Centralization represents a significant stride forward for your business, but in order to take this step, your IT department needs to make sure their network bases are covered.

Businesses are becoming more global than ever. While the notion of global distributed organizations was once confined to very large enterprises, the growth of mobility and the interconnectedness that accompanies it have enabled companies of all sizes to build a worldwide presence.

However, while the shift among businesses toward a broader sphere of operations is hugely beneficial to enterprise productivity, it threatens to place new burdens on IT. With the expansion of businesses and IT operations, silo-based IT is increasingly outmoded.

Legacy IT models often dictate that operations be dispersed across an enterprise's various locations. When IT infrastructures are spread out, they're not only challenging to oversee, but also very difficult to optimize. Existing IT models often lead companies to needlessly spend money and energy trying to support a system that impedes progress. The answer to this problem lies in centralizing IT environments.

Reaping the Benefits of IT Centralization
Centralized IT operates on the simple principle that major business IT functions should be based within headquarters. This means that functions like application development and rollouts, strategy and analytics, as well the placement of hardware and software assets, all occur within a centralized hub. For companies that choose to go this route, the benefits are immediate and highly impactful. They include:

• Cost savings. When IT operations are not centralized, businesses inevitably run into the problem of duplicating certain IT tasks, as ComputerWeekly points out. In addition to the time this duplication eats up, it also racks up unnecessary business costs, which can be completely eliminated by centralizing IT functions.
• Better oversight. Business CIOs have their work cut out for them if IT is organized in a scattershot and broadly dispersed manner. Centralization resolves this issue by placing IT operations in a single hub, which is inherently easier for CIOs to manage.
• Streamlined technology deployments. Let's say a business with spread-out IT has five locations globally, but only two are using the most updated version of a central piece of software. In this case, the lack of across-the-board software updates will invariably lead to software-created hurdles that will slow down IT functions.

"The last thing companies need is a proliferation of technology standards and models," said IT expert and CIO John Handby. "If different parts of the organization are taking different technology routes, it can only lead to problems."

Fortunately, this problem can be completely solved with centralization, which ensures that there will be no lagging components as far as technology updates are concerned.

Getting Centralized with Robot
Some businesses may not view centralization as a viable option due to the perceived difficulty in implementing and sustaining it. After all, most business IT departments aren't getting any bigger—nor are their budgets increasing.

The challenge for CIOs is to find a way to both manage IT and set new technology goals with limited resources and personnel. From this perspective, centralizing IT can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be.

Robot systems management software provides enterprises with vital tools to make IT centralization not only manageable, but highly successful. The Robot product line encompasses a number of solutions that make the transition to centralization smooth and effective. These tools include:

• Robot SCHEDULE: Centralization calls for effective job scheduling, which is exactly what Robot SCHEDULE provides. This automated IBM i job-scheduling software provides its users with the resources to easily create time-based and event-driven schedules, which takes the burden of manual scheduling off of IT.
• Robot NETWORK: Server environment oversight is a key element of IT operations, and it becomes more manageable when using Robot NETWORK. This solution allows for things like exception-based management and performance monitoring. Conveniently, Robot NETWORK is accessible from any computer or mobile device, making it an ideal resource in the increasingly mobile age of business.

The Robot product line is built to ensure that CIOs experience greater efficiency while also freeing up time for operators and saving money. These are all elements that will pave the way for a successful centralization effort.

Tom Huntington is Executive Vice President of Technical Solutions at HelpSystems, and has been with the company for nearly 30 years. He works with business alliances, acquisitions and large customer relationships and ensures that the HelpSystems software works with other major software and hardware vendors worldwide.

Tom often speaks on enterprise scheduling, security, automation topics, IBM i technology, and the HelpSystems products, and hosts technical presentations on a variety of automation topics. He is the author of the HelpSystems IBM i Marketplace Survey and has written articles on automated operations, security, cloud computing, and business intelligence for leading trade journals and newsletters. He was named an IBM Champion in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 for over three decades of advocation and thought leadership on the IBM i platform.

Contact Tom at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..