Asus Business Hub

Underpin your digital transformation strategy with the right IT infrastructure

Digital transformation, the embrace of big data, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and other technological innovations, is all the rage.

You may have already started the shift to transforming parts or all of your business, from embracing a mobile workforce to adopting agile processes to help speed up product development or leverage new opportunities.

For your transformation to be success, you need to support your efforts by putting the right systems and processes in place. This will involve viewing – and updating if necessary – your digital infrastructure, and that means ensuring IT is placed at the heart of your transformation strategy. Read on to see what considerations you’ll need to make and what kinds of option are available. Types of infrastructure Digital transformation involves looking at – and upgrading – your network, server and storage. Your IT department has several factors to consider when choosing an approach: speed, reliability, security and how much control it will need over the network (and your data). Traditionally it’s been a straight choice between deploying on-site servers or switching to cloud-based servers. On-site servers are a good choice when you need complete control over security or where performance is critical. Cloud-based servers are easier to implement, have no hardware or maintenance costs, can scale up and down quickly, plus offer a range of apps and services to encourage collaborative work. The pros and cons of each approach have led to businesses cherry picking the best bits of both on-site and cloud. Rather than taking a cannibalistic approach, though, choose a purpose-built hybrid solution such as Microsoft’s Azure Stack HCI, which has been designed specifically to give you the best of both worlds.

The benefits of virtualisation Traditionally, a business may have been forced to meet different business needs using different hardware platforms. Modern servers like ASUS’s Certified Virtualization Servers are able to emulate different hardware and software setups, enabling businesses to bring different computing, storage and networking needs together in one server, helping reduce the total cost of ownership. Choose a hybrid model and you again get the best of both worlds by combining on-site solutions with cloud-hosted services via Microsoft Azure as needed. Upgrade your network Digital transformation inevitably involves increased use of networks and internet, and as the number of devices grows, so too does demand on your available network bandwidth. Refining existing connections can only go so far, and so you’ll need to review upgrading your network to support bandwidths of 10Gbps or even more to really maximise throughput. A mobile workforce You’re now ready to embrace the opportunities that digital transformation gives you. For example, virtualisation helps make hotdesking a practical option for workspaces, with employees able to share desks and terminals. By utilising shared devices such as cost-effective mini PCs you’re able to make further savings while embracing modern practices such as collaborative spaces. Users simply log into whichever machine is closest to immediately access their own apps, settings and files. The road to a successful digital transformation is a long one, but if you start by upgrading your existing infrastructure, you’ll put yourself in the best possible position to both address its immediate challenges and be ready for future opportunities. Turns out disruptive doesn’t have to be so bad, after all.