Assess Infrastructure

Readiness for Digital

Transformation
Unlock the full potential of your infrastructure with a digital
transformation strategy and clear the barriers to success.

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Analyst
Perspective
It’s not just about the technology! Many businesses fail in their endeavors to complete a digital transformation, but the reasons
are complex, and there are many ways to fail, whether it is people, process, or technology. In
fact, according to many surveys, 70% of digital transformations fail, and it’s mainly down to
strategy – or the lack thereof.
A lot of organizations think of digital transformation as just an investment in technology,
with no vision of what they are trying to achieve or transform. So, out of the gate, many
organizations fail to undergo a meaningful transformation, change their business model, or
bring about a culture of digital transformation needed to be seriously competitive in their
given market.
When it comes to I&O leaders who have been given a mandate to drive digital
transformation projects, they still must align to the vision and mission of the organization;
they must still train and hire staff that will be experts in their field; they must still drive
process improvements and align the right technology to meet the needs of a digital
transformation.

John Donovan
Principal Research Director, I&O
Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group | 2

Insight Overarching insight
Digital transformation requires I&O teams to shift from traditional infrastructure management to becoming a

summary
strategic enabler, driving agility, innovation, and operational excellence through effective integration of people,
process, and technology.

Insight 1 Insight 2 Insight 3

Collaboration is a key
component of I&O – Promote
strong collaboration between I&O
and other business functions.
When doing a digital
transformation, it is clear that this
is a cross-functional effort.
Business leaders and IT teams
need to align their objectives,
prioritize initiatives, and ensure
that you are seamlessly integrating
technologies with the new
business functions.
Embrace agility and
adaptability as core principles –
As the digital landscape continues
to evolve, it is paramount that
I&O leaders are agile and
adaptable to changing business
needs, adopting new technology
and implementing new innovative
solutions. The culture of
continuous improvement and
openness to experimentation and
learning will assist the I&O
leaders in their journey.
Future-proof your
infrastructure and operations –
By anticipating emerging
technologies and trends, you can
proactively plan and organize
your team for future needs. By
investing in scalable, flexible
infrastructure such as cloud
services, automation, AI
technologies, and continuously
upskilling the IT staff, you can
stay relevant and forward-looking
in the digital space.

Tactical insight Tactical insight

An IT infrastructure maturity assessment is a
foundational step in the journey of digital transformation.
The demand will be on performance, resilience, and
scalability. IT infrastructure must be able to support
innovation and rapid deployment of services.
Having a clear strategy, with leadership
commitment along with hiring and training the
right people, monitoring and measuring your
progress, and ensuring it is a business-led journey
will increase your chances of success.
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Executive Summary
Your Challenge
There are a lot of challenges for I&O when it
comes to digital transformation, including:
• Legacy infrastructure technical debt.
• Skills and talent in the IT team.
• A culture that resists change.
• Fear of job loss.
These and many more will hinder your progress,
which demonstrates the need to invest in
modernizing your infrastructure, investing in
training and hiring talent, and cultivating a culture
that supports digital transformation.
Info-Tech Insight
By driving a customer-centric approach, delivering a successful transformation can be tailored to the business goals and drive adoption and
engagement. Refining your roadmap through data and analytics will drive this change. Use third-party expertise to guide your transformation and help
build that vision of the future.
Common Obstacles
Many obstacles to digital transformation begin
with non-I&O activities, including:
• Lack of a clear vision and strategy.
• Siloed organizational structure.
• Lack of governance and data management.
• Limited budget and resources.
By addressing these obstacles, I&O will have a
better chance of a successful transformation and
delivering the full potential of digital technologies.
Info-Tech’s Approach
Building a culture of innovation by developing
clear goals and creating a vision will be key.
• Be customer centric as opposed to being
technology driven.
• Understand the business needs and pain points
in order to effectively deliver solutions.
• Approach infrastructure digital transformation
in iterations and look at it as a journey.
By completing the Info-Tech digital readiness
questionnaire, you will see where you are in terms
of maturity and areas you need to concentrate on.
Info-Tech Research Group | 4
The cost of digital transformation
The challenges that stand in the way of your success, and what is needed to reverse the risk

What CIOs are saying about their challenges

26% of those CIOs surveyed cite resistance
to change, with entrenched viewpoints
demonstrating a real need for a cultural shift
26% to enhance the digital transformation journey.
Source: Prophet, 2019.
Having a clear strategy and
commitment from leadership, hiring
and training the right people,
monitoring and measuring your
progress, and ensuring it is a business-
led journey will increase your chances
of success.

