Infrastructure-Led Disruption Will Drive Business Innovation

By 2025, 60% of infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders will drive business innovation using disruptive technologies, up from less than 5% who do so today, according to Gartner. This trend of infrastructure-led disruption will support the growth of the I&O function within the enterprise.

“As businesses face increased pressure to lower operating costs, many I&O leaders have been siloed into a tactical role rather than a strategic one, essentially, becoming custodians of legacy infrastructure,“ said Katherine Lord, research vice president at Gartner. “The result is stunted I&O maturity over the past decade. I&O leaders who harness the power of disruptive technologies, such as cloud and AI, will discover new opportunities to serve as business innovators.“

IT infrastructure remains in a period of protracted change, spurred by new technologies that only increase the complexity of modern, distributed infrastructures. Recognizing the need for growth to remain relevant in the digital age, 45% of respondents in the Gartner 2019 I&O Executive Leaders Survey indicated that improving maturity was among their top three goals for their I&O organizations. Embracing technologies such as automation, edge and quantum computing can help I&O leaders mature their infrastructure for the next wave of digital.

Through 2022, traditional I&O skills will be insufficient for more than half of the operational tasks that I&O leaders will be responsible for. Further, while 66% of I&O leaders believe that behaviors related to culture hinder their agility, 47% have not adapted these behaviors to align with their cultural and organizational transformation. Strategic alignment and purposeful alliances with the C-suite will also be crucial for the future of I&O. As business becomes increasingly digital, I&O leaders have the chance to use their technology expertise to collaborate with other leaders on breakthrough opportunities.