In an exclusive conversation with CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, KJ Burke, Field CTO, Hybrid Infrastructure at CDW Canada, shares his expertise on leveraging technology to transform business operations and deliver measurable value. With over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, KJ brings a wealth of knowledge in networking, storage, virtualization, and data center infrastructure.
KJ discusses strategies for planning and deploying IT solutions that address complex business challenges, emphasizing the importance of aligning technology with organizational goals. His insights provide a roadmap for small businesses to harness the power of hybrid infrastructure and innovative IT strategies to improve processes and remain competitive in an ever-evolving market.
KJ is an innovative and driven IT technology strategist with solid interpersonal and communication skills. He is currently the Field CTO, Hybrid Infrastructure at CDW Canada, with over 20 years in the IT industry and plenty of experience in planning and deploying technology to improve business processes and drive measurable value.
His career has largely been spent in the mining and software development verticals, with expertise in networking, storage, virtualization, business process and data centre infrastructure. With a broad understanding of technology and business needs, KJ delivers value-focused IT solutions and processes that resolve complex business issues.
The 2024 CDW Canadian Hybrid Cloud Report revealed interesting insights into the evolving tech landscape. Could you share some of the most surprising findings from the report and their implications for Canadian SMBs?
The 2024 CDW Canadian Hybrid Cloud Report revealed several important insights for Canadian SMBs to consider. One standout finding was the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption, with 55 per cent of organizations investing in AI. Although it’s great to see so many Canadian businesses investing in AI, only three per cent of these organizations feel their data infrastructure is fully prepared to handle AI’s complexities, particularly in areas such as privacy, scalability and governance. This gap highlights the need for more mature data management processes to ensure secure, efficient and safe AI deployment. As SMBs typically have smaller IT departments, it’s especially crucial that their infrastructure is primed to maximize the investment in AI on a tighter budget and where possible, look to leverage AI platforms.
The use of public clouds is gaining momentum, but with it brings management challenges. The report revealed that 59 per cent of organizations are planning to use multiple public clouds over the next two years. However, 34 per cent of these organizations report little or no interoperability between their clouds, leading to data silos and governance challenges. Additionally, the report highlights a skills shortage, with 35 per cent of organizations struggling to find the IT talent required to manage hybrid environments.
For SMBs, as they operate across several clouds, these findings emphasize the importance of maturing management tools for easier cross platform operations. Each cloud has its own platform and capabilities that require specific knowledge and skills to operate properly. This can be costly and time consuming for SMBs.
Imagine personal banking as a parallel example. You may have registered accounts with one bank and conduct day-to-day banking with another all while investing through an online brokerage app. Each of these banking platforms have their own unique benefits to maximize, but they also require platform-specific know-how to be able to do so. Just like managing your finances, you need the skills and tools to manage your business operations across cloud platforms.
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With hybrid and multi-cloud environments becoming more popular, what are some best practices for small businesses leveraging these technologies to optimize operations and drive innovation?
As these environments become more prevalent, identifying the right consuming platform is crucial. These are the platforms in which cloud services are managed. For SMBs, accessibility and ease-of-use are paramount. Simply put, the easier it is for them to use the platform, the more time they can spend on actually growing their business.
At CDW, we see our customers focusing on Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS) as their cloud platforms of choice. They often look to take advantage of data services like Fabric in Azure and AI services like Bedrock in AWS to accelerate their service deployments.
I recommend SMBs take some time to get to know which platforms and services best fit their needs and feel intuitive to use.
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AI adoption is on the rise, but many SMEs face challenges in integrating it into their daily operations. What key steps should small businesses take when starting their AI journey, and how can they overcome common obstacles?
To begin with, SMEs are likely looking to implement Generative AI (GenAI). Every GenAI journey looks different, but a safe place for businesses to start is identifying specific use cases that align with their goals. GenAI tools can be split into four major categories: tools for the individual, the team or role, the organization and the external customer. Each of these categories has its own identified stakeholder, management and varying levels of risk.
For individuals, tools like Microsoft Copilot empower them by helping summarize, create and classify information more efficiently. Zooming out, for organizations, tools like IBM watsonx deliver broader access to data to automate more complex roles. AI tools for organizations carry a greater risk profile as they often involve multiple data sets and sensitive data. Therefore, data management and governance become prerequisites to delivering these larger AI projects. The field of GenAI is growing every day, so it’s important for SMEs to identify exactly what they want to use these tools for and who will be using them.
To this point, IT teams must recognize that they are not the ones that GenAI is primarily going to assist. Most of the challenges that GenAI can help with will be identified by front-line workers. So, it’s critical that IT teams work hand-in-hand with their front-line colleagues to identify the processes and solutions that drive significant cost and time savings.
Since many SMEs don’t have the budget for a fully resourced IT team, partnering with third-party experts is another important step. They can guide GenAI governance, accelerate adoption and help differentiate between consuming platform options that best fit the business needs of SMEs.
The scarcity of skilled IT professionals is a significant barrier for many organizations. How can Canadian businesses address this talent shortage, and what role do third-party experts like CDW play in helping navigate cloud and AI transformations?
To tackle the ongoing shortage of skilled IT professionals, Canadian businesses need to consider strategic solutions that alleviate the pressure on in-house teams. As I mentioned earlier, management of increasingly complex environments is very difficult for smaller IT teams as it requires mastery of platform skillsets and 24/7 operational support, which is unsustainable for these teams. One key approach is partnering with third-party experts like CDW Canada, who bring specialized knowledge in managing complex cloud environments and integrating AI. By doing so, companies can offload certain responsibilities, allowing their internal teams to focus on more strategic initiatives rather than becoming overwhelmed with every aspect of IT management. This is crucial, as explored in our Cybersecurity Study, because single-point reliance on internal teams often leads to burnout—a challenge many organizations are facing. Third-party experts help bridge this gap, ensuring businesses can continue to innovate without overtaxing their resources.
Automation is another solution. Automating routine infrastructure management can help reduce the reliance on highly skilled IT professionals. Additionally, businesses should invest in training programs to upskill existing staff in cloud and AI technologies, ensuring they are equipped to manage new skillsets in tandem with maturing infrastructure. As the external technology landscape develops, so too should internal talent.
Looking ahead, what major technology trends should Canadian SMBs keep an eye on in 2024 to stay competitive in an increasingly digital landscape?
As 2025 approaches, Canadian SMBs should keep an eye on several important technology trends. AI and GenAI are expected to continue reshaping business landscapes, with 55 per cent of organizations already investing in AI to drive productivity, innovation and cost optimization.
Another trend is the rise of hybrid multicloud environments. Businesses that can create portability of workloads while effectively managing multiple platforms and upgrading the skillsets necessary for their efficient operation will gain a competitive edge. However, ensuring interoperability between cloud systems will be crucial to avoiding data silos and governance challenges.
Lastly, the rate of change for technology is moving exponentially fast. More powerful and intricate technologies will become increasingly available in the market. This shouldn’t be taken as a frightening development, though. Knowing this, SMBs shouldn’t feel pressure to immediately adopt tools that aren’t right for them due to fear of being left behind. Chances are, that ideal tool to help your business will be in market sometime soon. While it may feel overwhelming to digest this rate of change, the CDW website has excellent resources – blogs, podcasts, case studies – that are specifically there to help businesses understand the technology landscape and how they can leverage it.
The post Harnessing Technology for Growth: Insights from KJ Burke first appeared on CanadianSME Small Business Magazine.