Info-Tech Insight
70% of digital transformation projects fall
short of their objectives – even when their Cultural change, business
alignment, skills training, and
leadership is aligned, often with serious
setting a clear strategy with KPIs
consequences. 70% to demonstrate success are all key
to being successful in your digital
Source: BCG, 2020. journey.

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Small and medium-sized
enterprises Info-Tech Insight
What business owners and CEOs are An IT infrastructure maturity
saying about their digital transformation assessment is a foundational
step in the journey of digital
transformation. The demand
64% will be on performance,
resilience, and scalability. IT
infrastructure must be able to
support innovation and rapid
deployments.
57%
64% of CEOs believe driving digital
transformation at a rapid pace is
critical to attracting and retaining
talent and customers

57% of small business

owners feel they must
improve their IT Source: KPMG, 2022.

infrastructure to optimize
their operations.

Source: SMB Story, 2023. Info-Tech Research Group | 6

Case Study
Challenge
Walmart needed a way to give a better
and more comprehensive service to its
customers.
The ability to create a new marketplace
to increase the customer base was a
priority.
Being a traditional brick-and-mortar
company, its first foray into their digital
transformation journey was to open an
online marketplace.
They needed to refocus their operations
around digital technology, both
internally and in customer-facing
contexts.
INDUSTRY
Retail
Solution
In order to be successful with digital
transformation, Walmart set up mobile
apps and a web portal to allow
customers to purchase merchandise
online.
Additionally, as part of their solution,
they set up digital analytics in order to
better understand their customers’
behavior and habits in their purchasing
trends.
They adopted self-service data and
analytics tools for marketing and
product teams to work together
collaboratively.
SOURCE
Forbes
Results
Walmart recreates its business model with
the direction of digital transformation in
an e-commerce infrastructure.
By heavily investing in cloud technology
and providing a new marketplace to do
business, Walmart was able to strengthen
its market share and provide valuable data
analytics to better understand its
customers.
Taking advantage of digital technology
using AI, IoT, and machine learning, they
were able to make rapid changes in their
supply chain and online store.
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ITIL framework People, process, and
Insight

technology are all critical

1.
components of a successful
digital transformation
journey, and each plays a
unique and complementary
role in the process.
N
People: In the framework of infrastructure, people are
critical to ensuring that the right skills and expertise are
in place to design, deploy, and manage the infrastructure.
This includes not only technical expertise, but also soft
skills such as collaboration, communication, and
adaptability. Additionally, organizations must invest in
training and development programs to keep their people
up to date with the latest technologies and best practices

IT
IO

2. Process: Infrastructure transformation requires a

VI
SS

disciplined approach to process design and

SI
MI

ON
implementation, just like any other area of digital
IT

People Technology
transformation. This involves defining clear roles and
IT STRATEGY responsibilities, standardizing processes, and establishing
metrics to measure and continuously improve
SCOPE
performance

3. Technology: Technology is the foundation of

Process infrastructure transformation, and organizations must
invest in the right technologies to support their goals.
IT GUIDING PRINCIPLES This may include software-defined infrastructure,
hyperconverged infrastructure, cloud infrastructure, and
other emerging technologies. It's also important to
consider the integration of different technologies and the
need for interoperability between them to ensure a
seamless and efficient infrastructure environment.
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I&O digital transformation
Think in terms of what you need to concentrate on, not
the noise around it. “Think of digital
transformation less as a
Self-Service Provisioning technology project to be
Adaptive Infrastructure Modernization Dynamic finished than as a state of
CI/CD perpetual agility, always
ITSM
Continuous Data Center
Transformation ready to evolve for whatever
customers want next, and
Automation Responsive you’ll be pointed down the
Evolutionary
Scalability Agile Edge Computing
right path.”
– Amit Zavery, VP and Head of Platform,
Iterative Progressive Google Cloud, qtd. in Quixy, 2020.
Incremental Infrastructure as Code
Performance
Transformative
Optimization Orchestration

