What Constitutes a Business Requirement

Jim Buttjer, Chief Technologist with American Digital • Mar 11, 2021

Knock knock. 

Who's there? 

IT's business requirements. 

IT who? 

IT has business requirements too! 


If your first reaction to the above joke was "IT is separate from the business," or "IT gets its requirements from the business but doesn't have its own,” then this article is definitely for you. If you agreed that IT has business requirements, read on for additional ways to improve receptiveness and value to conveying and meeting IT's business requirements. 


Addressing the Counterproductive Gap in Mindset We Created Through Language

The business and technology markets like controversy and uses “us versus them” to make points about how things are and should be. We've had a similar "call to arms" for several years now about how we need better business and IT alignment. 


However, despite all the ways IT serves the business, which it should, I still consistently see and hear the perception that IT has no voice and no say in determining "business strategy" or "business requirements." Suppose IT is part of the business, as you say it is. How can IT not also have requirements that should be given the same consideration, evaluation (collectively "airtime" in the C-suite), and funding as business requirements from the lines of business or traditional business stakeholders? 


Case in point. A CIO is led to believe that while IT is part of the business, his requests or even requirements are discriminated against and have lower stature and importance than requests or needs from his business/functional counterpart. In one case, he may recommend they keep applications and hardware under support. Or keep software maintained to fairly current levels. Why would he specify these "business" requirements? Because he is managing risk if something breaks and knows that the more current his applications are and under active support contracts his hardware is, the more likely he's going to get timely and quality support and problem resolution from his staff and vendors. 


Why else would a CIO have business requirements? By having good IT hygiene and keeping applications, databases, systems, and infrastructure up to date, his IT organization is better prepared to respond to the business' request to try something out or implement a project. Unfortunately, suppose our CIO's requirements are most often downgraded to a request and repeatedly denied. In that case, it's that much more likely that when the business wants to execute a project or roll out an improvement to their business for their customers or employees, IT has a much higher risk of having to say no. It escalates quickly, as characterized by these quotes below. 


- “Sure, we just had some layoffs, but as long as you can get funding for some contractors, we can get started right away.”

- “I'm not saying no, but we have to take care of these 1-3 minor projects first, then we can get to your project.”

- “You're going to have to wait for 3-6 months for us to take care of our other needs first, assuming we get started right away. Did you include a few hundred grand for IT in your project budget? Oh, and we'll need your business team for an extending period of testing too.”

- “Can't do that. We'd need to develop more precious capital funding and OpEx approval to pay for all of this. And we'll need 9-12 months. Only then can you, the business, get to work on improving the business." 


The Challenge to Be Overcome by the Business -- and the CIO

The challenge is part cultural and part messaging. When the CIO states his requirements to do IT projects, such as application and/or infrastructure upgrades to stay current, there may be two common challenges: 


  1. If "the business" counterparts didn't ask for it, they often don't think it provides any value. 
  2. If the CIO can't equate or otherwise convey the value of doing said upgrade or maintenance project, his business counterparts will likely resist participating in required testing activities. 


So how does the CIO overcome this common challenge? 

First, get on the same page

IT has needs just like the business. Suppose the business doesn't consistently evolve its business process to adapt to the marketplace, create new products and services, or continuously respond to customer demand for how they want to be engaged. In that case, it's virtually certain the business will begin to lose mindshare, wallet share, and market share because the business' requirements won't be met. Likewise, if the CIO can't have his needs met, the risk is absolutely 100% certain that:


  1. Software support and ability to work with it erodes year over year, sometimes even faster. 

   2. Your team and partners' ability to support aging software diminishes over time. 

    3. Software support will end. Remember, your organization probably literally has hundreds or thousands of applications, middleware, database platforms, and operating systems that all have a support lifespan of their own. 

   4. Hardware will go out of support. It will go from hard to get service or replacement parts to be much more expensive to get them, and eventually, the CIO won't be able to get them at all. 

   5. IT's ability to respond and enable and support the next project the business brings to them escalates quickly from "sure, let's get started" to "we can do it, but need to take care of this too" to "hold up, wait, we have to take care of these needs first before we start on your project." 


