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Cloud transformation has been an ongoing journey for several decades now, with virtually all organisations utilising some form of public or private Cloud platform as part of their wider IT infrastructure. However, with the rapid rise of next-gen AI technologies, and organisations' growing willingness to explore their full potential, Cloud transformation priorities have shifted, with a growing demand for infrastructure that can fully support such projects.

In 2024, Microsoft Teams exceeded 320 million users worldwide, further cementing its status as the communication and collaboration platform of choice for organisations at all levels, across the public and private sectors. Indeed, 88% of businesses report that implementing Teams has resulted resulted in tangible time savings, and 17% reporting streamlined decision-making.

In the modern interconnected world, securing organisations' critical data is more of a challenge than ever before, with new threats emerging on a near-daily basis, and the ongoing evolution of corporate infrastructure creating new attack vectors that must be identified and secured. However, when establishing a robust security posture, it is important to bear in mind that many of the strategies employed by cyber criminals are, in fact, new variations of familiar threats. 

Organisations utilise a broader range of connectivity solutions than ever before. This has empowered them to deliver their services to customers all over the world, across a range of channels, while simultaneously ensuring employees are always able to access the critical applications they depend on and collaborate remotely with their colleagues.

Even as organisations across the public and private sectors continue to embrace Cloud transformation, they cannot afford to underestimate the importance of robust physical infrastructure. From the underlying networks that optimise the performance of critical applications and enable seamless, secure flows of data, to the growing range of devices the modern distributed workforce depends on to deliver their best, world-class hardware remains a powerful driver for long-term success and innovation.

One of the key principles of modern cyber security is that "It's not if, it's when". The strategies utilised by cyber criminals grow increasingly sophisticated and aggressive with each passing year, with any breach having the potential to cause irreparable financial and reputational damage if operations are not resumed and data secured as quickly as possible. However, while most organisations will already have some form of disaster recovery plan in place, when one takes into account the increasing pace of Cloud transformation and the number of potential attack vectors it has opened up into account, these often turn out to be no longer fit for purpose when it is time to initiate them.

Enterprise IT is more diverse, dynamic, and highly integrated than ever before, with organisations at all levels, across the public and private sectors utilising on-premises and Cloud-based solutions in a growing range of sophisticated configurations. This means every aspect of organisations' digital infrastructure must be of the very highest quality, supporting ironclad security for critical data and optimal performance and availability for the platforms the modern distributed workforce depends on.

Now more than ever, with customers making contact across a growing range of channels, your contact centre is one of the factors that will determine their overall perception of your service quality. For many customers, it will serve as your 'front door', and so every element must be tailored to provide a seamless, stress-free experience - from the first point of contact to the final resolution, every time.

The tactics utilised by bad actors to gain access to organisations' critical data grow more sophisticated and aggressive with each passing year, making cyber security an ongoing battle. But as systems and processes continue to evolve in response to these emerging threats, it is important to not lose sight of strong cyber security fundamentals, as even the most familiar threats can still wreak havoc on your operations, profits, and reputation.

Whether you're an ambitious startup or an established global leader, the modern breed of IT is complex, with numerous areas that would previously have been relatively siloed now highly interconnected. Cloud, networking, cyber security, unified communications, and much more must all work seamlessly together towards short- and long-term business goals, all in full compliance with an increasing number of stringent regulations.

Cloud computing has proved transformational for organisations ranging from startups to global leaders, allowing them to design, manage, and scale their IT infrastructure with a level of agility that would previously have been impossible. This widespread embrace of Cloud transformation is helping drive a range of new innovations, including Cloud-native security, integration with edge computing platforms for IoT applications, and the next generation of AI, ML, and big data platforms.

An effective service desk operation is no longer just a 'nice to have' part of your IT ecosystem. It's the 'secret sauce' that ensures every element of your personal IT 'sundae' works completely seamlessly, wherever employees are connecting from. Indeed, with hybrid working now firmly established across the public and private sectors, the fast, successful resolution of any support tickets is a fundamental part of a world-class employee experience, ensuring they feel valued and able to deliver their best.