As-a-service remains a vital option for driving transformation

CIOs read the same reports about the global economic outlook for 2023 that we all do, so they understand how imperative it is to maximise the value of technology investments over the short term. At the same time, technology leaders are being asked to deliver ambitious transformation programs that leverage next-generation AI, ML, and automation across every process.

AI applications will soon have far-reaching implications because organisations are expected to use AI-powered applications for various business use cases across vertical industries. For instance, AI enables security applications to learn from past patterns to identify an imminent attack quickly. With customer centricity and customer experience also at the heart of every organisation’s digital transformation journey, organisations using AI-based applications are a strong move in the right direction.

Where transformative technologies such as these were once the domain of only the largest enterprises, organisations in every sector can now access the capabilities to disrupt their industry through as-a-service consumption models. Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) has gone from being a novelty to a necessity in only the last five years. Gartner predicts SaaS spending in the enterprise will rise to $195 Billion in 2023 , up 17% from $167 Billion in 2022.?

The explosion of the as-a-Service model represents an overall shift towards consumption-based models. So, what is it that makes as-a-service offerings so attractive to enterprises??

• Efficiency – Money will always be the number one motivator for businesses. As-a-service consumption models through the cloud have repeatedly proven to lower the total cost of ownership for enterprise IT.
• Scalability – The last thing your business needs to be hampered by is legacy tech that cannot scale to match your business growth. Consumption-based IT models enable enterprises to scale their subscriptions up and down as their business needs dictate.
• Customisation – IT vendors used to be focused on delivering a product that would work for as many organisations as possible but not specifically for any specific enterprise. The as-a-Service model requires vendors to focus on real business outcomes for each client and continuously adjust the service they provide until they achieve results.
• Internal service delivery – The way that IT organisations and IT departments deliver IT services within the enterprise is now vastly different. They need the ability to rapidly provision new applications and platforms for business units, which an as-a-Service consumption model through the cloud enables.

According to our survey with IDC and AMD of 906 IT and business decision-makers from select organisations across Asia/Pacific, senior leaders are seeking to leverage technology to optimise their supply chains, improve asset utilisation and improve their agility and resilience, which will enable them to respond faster to the changing needs of their business. Driving revenue and profit growth is their top priority while becoming maniacally customer–focused enables them to deliver a much more personalised customer experience

As-a-service consumption models allow businesses to access these essential new capabilities without investing significant time and resources in implementation, maintenance, and updates.? Asia Pacific organisations stated that cost rationalization and optimization are the top catalysts for adoption, while they’re also attracted by flexibility and agility, which enable them to align business outcomes and IT spending in a highly volatile and constantly changing business and economic environment. By the numbers, the top three reasons for adopting as-a-service were:

1. Reducing IT operational costs – 34%
2. Greater flexibility and agility to meet business demands – 32%
3. Focusing more on technology innovation to drive business outcomes – 32%

With business innovation becoming a strategic imperative for success in the digital economy, consumption models enable Asia/Pacific CIOs to access the next generation of AI/ML and automation. AI applications will soon reach broad deployment across Asia Pacific, with more than 80% of the respondents using or planning to use AI applications in the next 12 months.?

While some organisations are still in the starting blocks when it comes to deploying new AI capabilities across the enterprise, there will soon be no excuse for not implementing any of these capabilities in security operations, service personalisation, and infrastructure automation. As a service will continue to provide a vital avenue for any organisation throughout Asia Pacific that wants to pursue these technologies.

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Lenovo As-A-Service Case Study: Distributed Storage Solutions Limited

If you reduced your CAPEX / OPEX while procuring the latest IT infrastructure, your business team would appreciate your procurement skills. That's what Distributed Storage Solutions Limited (DSS) did.

DSS, Australia's largest IPFS cloud storage provider, required access to top-of-the-line Lenovo hardware through a pay-as-you-go model with a minimal initial investment. There was no need for significant upfront investment, and DSS only pays for the infrastructure resources it uses, with predictable and easy-to-understand pricing.

“We’re essentially procuring half a million dollars’ worth of equipment every month; if we were buying the hardware outright, we would be constantly raising capital. Lenovo TruScale has freed us from those capital constraints and given us the agility we need to grow at a very fast pace.” Andrew Leece - CEO, DSS

Find out more info on this customer story by clicking here.

About the author

As the Chief Marketing Officer for Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group in Asia Pacific, I’m responsible for leading the function of marketing and communications across the region. My role encompasses strategic planning to communicate brand value through marketing efforts. I strongly believe that traditional marketing is now replaced with Mark-Teching - bringing marketing and technology together.?