Lee Thompson, Managing Director, Nutanix ANZ, tells us COVID-19 has shown government and businesses just how quickly they can digitize and this speed will become the minimum standard in 2021 and beyond.
What a year. COVID-19 threw just about every prediction for 2020 out the window. But as we move into the new year and put the past 12 months behind us, the pandemic’s challenges create exciting opportunities for Australia and New Zealand.
Overnight, many organizations reshaped the way they worked, accelerating Digital Transformation and investment, and reinventing business models to support new customer habits and the future workforce.
As a result, many companies dove head-first into the cloud – only to realize once the dust settled that some mission critical or legacy applications can’t be efficiently migrated nor refactored to a cloud-friendly model. These organizations are now at a critical juncture – they need to balance cloud agility and economics with the reality of sustaining operations, taking a hybrid approach to meet rapidly changing business needs.
With this newfound belief in the benefits of digital and cloud-first strategies – and a strong foundation from which to build – 2021 will be the year both Australia and New Zealand truly embark on their digital-by-default journeys.
FFSI and retail shaking it up in 2021
The banking and finance sector, for one, is set to evolve as organizations rethink their use of data and new technologies, while also grappling with industry-wide shifts like hyper-personalization and open banking. To adapt, 2021 will see these institutions transform their businesses into digital ecosystems.
Thinking ahead, the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland (RACQ) has already radically simplified its IT infrastructure, reducing its data center footprint, improving performance, and saving about half a million dollars in the process – savings which are being invested in next-generation technologies as they strive to always provide ‘more for members’.
The retail sector will likewise undergo massive transformation. Supermarkets this year experienced unprecedented levels of pressure with the sudden surge in consumer demand. Family-owned and operated Drakes Supermarkets became the first in the industry to be vertically integrated, taking control of its infrastructure to enable access and response to stock demand in real-time.
Improving back-end systems and the foundation upon which these technologies lie will be critical in delivering smooth and cohesive digitally-enabled services – not only for retailers, but across industries. As enterprises seek to accelerate their digital offerings, hybrid and multi-cloud environments will be the architecture of choice to deliver the flexibility, security and performance required to meet business needs. Our research indicates that in the next five years, the prevalence of these architectures will triple – from 10% of Australian organizations deploying hybrid and multi-cloud models today, to 30% by 2025.
Manufacturing back on the agenda, but where will tech sit?
As Australia pulls itself out of the first recession in 30 years, manufacturing has been singled out as one of the core industries driving the nation’s post-pandemic recovery.
In a bid to bolster Australia’s sovereign capability and strengthen national supply chains, the Federal Government is backing the sector to the tune of A$1.5 billion. Next-generation technologies will play a pivotal role in delivering on these aspirations, helping the industry scale up and achieve the productivity and efficiency gains required to compete against countries with lower energy and labour costs.
For instance, as Australia’s manufacturing sector takes center stage in the nation’s post-pandemic recovery, Victorian manufacturer Natures Organics has already ‘pressed go’ on digital-first manufacturing operations.
Keeping with its ethos, the organization – which produces more than 50 million eco-friendly cleaning products every year – has overhauled its ageing IT environment in favor of a digital infrastructure that optimizes its operations. Working with Nutanix, and trusted partner Australian Sentinel, Natures Organics projects IT-related energy consumption to fall 55% and a cost reduction of 32%.
Planning for a digital-by-default future
As a result of the pandemic, the IT agenda has been elevated, with 78% of Australian organizations seeing it as more strategic to the business.
With this new buy-in, technology leaders are in the driver’s seat to promote transformational change. The public sector is already making tracks with WaterNSW leveraging IoT sensors to launch a real-time data portal this year, helping farmers monitor water levels and quality, flow speeds and restrictions near their properties.
Additionally, the Australian Federal Government is planning to roll out digital ID functionality in its myGov platform before the end of the year.
It is fair to say COVID-19 has shown government and businesses just how quickly they can digitize, and this speed will become the minimum standard in 2021 and beyond.
If Australia and New Zealand choose to embrace this next year of economic recovery as an opportunity for digital growth, our future as a digital leader on the global stage looks bright.