Second, create a way to talk about the impact of technical debt on business agility and risk

Use recent examples, both for positive and negative reinforcement. Show where, because IT was up to date and current, IT responded quickly with the business to achieve fast payback and maximum ROI on an initiative or project. Likewise, have an example ready where IT couldn't respond without severe delays, cost, or risk – or at all to the business's current need. If your organization is assessing technical debt regularly, say at least annually, with a technology review including technical debt assessment and roadmap to address those debts, you'll have a good idea about your level of readiness to support business needs. You might come up with a scorecard that factors in elements such as: 


- Risk: the likelihood of an unfavorable event caused by IT's inability to respond to a business need


- Schedule: impact estimated for a delay, measured in weeks or months


- Cost: Estimated cost of delay to satisfy prerequisites before a business need can begin being met (could be as small as a few software licenses, some labor, to short projects, or full-on serious capital investments or transformative programs)


- Agility: estimated or known hard costs if legal, regulatory, security, contractual, or service-related fees are triggered due to an inability to implement the business' needs in a required timeframe


We could add other factors in the mix, such as the difference between being to satisfy an IT need for a given processor technology with existing staff, all the way out to pay premium rates for SME's to deal with outdated and unsupported systems, processes, and technologies. But I think the above elements will give you the rough order of magnitude of the risk, impact, and cost of downplaying IT's requirements as somehow separate from what you usually consider "business requirements" that come from the line of business or functional leadership stakeholders. 


Conclusion

In closing, I pose the following question to you. Do you consider IT part of the business? Consider this: if you've ever been successful because of what IT enabled the business to do, or likewise, disappointed by IT's inability to respond to the business' needs, then IT is absolutely part of the business. Consequently, IT's drivers and requirements need to be recognized, given the same airtime and funding consideration as the requirements from the rest of the business. They are all "business requirements." Do your organization a favor and don't separate the two anymore. Don't let the sometimes-intangible value of IT's business requirements deter you. If needed, assign business-friendly value indicators like risk, schedule, cost, and agility to IT's needs to quantify the value in satisfying IT's business requirements, both now AND later.

How can companies combat ransomware?

By Daniella Lundsberg-Steele • 25 Oct, 2023
As enterprise businesses in almost every sector strive to make the most of their data to compete in an increasingly digital economy, security is paramount. Data has never been more critical to business success, and the risks of it being vulnerable to attack have never been more severe. Securing that critical data remains a constant challenge, with workplaces being reimagined every day, with new challenges like architecting for remote work opening potential vulnerabilities and cyber-attacks becoming relentless and ever-more sophisticated. American Digital has partnered with Zerto to help secure data from ransomware by unlocking rapid air-gapped recovery. Our clients have truly benefited from custom-designed solutions based on their environments, data usage, and recovery planning. To learn more, please read our white paper here

Why Organizations using Cisco should switch to HPE dHCI.

By Ken Williams, American Digital Corporation • 09 Oct, 2023
In recent industry news , networking giant Cisco has announced its exit from the hyperconverged market, leaving many of its Hyperflex customers in a state of uncertainty. The company has recommended that these customers transition to Nutanix, a move that has prompted important questions about the future of hyperconverged infrastructure and the choices facing IT professionals. In this article, we'll delve into Cisco's decision, its implications, and alternatives for customers facing this transition. Cisco Bids Farewell to Hyperconverged The news of Cisco's exit from the hyperconverged market comes as a surprise to many. Cisco's Hyperflex product line had gained some traction in the industry, and its sudden departure raises questions about the viability of the hyperconverged approach. The Nutanix Recommendation Cisco has advised its Hyperflex customers to consider making the switch to Nutanix, another prominent player in the hyperconverged infrastructure space. While Nutanix offers a robust solution, this recommendation prompts a critical question: Do you really want to switch from the control of one vendor who abandoned the market to another? A Cautionary Tale for IT Professionals Cisco's exit from the hyperconverged market serves as a cautionary tale for IT professionals. It highlights the importance of carefully evaluating technology choices and considering the long-term implications of vendor decisions. While hyperconverged infrastructure can offer advantages in terms of simplicity and scalability, Cisco's exit reminds us of the risks associated with relying on a single vendor for such a critical component of your IT infrastructure. HPE's Response: dHCI Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) has been closely monitoring the challenges associated with hyperconverged infrastructure and has responded by introducing disaggregated hyperconverged infrastructure ( dHCI ). This approach offers the benefits of hyperconvergence while avoiding some of the limitations that have become apparent in traditional hyperconverged solutions. A Return to Converged Infrastructure Interestingly, many organizations that once embraced hyperconverged infrastructure have begun to return to more traditional converged infrastructure solutions. They have found that the flexibility and freedom afforded by converged infrastructure, with separate compute, storage, and networking components, allow them to better adapt to evolving business needs. Exploring Alternatives For Cisco Hyperflex customers who are unsure about making the switch to Nutanix, there are alternatives to consider. One option is to revert to Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) for compute and select an appropriate Alletra model to support the workload. This transition would effectively shift from a hyperconverged model back to a converged one, offering greater flexibility and control. In conclusion, Cisco's exit from the hyperconverged market is a significant development that prompts IT professionals to reconsider their approach to infrastructure. While Nutanix may be a viable option for some, it's essential to evaluate all alternatives and carefully weigh the long-term implications of your choice. As the industry continues to evolve, flexibility and adaptability will remain key considerations in building a resilient IT infrastructure.

