Australian organisations have consistently demonstrated a propensity for investing in cutting-edge applied research, showcasing their commitment to driving innovation and advancing scientific discovery. Despite the intense desire for sustenance, a strong sense of responsibility and tactical coordination takes precedence, largely driven by the current economic climate’s pressing demands.
After acquiring Apptio for nearly a year, the company has shared its findings on the top priorities of Australian corporations with TechRepublic. Entities grappling with accountability concerns, threat management, and workforce hurdles are scrutinizing their limited resources more closely than ever before.
What drives the complexity of the Australian financial services landscape? The country’s regulatory framework, for instance, has led to a proliferation of products and providers, thereby complicating the already intricate dynamics at play.
As Apptio recognises, Australian businesses are increasingly sophisticated in their understanding and management of their professional services costs. While willing to compensate IT companies upfront, stakeholders are concurrently expecting them to take accountability for delivering desired results?
Pete Wilson, Apptio’s Vice Chairman for Enterprise and Normal Supervisor, APAC, noted that among Australian companies, there is a keen recognition that “talent isn’t free”.
“Someone must foot the bill, and if there’s a genuine commitment to increase revenue by X percent and secure investments yielding higher returns, then the maturation of dialogue around embracing innovation is evident. This involves no longer simply adopting cutting-edge technology on a whim but doing so with a clear demonstration of value added back to the business.”
Financial stress as a catalyst
As capital and funding costs escalate, chief information officers (CIOs) face mounting pressure to rationalize IT investments. The shortage of specialized expertise poses a significant hurdle for Australian companies, particularly in emerging fields such as artificial intelligence and data science.
“It’s a common challenge: having the budget but struggling to find the right skills,” said Ajay Patel, normal supervisor at Apptio and IBM IT Automation. As organizations continue to evolve, it’s crucial to effectively align talent with high-impact projects yielding significant returns on investment.
The scarcity of specialized knowledge isn’t confined to this region – it’s a global concern. As the Australian job market navigates uncertainty, companies are grappling to balance the cost of talent acquisition with the imperative to propel strategic efforts forward.
With particular expertise mirroring AI know-how, there’s a pressing need for such talent, as firms struggle to combine domain experts conversant in data nuances with knowledge scientists capable of effecting necessary skill transformations.
Australian businesses are embracing FinOps, a discipline that bridges finance and operations to drive business growth. By streamlining financial processes and leveraging technology, companies are gaining greater visibility into their financials, making data-driven decisions, and optimising costs.
Apptio has experienced significant growth in the Australian market, driven by a growing demand for its cloud-based optimization services.
“In the APAC region, particularly in Australia, there is a pressing need for robust cloud optimisation and management,” Wilson noted. “This project has gained significant momentum over the past year.”
Within the FinOps domain of enterprise, it’s about more than just managing cloud prices alone. The proposal focuses on extending principles of financial accountability to various IT domains. Despite ongoing challenges, ensuring expert availability remains a top priority.
“With the FinOps trend gaining momentum, companies are now eager to integrate these best practices into their traditional on-premise settings,” “The demand for skilled FinOps professionals has reached unprecedented levels, particularly at the top end of town, where large organizations are increasingly adopting these best practices.”
Cybersecurity investments account for a significant proportion of IT expenditures, with organizations recognizing the importance of safeguarding their digital assets and data from emerging threats.
Cybersecurity has become a top priority for Australian businesses, driven in part by the federal government’s concerted efforts to strengthen its cybersecurity posture.
Wilson famously stated that extra funding was being directed towards cybersecurity, making further progress in this area more likely. Despite being formidable opponents, cybersecurity investments remain a challenging priority to overcome? Boards are increasingly mindful of the severe consequences of non-compliance, encompassing not just reputational damage but also substantial regulatory fines and legal action.
In Australia, a further consideration is the requirement for organizations to divert significant portions of their IT budgets to ensure compliance with newly introduced regulations. According to Wilson, cyber is increasingly consuming a larger proportion of budgets, and this trend will continue until regulatory adjustments and development shifts are addressed.
Can IT investments justify themselves in a fragile financial landscape where budgets are constantly being squeezed?
Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, CIOs and other IT leaders are finding it increasingly challenging to justify their technology spend, as they strive to navigate the present financial landscape with precision.
“The landscape remains uncertain, with a high threshold required to justify an investment or make a change,” Patel noted. “CIOs face intense pressure to demonstrate the optimization of their existing IT operations before justifying additional investments.” It marks a crucial departure from past practices where expertise spending was often viewed as an unquestioned assumption.
Today’s CIOs are expected to demonstrate the value of new investments by showcasing their tangible impact on business performance.
“With increased pressure on CIOs to demonstrate ROI, justifying their projects’ value has become a top priority.” “The current financial climate remains precarious.”
