team to support edge computing, IEEE Introduction to Edge Computing is an online five-course program. To learn more about getting access to these courses for your organization, connect with an IEEE Content Specialist today.

Contact an IEEE Content Specialist to learn more about how this program can benefit your organization.

Interested in getting access for yourself? Visit the IEEE Learning Network (ILN) today!

Resources

Vigilarolo, Brandon. (29 January 2021). Business leaders want low latency, not speed, study finds. TechRepublic.

(28 January 2021). Global Business Leaders Rate Latency Higher Priority Than Speed. Multivu.com. 

Higgins, Keith.  (10 January 2021). Trendspotting: Industrial Digital Transformation Matures. RFID Journal.

Edge computing adoption to increase through 2026; organizations cautious about adding 5G to the mix. Tech Republic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many organizations around the world to digitize their workforces. As the pandemic continues and remote work becomes the new norm for many organizations, leaders who fail to effectively transition into the digital realm may struggle. However, there are steps they can take to adopt the increasingly digital workspace and become digitally savvy leaders.

Employees Want Digitally Savvy Leaders

According to a newly released report from MIT Sloan Management Review, 93% of employees across regions and industries think digital savviness is necessary to succeed. Having a sense of purpose is also important. 72% of workers surveyed stated that they “strongly agree that it is very important to them to work for an organization with a purpose they believe in,” according to the Leadership’s Digital Transformation report. Additionally, 88% of workers surveyed reported that having leaders who are digitally savvy is critical to their company’s ability to achieve that purpose. 

However, less than half of those surveyed said their organizations have created project teams that are intentionally diverse when it comes to digital savviness. Furthermore, only 31% thought their companies were assessing the digital skills of their managers. Less than 20% thought their companies were ensuring digital know-how among their high ranking managers. 

Focus on Purpose

Your workers can often sense if you aren’t passionate about the organization and its purpose. If you want them to feel more confident in your leadership, you need to regularly communicate the organization’s strategic purposes to your team. It can help to specify how the organization’s purposes align with their productivity and goals.

“Having a compelling mission statement isn’t enough,” the report states. “Serious leaders must appear as genuinely passionate about enterprise purpose as they are about strategy, agility, and customer centricity. The key is to authentically embed and enable purpose as part of the organization’s digital transformation trajectory. Purpose thus has an operational as well as an aspirational rationale that invites new leadership accountability.”

Develop “Digital Situational Awareness”

Since the pandemic began, remote work has blurred the traditional boundaries between work and home. Even when the work day is over, many workers still find themselves fielding emails. Often, they have to choose between work and family obligations. 

Just 28% of workers surveyed said their company had policies on how and when to contact them beyond work hours. Furthermore, only 24% said their company stuck to these policies if they had them. 

For many, gone are the days when workers could simply knock on their manager’s door. Remote employees need clarity around when and how to reach out to their bosses. This means leaders need to establish boundaries and make an effort to respect these guidelines.

“The key to being measurably more effective is becoming measurably more affective,” the report states. “Leaders who want to succeed have no choice but to digitally transform themselves. Leaders who are unwilling or unable to proactively use data and analytics to understand how their leadership is experienced will underperform.”

Take Advantage of “Mutual Mentoring”

One way leaders can digitally transform themselves is through “mutual” or “reverse” mentoring, in which younger employees mentor those who are older. Although 71% of survey respondents thought younger workers were more successful at obtaining value from digital tools at their organizations, just 19% said their organizations engaged in this kind of mentorship.

The pandemic will eventually end, but remote work is here to stay for many people. If leaders want to be successful, they need to adjust to a new way of managing employees, and for many, digital transformation will be key to their success.

Create Leaders in Your Organization

IEEE has partnered with Rutgers Business School to offer the IEEE | Rutgers Online Mini-MBA for Engineers. Designed specifically for groups of ten or more within an organization, this program operates entirely online. It features topics including business strategy, managing product development, finance, negotiation, managing human capital, intellectual property strategy, and transformational agility.

Participants will learn how to make organizational decisions with both technical and operational considerations. After developing an understanding of how different functional groups interact to achieve overall goals, they will learn to apply their newly developed business skills to better align their technical capabilities with business strategy.

The program offers the option of a customized capstone project, completely aligned to the needs of your organization. As part of the project, you’ll receive feedback from program professors who have worked as engineering leaders themselves.

To learn more about the IEEE | Rutgers Online Mini-MBA for Engineers for your organization, contact an IEEE Account Manager today.

Resources

(26 January 2021). Leadership’s Digital Transformation: Leading Purposely in an Era of Context Collapse. MIT Sloan Management Review.