The Benefits to Long-term IT Solutions Partnership

14 Jun, 2023
While some organizations approach digital transformation as a one-and-done project, the greatest benefits are only achievable through a long-term synergistic partnership. Take for example American Digital’s relationship with Generac Power Systems (NYSE: GNRC). As Tim Dickson, CIO of Generac, explained, “The Generac and American Digital story is a story of growth.” This began when Generac came to American Digital with a need for standard technology stacks, standard tooling, and standard tool sets that the team could use to manage its environment. “Due to the growth trajectory that the company was undertaking,” he continued, “we needed a partner that we could trust. We needed a partner that had local presence here in Wisconsin. And we needed a partner that could provide best-in-class solutions.” Through that partnership, American Digital would soon design and architect a solution that encompassed both hardware and software. This gave a relatively small team the ability to easily manage its large and rather complex manufacturing environment. Having that level of expertise from a partner able to guide your company is invaluable. Two talented teams working alongside one another in this manner can produce the right solutions that are future-driven and future-focused. And this makes it possible to easily grow and scale over time. As successes grow, so does that trust and those personal relationships. American Digital is focused not just on completing one project to our client’s utmost satisfaction but also on building and sustaining long-term partnerships. With a partner like American Digital at your side, you gain not only an IT solutions provider but also a trusted advocate that’s committed to your business success. Contact us to discuss the many ways we can enrich your organization.

Digital Transformation Amid Corporate Restructures

07 May, 2023
While McKinsey and Company noted 2022 global mergers and acquisitions had finally settled to their pre-pandemic levels after the year prior’s all-time high, uncertainty continues to loom. Still weighing on decision-makers are supply chain issues, inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty. Meanwhile the soaring cost of labor, energy, and commodities makes it hard for organizations to deliver maximum value. But American Digital has long been a leader in helping enterprises seamlessly transform their digital operations amid divestiture, consolidation, spinoff, and major corporate restructure—and we’re doing so with little to no downtime or impact on business continuity. This is driven by experienced consultants and managed service capabilities that help large enterprise clients consolidate infrastructure, direct data appropriately by entity, establish a data management plan based on each organization’s IT strategy, and run operations seamlessly within its SAP environment. Consider the leading consumer packaged goods enterprise that came to American Digital during its divestiture to two entities. With four decades of experience in IT infrastructure, American Digital carefully managed all aspects of its $1.6B project over the course of seven months while providing an additional cost savings on SAP licensing and contract restructuring. While large restructuring projects for multinational and global organizations are inherently complex, American Digital has devised a tried-and-true process that can eliminate in-house stress and provide a seamless end-to-end transformation. We help guide your team through the entire process, identifying potential obstacles and notably reducing risk. Contact us to learn more about our digital transformation solutions specific to divestiture, consolidation, and spinoff.

Your MSP should have SOC2 accreditation. We’ll explain why.

By Daniella Lundsberg-Steele • 20 Apr, 2023
The benefits in SaaS and cloud-based service models are immense—from the flexibility and value they offer to the freedom they provide in-house staff to focus on more important strategic objectives. But as more enterprises outsource their core business operations to managed service providers—and as access to crucial business data is shared—organizations need added assurance that controls are in place to safeguard their confidential and sensitive data from loss or compromise. SOC2 accreditation provides exactly that. It’s a critical certification demonstrating that a managed service provider has the highest business operational standards and controls in place when it comes to five core trust principles. Those include security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. And all of this is granted only after an impartial, third-party audit. This comprehensive audit will confirm that system controls have been put in place to block access by unauthorized users. An auditor might also look to ensure system availability is in-line with a service provider’s service level agreement and contract. Other assessments might evaluate disaster recovery methods, user access controls, and firewalls along with standards for the retention and disposal of personally identifiable information, among other important safeguards. Afterward, an auditor will develop reports that present detailed information on an organization’s security practices. Those reports can play a key role in organizational oversight, vendor management programs, regulatory oversight, internal corporate governance and risk management processes. Put simply, SOC2 accreditation is a crucial step in providing MSP partners with the assurance that their data is safe and secure. It's a level of assurance we, at American Digital, will always provide to our partners. In fact, since 2019, we’ve gone the extra mile to maintain our own SOC2 certification. Contact us today to learn more reasons why American Digital is the managed service partner of choice for some of today’s most discerning organizations.

