IBM Systems Magazine, Mainframe - March/April 2018 - 6
PARTNER PoV Winds of CHANGE Now is the time for digital transformation on IBM Z I n the northern hemisphere, seasonal changes in the weather are upon us. The familiar March winds and April showers aren't entirely welcome, but typical and expected. Derek Britton is director of Strategy and Enablement at Micro Focus. Regular, significant change is no stranger in global enterprise IT-in fact, change is a constant. Fresh winds are never far away, blowing through the corridors of IT like an unwanted storm, risking all in its path. A topical example for many is the maelstrom of digital transformation. Digitally Disrupted Going digital is a here-and-now IT concern-online transactions on Cyber Monday reached a record $6.59 billion, according to Adobe Insights (adobe.ly/2nbjPcC). 6 // MARCH/APRIL 2018 ibmsystemsmag.com Consider there are now 5 billion mobile phone users-a jump of almost 1 billion devices in five years, according to Statista.com. And look at the rich capabilities smartphones offer in terms of engagement. Digital demands attention: A Micro Focus survey (microfocus. com/futureofCOBOL) found that IT budgets are being explicitly diverted toward newer digital systems of engagement. In just four years, the proportion of IT budgets invested in digital systems has climbed from 20 percent to 55 percent. Almost all banks in the U.S., Germany, U.K. and Switzerland already have a defined digital transformation strategy, a GFT study (bit.ly/2kXWcQa) found. However, embracing the digital world organizationally isn't so easy to achieve. Only 5 percent of organizations think they have mastered the task, notes an ESG study (bit.ly/2oCf6j7), while a 2017 Couchbase survey found that 80 percent are at risk of being left behind by digital transformation (bit.ly/2uy7wc9).