Containerization
DevOps
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Dimensions of Digital Transformation
for I&O

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Digital transformation maturity model Info-Tech Insight
Build a roadmap based on your maturity level, look to
the future, and decide what can you do today to get to
Where is your organization on the maturity the future state. Knowing where you are on your
ladder? digital journey helps business leaders understand what
to focus on to get to the next stage of that journey.

• ​DISRUPTION: In the disruption phase, the organization leverages digital technologies to

disrupt traditional business models, create new markets, and fundamentally transform the
industry landscape.
• ​OPTIMIZATION: In this phase, the organization focuses on optimizing and refining
existing digital capabilities to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and value creation.

• ​EXPANSION: In the expansion phase, the organization begins to scale digital

transformation initiatives across the organization and into new business units or geographies.

• ​EXPLORATION: In this phase, organizations are typically in the early stages of digital
transformation. This phase is characterized by experimentation, exploration, and trying out new
digital technologies and tools. The focus of this phase is to identify potential use cases for digital
technologies, assess the viability of different options, and understand the benefits and risks of
different strategies.
• ​FOUNDATION: In this phase, the organization establishes the necessary foundational
elements for digital transformation, such as upgrading legacy systems, improving data quality
and management, and building a strong digital culture.
I&O RACI for digital
Business
Activity/Task I&O Leader CIO/CISO I&O Team
Stakeholders

transformation
IT Strategy R A/CIO C I

Infrastructure
A I R
Assessment
Assess your infrastructure readiness for Cloud Migration A C R
digital transformation Automation A I R
Customize the RACI chart based on your Security and
A /CISO R
organizational structure and project Compliance

requirements. It is important to tailor the RACI Capacity Planning A I R

chart to the specific context of the digital Vendor Management A I R
transformation initiative and involve the relevant
stakeholders. Additionally, customize your risk Incident Management A I R

assessment to the specific project. Depending on Change Management A C R

the complexity and scale of the project, address
Performance Monitoring A I R
it in as much detail as required.
Knowledge Sharing A C R

Training and
A I R
Development

Key:
R – Who is Responsible to execute the task?
A – Who is Accountable for ensuring the task is
complete?
C – Who is Consulted prior to the task?
I – Who is Informed that the task or activity is done?
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 KPIs For a full list of KPIs and metrics see
Take Control of Infrastructure and Operations M
etrics

Without a way to measure the success of your transformation, you cannot

ensure you are making a difference or on the right track

Note that the specific KPIs may be different for your

industry, or specific Transformation goals.

Security and Efficiency and Innovation and

Availability Response Time Cost Efficiencies Performance User Satisfaction I&O Team Skills
Compliance Productivity Transformation

• Speed to
• Uptime and deploying • Surveys • Security • Tickets closed • Adoption of new • Training &
• Total cost of • SLOs –
reliability resources • Feedback incident count per technician technologies certifications
ownership Response
• Mean time • Time to • User • Time to detect – • Automation of • Implementation • Technical skills
• Return on time
between failures resolution experience respond to tasks success • Cross-
investment • Throughput
• Mean time to • Time to metrics incident • Resource • Business functional
• Cost per user • Latency
repair implement (UX) • Audit response usage outcomes skills
change

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Legacy hardware assessment 1
Outdated servers: Identify older server models that lack processing power, scalability
or support modern software and applications. Additionally, the power usage and
consumption of energy needs to be addressed.

