Investing in infrastructure is a tough sell to a lot of people. Take your house for example, the most important and expensive features of your house are likely your sewer and HVAC system. Yet, they’re the last things anyone wants to spend money on because you can’t see them, you can’t show them off to your friends. As a result, even the nicest looking homes are often on the verge of disaster.

Companies are the same way. Everyone has heard the cliché, “every company is a technology company”. While we know that’s not true, it is true that every company is powered by technology. It used to be that an internet connection and a Microsoft office subscription was good enough for small companies, and for larger companies, same thing but add some servers. Now, though, with the influx of data that needs to be managed, a solid IT infrastructure is more than necessary.

Not Good Enough

The average spending on IT infrastructure is currently only 18% of the entire technology budget, while top performing companies are spending almost double that at 34%. Those percentages are expected to rise, but the gap will only get wider. It will no longer be a question of investing in solid IT for laggards, it will be a matter of investing too little too late and just hoping for survival.

Skeptical? As technology companies such as Amazon get larger they will continue to acquire or in most cases simply beat the competition. Think you’re not the competition? Maybe not now, but is it hard to imagine Amazon starting an Uber-like model for what is traditionally a local company; plumbing, handi-men, electricians, etc? If you do not have the foundational structure to compete; such as the technology for great customer experience (CX) and a way to not just store your data, but to actually use it to get your message to the right audience at the right time, within the bounds of the law, your company will not only lose revenue opportunities, but eventually fade into oblivion.

Or, on the flip side, if you’re working for a multi-national company with revenue that leaves most of the developing world’s GDPs in the dust, do you trust your infrastructure to safely house and manage your data? With recent hacks of companies like Uber, Equifax and Yahoo, can you afford to wait to invest in trustworthy digital infrastructure?

Do you trust that your data is being managed correctly? With the initiation of GDPR only five short months away are you willing to bet four percent of your revenue that your digital infrastructure can handle the rigors of data protection?    

We’re All in This Together

No matter what sized company you work for, your digital infrastructure is vital to your revenue. The investment you make in it now will not only guarantee that you are able to produce any revenue in the distant future, it will allow you to make gains on your competition now. The companies that will succeed invest heavily in digital infrastructure for three reasons…

  • Because they have vision
  • Because they want to get the most out of their marketing dollars
  • Because they understand that data has a value and they want to get the most out of it

Click here to see censhare, Cedexis, and The Nerdery have an in-depth discussion on how important digital infrastructure is to your revenue.