The digital transformation of our society is an inevitable given. Every mid-sized company is essentially a technology company, and as far as digitization goes, there’s a long road ahead of us. In order for these companies to keep up with a fast-moving digital market, they must implement a flexible IT infrastructure that matches that movement. Research we conducted among medium-sized companies shows that the majority of these companies view IT as a competitive differentiator. In short: in our digital world, a flexible IT environment will improve your competitive positioning. And it does so in these three ways:
Flexibility as a safety net
Growth puts a strain on your IT infrastructure. If you hire more employees and production ramps up, you’ll need more storage, new applications, better hardware and more computing power. “An IT environment that’s designed to handle this growth, stays ahead of the curve, which ultimately means you’ll have an advantage over your competitor,” says Leon Gelderblom – Director Infrastructure Solutions Group at Dell Technologies. It’s a trend that our research reflects: a lot of mid-sized companies see a flexible infrastructure as an important driver for growth. And it works both ways. Companies that are shrinking, but have a scalable IT environment, are better able to roll with the punches.
Innovation and development made easy
But there’s more to it. Although rapid development of new technologies can cause heartache, they often offer new opportunities and make work more efficient. Many mid-sized companies see hard- and software upgrades, network performance, and application development as concerns. Then again, these projects are going to be worth their while. Yes, training your employees on new tech demands time, energy and money, but keeping up with the latest development, and setting up your IT infrastructure accordingly, is essential. Gelderblom: “Ultimately, you will be ahead of the competition with innovative new technologies. It has a positive impact on your productivity, workflow and efficiency. A flexible infrastructure eases the progress of these technologies and ultimately saves you money.”
Attract and retain employees
Then there’s the attraction and retention of IT talent. 38% of all medium-sized companies have difficulty finding and retaining IT talent. The market is saturated, and everyone is frantically searching for the best developers, engineers and system administrators. When picking a company, interesting challenges and environments tend to be important motivators for IT talent. If this is the case, then having a flexible IT environment once again offers a solution. Gelderblom: “By optimizing flexibility, companies make themselves more attractive to (up-and-coming) IT talent and ensure that candidates are stimulated and challenged in their everyday work.”
Take IT on: implement your flexible IT environment
Implementing a flexible (and affordable) IT environment is a challenge to be sure, but it is a challenge that we’re more than willing to take on with you. Make no mistake: with the right tools, solutions and expertise, this can be implemented quite quickly. IT ís our livelyhood, and so we must be as flexible as our products. Every mid-sized company or organization is different, we understand that all too well. So, if you’re thinking about implementing a flexible infrastructure, then we will work with you on the basis of a few steps.
First off, we’ll map the current state of affairs by talking to our customers. What works in their current infrastructure? How can we implement improvements immediately? What is redundant? Are they spending too much money? And most importantly: what is missing? “Every medium-sized company is different,” says Gelderblom. “Everyone has different needs, wishes, workloads and rules that the infrastructures must meet. At Dell Technologies, talking to the customer and mapping the company’s requirements is therefore extremely important. It’s the only way to get a good overview of what can and must happen.”
Flexible solutions
When we’ve got your requirements mapped, we’ll propose a number of solutions. But nothing is set in stone. Gelderblom: “If the customer has a web shop and is expecting extra visitors during the holidays, we’ll ensure that they’ll have increased capacity by autumn.” Dell Technologies also works with a wide range of channel partners – who will work for you independently. From solution providers, distributors, cloud service providers, equipment manufacturers and system integrators: we pick the partner(s) that fit(s) your company in order to set up the right environment for you.
“Dell Technologies Cloud is a good example of a solution that can be implemented effectively at mid-sized companies,” says Gelderblom. A large portion of all companies use multi-cloud environments and having a successful cloud strategy is very important. Dell Technologies Cloud puts all those environments under one umbrella; one that is easy to navigate and ultimately benefits our client’s productivity. “The Dell Technologies Cloud possibilities are endless. That’s why it matches so well with the flexible infrastructure that medium-sized companies need to strive for.”
Curious about what challenges your medium-sized competitors are facing? Download our white paper here – in which we explain the biggest IT challenges for medium-sized companies – and determine in which areas your business can outperform competitors.
Cash flow
Ultimately, money is a bottleneck for many mid-sized companies. The inherent ‘value’ of an IT investment is difficult for them to determine. 53 percent indicate that they anticipate cash flow problems and that they would rather not spend that much. That’s the reason why we have Dell Financial Services: a service intended for companies that have difficulty making large investments and that cannot make large IT investments without a proper payment plan. For those companies we offer a wide range of solutions.