Network equipment: Make an evaluation of your network devices (e.g. switches,

These areas should be the foundation of your
2 routers, firewalls), which may not support latest network standards and security.

legacy technical debt assessment in order to

Storage systems: Assess legacy storage systems, including traditional hard disk drives
get away from the foundational stage of I&O (HDDs) or outdated storage area network (SAN) solutions. Legacy storage may have
digital transformation.
3 limited capacity, slower performance, and lack support for advanced data management
features like data deduplication and encryption.
End-of-life devices: Identify any end-of-life devices that are no longer supported by
the manufacturer or do not receive regular firmware updates and security patches.
4 These devices may be prone to security vulnerabilities and compatibility issues with
modern software and applications.
Legacy printers and peripherals: Evaluate older printers, scanners, and other
5 peripherals that may not integrate well with newer digital workflows or that may lack
support for mobile printing or cloud-based document management solutions.
Legacy telephony systems: Assess outdated phone systems, such as traditional PBX
(private branch exchange) systems, which may lack modern communication features
6 like unified communications, voice over IP (VoIP), or integration with collaboration
tools.
Legacy power and cooling infrastructure: Consider older power and cooling
systems that may be less energy efficient and not optimized for the evolving needs of
7 modern IT infrastructure. Upgrading to more efficient power and cooling solutions can
help reduce costs and improve sustainability.
End-of-life operating systems: Identify any legacy operating systems that have
reached their end-of-life stage or are no longer supported by the vendor. Running
8 outdated operating systems poses security risks and may limit compatibility with new
software and applications.

See Info-Tech’s blueprint Info-Tech Research Group | 14

Manage Your Technical Debt

 I&O digital transformation
checklist
Considerations
Area for Checklist
Current Infrastructure
Cloud Strategy
Automation and Orchestration
Collaboration and Communication
Actions
• Assess current infrastructure including hardware,
software, network, and data center
• Identify areas that require upgrades to support
digital initiatives
• Keep in consideration scalability, flexibility and
compatibility with emerging technologies
• Develop a strategy based on business goals
• Decide which workloads and apps are suitable
for cloud migration
• Consider multicloud, or hybrid cloud to leverage
on cost and features
• Identify tasks that can be automated due to
repetitiveness or manual
• Integrate automation tools to upgrade operations
• Implement orchestration solutions to manage
complex workflows
• Implement tools that foster collaboration and
communication across teams
• Bring about cross-functional collaboration to
breakdown siloed teams
• Create clear communication channels to problem
solve and make better decisions
Area for Checklist
Upskill/Reskill I&O Team
DevOps Practices
Performance and Analytics
Governance and Compliance
Continuous Evolution and Innovation
Security Measures for I&O
Actions
• Identify skills gap with the I&O team and build
training plan to bridge that gap
• Invest in training and certifications in terms of
emerging technologies
• Encourage continuous learning and development
• Implement DevOps principles to develop
relationships between development and I&O
• Embrace Agile methodologies for faster delivery
of services and quality
• Automate the deployment and monitoring of
apps to achieve faster time to market
• Implement monitoring and analytics tools to gain
insight into infrastructure performance
• Define KPIs to measure performance and
effectiveness of digital initiatives
• Monitor service availability response time and
end-user satisfaction
• Define your governance framework and policies
for regulatory and compliance
• Establish process change management, and
capacity planning
• Conduct regular audits and assessment for
compliance and mitigate
• Foster a culture of innovation within I&O teams
• Encourage experimentation with new
technologies
• Conduct regular audits and assessment for
compliance and mitigate
• Review and update security requirements to
protect infrastructure and assets
• Implement MFA and control-based access
• Develop incident response team and test for
readiness
AI’s contribution to
I&O capabilities
Take advantage of AI on your journey
1. Predictive Analytics: AI can analyze historical and real-time data to
predict potential issues or failures in infrastructure components, such
as servers, networks, or storage. This enables proactive maintenance
and reduces downtime by identifying and resolving issues before they
escalate.
2. Intelligent Automation: AI technologies like machine learning and
natural language processing can automate routine and repetitive tasks
within I&O. This includes tasks like system monitoring, log analysis,
incident management, and performance optimization, freeing up
human resources for more complex and strategic work.
3. Intelligent Resource Allocation: AI can optimize resource
allocation in I&O by analyzing workload patterns, resource use, and
performance metrics. This helps to ensure that resources are allocated
efficiently, improving scalability, cost effectiveness, and overall
system performance.
4. Anomaly Detection: AI algorithms can detect anomalies in system
behavior, network traffic, or security patterns. This helps to identify
potential security breaches, performance bottlenecks, or unusual
AI brings the potential to increase
efficiency, reliability, and agility
within I&O. By leveraging AI
technologies, organizations can
elevate operations, reduce costs,
improve system performance, and
provide better services to their users.
5. Chatbots and Virtual Assistants: AI-powered chatbots and virtual
assistants can handle routine inquiries and provide support to users in
real time. They can assist with common I&O tasks, answer frequently
asked questions, and guide users through troubleshooting processes,
improving user experience and reducing the burden on support teams.
6. Intelligent Decision Support: AI can provide insights and
recommendations to I&O teams for making educated decisions. By
analyzing large volumes of data, AI can offer recommendations for
optimizing infrastructure, improving system performance, and making
cost-effective choices.
7. Capacity Planning and Scalability: AI can analyze historical data
and predict future resource demands, allowing I&O teams to plan
infrastructure capacity effectively. It helps organizations scale their
resources up or down based on anticipated workload, avoiding
unnecessary expenses or performance issues.
Info-Tech Research Group | 16
 Input Output

