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Forrester rates virtual machine infrastructure ‘stale or risky’

So are ITSM tools that can’t spread, data tools, and private 5G. But outsourcing is cool again

Analyst firm Forrester Research has published its 2023 planning guide for Technology Architecture and Delivery and warned that IT departments will face increased spending scrutiny as economic conditions tighten.

“Unlike the response to the pandemic, which demanded huge investments in the tech underpinning new delivery models, digital experiences, and anywhere work, the response to the current economic headwinds necessitates optimization and rationalization,” the document states, adding that IT departments will also be asked to maintain “resilient modern environments —without undercutting the organization’s future fit tech strategy.”

Enterprises must turn once again to outsourcing to increase efficiency and lower costs

To do so, the firm recommends three strategies one of which is labelled “Decrease or Avoid Stale or Risky Investments”.

Virtual machine infrastructure tops the list of such investments because “Cloud-native technology is now the baseline for enterprise-class IT because both Kubernetes-based container platforms and cloud development environments have achieved sufficient maturity for widespread adoption.”

Forrester also warns that Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware “has raised the specter of higher prices with less innovation by the traditional leader in VM technologies.” Analysts therefore suggest users “Consider downsizing or at the very least maintaining a steady state in your VM environment.”

Other stale or risky tech includes:

  • DevOps tech that requires manual integration because they can complicate software supply chains;
  • Standalone capacity and asset management tools, or ITSM tools that can’t suit non-IT services;
  • Business apps that “do not improve concentration on the right business- and customer-focused outcomes”. Ditch those in favour of apps that win revenue;
  • Point solutions for data management such as data warehouses, master data management, or data cleansing platforms;
  • Private 5G networks, because they’re evolving slowly and the benefits they promise are probably available using other wireless tech.

Another of Forrester’s strategies is to invest in tools that optimize costs and/or assist portfolio rationalization.

The firm advises cloud cost management tools are needed and will be welcomed. AIOps and enterprise service management are also recommended, along with configuration management databases, because they all improve efficiency.

Cloud data platforms are recommended because they centralise data and remove the need to make copies to serve different user populations around the world.

Intelligent document extraction tech that identifies and pulls important text from documents is suggested as “a required capability of the digital workforce” as it improves automation and has improved thanks to AI.

Forrester’s third strategy is to benchmark costs, suggested as another reason for cloud cost control.

The document identifies labour costs as another line item to watch.

“Enterprises must turn once again to outsourcing as a means to increase efficiency and lower costs,” the document advises. ®

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