What is network-as-a-service?

By Daniella Lundsberg-Steele • 15 Mar, 2023
Networks are continually strained by the demands of new hybrid workplaces, digital transformation, a move to the Edge, increasing numbers of connected devices such as phones and tablets, and new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning. Through it all, there’s a drive to maintain optimal network security, reliability, scale, speed, and compliance within tight budget constraints and limitations in existing IT resources and personnel who might lack certain skill sets. This leaves many organizations in reactive mode when, to be competitive, they need to be more proactive in driving ongoing business innovation. But a network-as-a-service (or NaaS) provider, such as HPE’s Aruba, can provide the advanced hardware, software, and services needed within a predictable subscription-based model. So you avoid long-term contracts and the high cost and commitment of infrastructure, paying only for what you use. NaaS also offers the flexibility to scale up or down to meet changing business demands. In some cases, NaaS also includes third-party network management delivered as a managed service. So companies can onboard the expertise, skills, and commitment of specialized networking personnel—expertise they might not have in-house. Additional perks include enhanced security, improved productivity, and proactive maintenance. And all of those benefits are supported as an operating expense. In the end, network-as-a-service helps you leverage the full potential of your network within a lean operational model while concentrating staff on core competencies that drive the business forward. Learn more at https://www.arubanetworks.com/video/?v=Products%20and%20Solutions/ARUBA-NAAS.mp4&width=960&height=540&t=Introducing%20Network%20as%20a%20Service

How Organizations Can Optimize SAP Security Amid a Changing Threat Landscape

By Daniella Lundsberg-Steele • 18 Feb, 2023
In our latest episode of the IT Unfiltered Podcast, Michael “MJ” Johnson, Director of SAP Solutions at American Digital, and Aiden Walden, Director of Public Cloud Architecture and Engineering at Fortinet, discussed some of the largest security threats they’ve noticed with SAP customers and what organizations can do to mitigate risk. During the broadcast, the two had an in-depth conversation on the changes that have been made within our modes of work, with access now granted to employees working from home and across various devices along with extranet and public connections that come into SAP and transmit things like purchase orders and invoicing. This combined with other factors have notably altered the threat landscape. But SAP customers can do a lot to guard against new threats. For instance, there are possibilities at the network layer to mitigate application-layer attacks, such as the implementation of virtual patching to fill that gap. Beyond this, consider a layered defense approach, with security established at various choke points coming into the infrastructure. Organizations also need a method for differentiating that traffic while still maintaining an optimized user experience. To this end, they’ll want to better understand benign anomalies versus malicious attempts. They’ll also want to identify security points that might protect applications in lieu of patching systems. One can filter a privilege escalation issue, for example, from contaminating one space to another. The two also discussed a more holistic approach to sealing gaps, one focused on business intent while aligning SAP Basis administration with network security. This type of approach offers a stronger security baseline understanding of each application and user. It also offers opportunities to prevent a privilege escalation that might allow one user to access an application and hop to the database. Furthermore, it might aid organizations with the implementation of more appropriate segmentation along with a policy framework that’s intelligent enough to identify application type and, if certain activity is abnormal, block it. This change in approach can be challenging in organizations that are more siloed in their processes and requires buy in from all teams. When it comes to SAP, a security policy shouldn’t be viewed as one-sized-fits-all but, instead, one that’s dependent on the applications that are being pushed into any given environment. It’s a policy that will need to adapt over the course of its lifecycle as the environment grows and as different factors come into play. We’ve seen some organizations adopt this way of thinking, and although this shift can be challenging to adopt, the entire organization benefits. Moving forward, great opportunities exist for applying deep learning and AI to the SAP environment, helping organizations continually fine-tune. Advances are also being made with operationalizing data, workflow automation, and threat hunting. American Digital and Fortinet are great resources for clients that need assistance with their security protocol. Tune into the full conversation by listening to the American Digital IT Unfiltered Podcast on your favorite podcast player.

