Mactan, Cebu — During the VSTECS CXO Tech Summit, Dell Technologies cited a study revealing that 67% of IT decision-makers expect to expand their technology budgets in the coming year. This surge in investment is occurring within the context of ongoing digital transformation and the modernization of enterprises.

“Innovation is an ongoing process,” said Ronnie Latinazo, country general manager of Dell Technologies, Philippines. “The past few years have reshaped how companies engage with customers and employees. Faced with global health challenges, companies had to adapt creatively to continue serving their customers.”

However, Latinazo acknowledged that, despite the eagerness to innovate, organizations encounter hurdles that impede progress. Challenges such as secure remote work, cloud cost management, effective data management, and edge computing remain unresolved concerns for many enterprises in their post-pandemic digital acceleration efforts.

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“The question now becomes what is the right balance between remote, hybrid, and on-site work arrangements?” Latinazo said there is a need for companies to assess which policies and guidelines make the most sense for their specific circumstances.

Enterprises should focus on establishing the necessary infrastructure to support the future of work. The surge in remote work has led to increased cloud utilization, potentially raising costs. Managing cloud expenses is now a challenge for some organizations.

Multicloud

“People wanted the flexibility and consumption model we currently have,” Latinazo said. “Ideally, organizations should ensure that workloads are in the right place at the right time.”

The pursuit of a multicloud strategy led many companies to grapple with extracting value from it. Organizations must have the agility to migrate workloads as needed. 

“With the right workloads in the right place at the right time, companies can maximize the benefits of a multicloud environment,” Latinazo said.

Modern data infrastructure must be a foundational element for businesses, according to Latinazo. “It should offer flexibility while maintaining robust security. Coping with the vast amounts of data that organizations must process poses a daunting challenge, especially when unstructured data underperforms in driving business growth.

Edge computing

Edge computing plays a pivotal role in processing time-sensitive data, and enhancing operational efficiency, particularly with the availability of 5G and network connectivity. 

“Competitive forces, combined with new edge technologies and use cases, are compelling companies to embrace edge technology,” Latinazo said. “The challenge lies in simplifying the management of edge computing infrastructure for companies to scale it securely.”

These advancements in digital transformation have expanded attack surfaces, introducing another unresolved challenge: security. As companies enable remote workforces, adopt multicloud environments, and deploy edge computing, security takes on paramount importance to ensure businesses operate with confidence and the ability to innovate.

Security

“Security remains as fragmented as ever, and some even argue that it is broken,” Latinazo said. “Our customers have expressed a desire for Dell not to inundate them with more security products. What they seek is for Dell to embed security into the solutions we bring to the market.”

Customers are increasingly looking for holistic security solutions across the entire IT industry, rather than for specific verticals. In response to this demand, Latinazo disclosed that Dell is developing a roadmap to help customers adopt a Zero Trust strategy.

Dell’s three-pronged approach includes providing technologies to safeguard data, ensuring that businesses can operate securely. In the event of a cyber attack, data recovery mechanisms are in place to prevent disruptions. With the Zero Trust Strategy, Dell assures customers of uninterrupted business continuity.