Positive thinking: Take IT a step further

Alan Sedghi, managing director of Hewlett-Packard (Thailand)

However, we have seen the boom-and-bust cycle before, so as experienced business people, we must tighten our financial belts, review our operating plans and steer our businesses through these choppy waters.

Unlike previous economic crises though, this one comes at an interesting point in history, where technology and business are converging in new and increasingly beneficial ways. As businesses think hard about how to maintain - or ideally, to increase - their returns on investment, decision-makers have to be more vigilant about every aspect of their companies' investments. 

This is where the convergence of technology and business comes into play.

Previously, business and technology people often spoke different languages, and technology was simply a tool to help in the conduct of business. But that's all changing. 

The new reality is that technology doesn't simply support business activities, it powers businesses. As a result, information technology people expect to see chief executives, chief information officers and other company decision-makers allocating more money to their companies' technology infrastructure. 

The growth in IT spending over the past 30 to 40 years is due to the increasing importance of IT as an integral part of running a business. These days, IT risks are business risks and IT opportunities are business opportunities; technology is no longer just an expense, it's a business investment. 

In this environment, HP has introduced the concept of shifting the focus of business organisations from the world of information technology (IT) to the new world of business technology (BT). The focus must shift from how technology performs to what technology can deliver to a business in terms of tangible results. 

By focusing on BT, the results are measured in profoundly different ways. The challenge to the chief information officer or IT professional is to drive business results, including improved customer satisfaction and increased revenue, as well as achieving the traditional IT results of improved efficiency and cost reduction.

The critical question is how do companies align technology with business goals?  The answer lies in technology solutions that are designed to drive business results; solutions that not only allow businesses to lower costs and increase efficiency, but set in motion the manifestations of innovation, business agility and growth.

HP is offering business technology solutions that transform the current IT environment into a business asset. We provide proven solutions to optimise business information and business technology as well as an adaptive infrastructure, including the core building blocks of servers and storage, service and software, with the flexibility to customise business technology solutions across industries.  

While financial crises offer overwhelming challenges, they also give us opportunities to evaluate how we can compete more effectively both now and in the future.  One important way to do this is to invest in the transformation of IT into a strategic part of your business.