Why leveraging an experienced SAP partner like American Digital Can Ensure the Success of Your Next SAP Project

By Daniella Lundsberg-Steele • 06 Sep, 2022
Organizations today seek out hybrid SAP solutions that are capable of delivering the agility and economics of the cloud paired with the security and performance of IT on premise. But designing and implementing the right multi-layered solution can be complicated. It needs to suit your unique environment. It needs seamless deployment to ensure uninterrupted business continuity. And everything needs to be accomplished without over-burdening in-house resources. Consider the fact that numerous custom database management tools and data warehousing applications, whether on-premise or within any number of cloud providers, use critical business data that’s being housed within SAP HANA®. As those migrate to even larger SAP S/4HANA instances, they may not be suitable for public cloud due to application entanglement issues or data gravity. This can result in performance issues, data latency, and high egress fees. It’s no wonder many customers originally opting for SAP in public cloud are now repatriating critical infrastructure pieces to cloud adjacent solutions instead. In tapping American Digital with its almost 40-year track record spanning more than 200 successful SAP deployments, those same organizations can shift to SAP S/4HANA in the most cost efficient and reliable manner. Reason being, American Digital builds hybrid SAP solutions on secure and reliable platforms that guarantee predictable costs based on actual usage. They also provide single tenancy on SAP-certified infrastructure, cloud adjacent and globally distributed deployments, plus low latency connections to leading SAP ecosystem partners. And all of this is accomplished with the support of a trusted SAP partner. American Digital is the most experienced SAP solution provider, bringing the expertise needed to make deployment a successful reality. Contact us to learn more about how we leverage technology offerings .  From the industry leaders like HPE and Equinix to ensure your SAP environment runs smoothly and efficiently.

Better Together: The Hybrid Cloud Solution from American Digital and HPE

By Daniella Lundsberg-Steele • 28 Aug, 2022
Enterprises love the cloud. It can broaden capabilities, improve flexibility, and put scalable resources at your fingertips. And while most applications and data are still housed on premise at data center colocations and at the edge, American Digital and HPE now provide organizations with the ability to enjoy one unified experience from edge to cloud. This experience is made possible by an exceptional tool from HPE that lets you engage with the cloud on your terms. As complete partners in data center modernization, American Digital and HPE work in tandem to help enterprises find the precise blend of cloud and on-premises solutions to suit their operational needs. Leveraging modern IT solutions like GreenLake, we can present endless opportunities across your edges, colos, and datacenters. In short, we help you realize a complete solution that can notably boost productivity—all designed and tailored to suit your own organizational needs. Now you can secure access to everything you need as-a-service and sized for today within an economical pay by consumption model. Beyond that, you’ll have the ability to manage all of your cloud services, onboard new users with defined roles and permissions, deploy virtual machines, forecast capacity needs, unify data across your hybrid cloud—even leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning—all through cloud-native infrastructure. American Digital is a recognized datacenter transformation leader. And we bring four decades of experience creating custom solutions for our clients, known for taking a client-first approach. As a result, we’re proud to have earned long-term client partnerships. Contact us today to discuss hybrid cloud solutions that combine the best of both American Digital and HPE.

Aruba ESP Helps Businesses Modernize Their Networks

By Daniella Lundsberg-Steele • 02 Aug, 2022
The retail, hospitality, manufacturing, professional services, and education fields, among others, have set their sights on digital transformation and network modernization. In doing so, they’re looking to improve customer engagement, the user’s experience, and overall efficiencies. And Aruba ESP has been driving that change. Consider Homebase, a North American provider of multifamily and vacation rental connectivity along with what they’ve coined “Smart Living-as-a-service”. Using Aruba ESP, the company boosted property and operating income while shrinking the length of time building owners needed to manage unit turnover and maintenance tickets. Beyond this, Aruba ESP helps Homebase rapidly scale to accommodate a growing property portfolio. Meanwhile across the globe, Korean-based FASTFIVE, developer of a shared office space platform, chose Aruba ESP with Central plus Aruba Wi-Fi 6 and switching solutions to deliver innovative co-working experiences, accelerate business growth, and lock in a clear competitive advantage. Today, the company is reaping the rewards of proactive AI-powered network management along with the ability to support bandwidth-intensive applications like Extended Reality and video conferencing. Both primary and higher education have also tapped into Aruba ESP. Take Roseville Joint Union High School District, which has implemented the first-of-its-kind 180,000 square foot dynamic college-like collaborative learning environment. Likewise, Doane University recently rearchitected their network to enable always-on connectivity, remote and hybrid education, and network-generated contextual data and analytics. Within the retail industry, Aruba ESP has helped companies collect visitor data and push new services and promotions. Manufacturing, too, has used Aruba ESP to recovered millions of dollars by shrinking defects and inventory bottlenecks. Read more industry-specific case studies from companies now using Aruba ESP to drive digital acceleration and network modernization at https://www.arubanetworks.com/ebook/esp-customers /
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