In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I am going to look at a few of the challenges that organisations face as we look into the New Year, and ask if some of the fixes aren’t staring us in the face.
The only way is up
The OECD estimates that inflation is currently running at an average of 4.5% across its 38 member countries, and at 3.8% in the UK. Specific areas of the economy are running very hot, with energy inflation in the UK at an eye-watering 22%!
Inflation isn’t going away any time soon, either: the OECD reckons it will peak in the UK at 4.9% in Q2 of 2022, before settling down to a more manageable but still high 2.8% by the end of the year. The Bank of England, meanwhile, expects inflation to fall as the impact of higher oil and gas prices fade and consumer demand for goods begins to slow. The Bank expects inflation in the UK to be back to its 2% target in two years’ time, and interest rate hikes are likely to be necessary to achieve this.
In the meantime, however, organisations and individuals are going to find themselves under pressure. Supply chains are adding to the inflationary effect and with that we’ve all got to make our pound stretch further. Whether privately, or in business, what can we do next year to weather that storm and get greater value?
The source of true value
Value is not about cutting corners, but doing things differently to obtain something greater, for less. Organisations should be asking themselves how they drive more value from their business processes and systems – whether they are in the security industry or any other sector.
It’s difficult for some businesses to spot the efficiencies, but they will be there. Even in energy-intensive sectors such as manufacturing where the high prices paid for oil and gas, even if hedged, are causing difficulty, opportunities to digitise production lines and gain savings by predicting component failure or spotting energy-sapping equipment.
Closer to home, we see many organisations that rely on data – and which doesn’t nowadays? –securing significant savings by moving their systems to the cloud instead of hosting them in space and energy-intensive on-site facilities. They have successfully chosen business models that are more cost-efficient in how they are managed, supported and implemented.
Models for doing things differently
In many cases, organisations remain mystified about cloud technology. For those considering moving their security system to the cloud, it doesn’t necessarily mean ripping out your entire system and starting again. In the first instance, it might mean simply moving storage to the cloud. Or it might mean moving some of your servers to a hosted environment, which provides greater efficiencies in terms of reduced downtime, better support, lower energy cost, the opportunity for upscaling and real-time updates. Contact Reliance High-Tech to find out how this can be easily achieved.
Equally, rather than laying out a large capital expenditure on a new system, an organisation might choose to move to a ‘security as a service’ model (SECaaS) The ‘as a service’ model has already transformed software ownership, telecommunications use and even car ownership – I see no reason why it shouldn’t do the same for security. Under this model, the end user is paying for an outcome – the safety of its people, property and assets, for example – rather than the hardware that makes this possible. It releases valuable cash flow for other critical business activities and when combined with the cloud creates the potential to quickly scale up or down, based on changing needs.
It’s yet another example of how efficiencies can be gained, and productivity boosted at a time when the economic climate presents real challenges for organisations large and small. It’s another way of delivering value when it’s really needed.
To discuss this further please Contact Reliance High-Tech