Digital Maturity Assessment • Determine the capability of
the areas covered by I&O
• Complete areas before
1-3 hours turning to results
1. As a group, review the various areas that I&O is responsible for.
• Key areas I&O need to
concentrate on when
delivering a digital
transformation to the
business

2. Break into smaller teams that make up the different areas of responsibility.
a) For each decision, answer the questions from a degree of capability.
b) Select one capability for each question asked in the Digital Maturity
Assessment Tool.

3. Check results in Tab 3, where you will see your maturity in each area of I&O as Materials Participants
well as your overall assessment.
a) Concentrate your efforts in the areas that are red or orange.
• Capability workbook • HW/SW manager
b) Green assessments indicate you are at a good level of competency.
• Cloud engineers
• Help desk manager
• CTO

Download the Digital Maturity Assessment Tool • Senior IT leadership

Info-Tech Research Group | 17

Research and workshops to drive your I&O
digital transformation

Once your assessment is complete,

determine a path with our additional
research
• For strategy and initiatives see our research on
• To assess your hardware asset maturity, see
Build a Business-Aligned IT Strategy.
Implement Hardware Asset Management and the
maturity assessment tool.

• For your cloud strategy see our research on

Document Your Cloud Strategy.
• Check all I&O research and related tools at the
I&O Research Center.

• To assess your digital security maturity, see the

blueprint and tools in
• To visualize and execute on your network for Develop a Security Operations Strategy.
transformation see our research on
Next-Generation InfraOps tools.

Info-Tech Research Group | 18

Related Exploit Disruptive Infrastructure Technol
ogy

Info-Tech
• Create successful stand-alone centers of excellence for a digital world.

• Gain awareness and understanding of various aspects that hamper DX.

Research • Set the right foundations by having clarity of purpose, alignment on organizational
support, and the right leadership in place.

Assert IT’s Relevance During Digit

al Transformations
• Use digital as a platform to perform more value-add activities to drive revenue
instead of being a cost center or generator of cost savings.

• It is easy to talk about what digital should look like, but knowing why the business
wants to pursue digital initiatives is just as important for success.

Digital Transformation Center

• Digitalize ineffective enterprise tasks, procedures, and processes that are outdated,
ineffective, and costly.

• Digitally transform organizational structures, cultures, business models, etc. to take

optimal advantage of the enterprise tasks, procedures, and processes that have also
been digitalized.

Info-Tech Research Group | 19

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