ReadyWorks develops leading IT infrastructure automation technology. Having recently closed $8M in Series A funding, ReadyWorks reduces the risks and costs associated with IT infrastructure management for a wide range of industry leading orgs. including many of the world’s largest financial institutions and investment banks.
ReadyWorks is part of an emerging technology category, Digital Platform Conductor space (DPC), that Gartner says will fill a crucial gap for digital business. Fully orchestrating complex IT infrastructure transformation programs, ReadyWorks provides companies with a way to ensure business continuity as needed IT transformations are carried out.
We spoke with ReadyWorks CEO and co-founder Paul Deur to learn how ReadyWorks secures and accelerates digital transformation efforts:
With over 20 years’ experience in IT transformation, what security gap did you see in the market that led you to start ReadyWorks?
We started ReadyWorks because we understood just how risky IT infrastructure transformation and management can be. Mitigating security risks means having detailed, real-time visibility into all physical and virtual assets within the estate from “cradle to grave.” You need to know what hardware and applications have been purchased, who is using them, where they are located, if security vulnerabilities (e.g., patches, EOL, etc.) have been addressed, and if data bearing equipment has been properly handled prior to entering e-waste programs.
Unfortunately, keeping track of this information and managing asset lifecycle programs using legacy, siloed systems and manual processes will not work. That’s where ReadyWorks, a digital platform conductor, comes in. ReadyWorks integrates with IT and business systems to extract data and provide an accurate, real-time view of the entire IT estate, which helps organizations understand their security posture and make informed decisions for infrastructure transformation. Knowing where all hardware is, who is using it, which OS version is installed, and which applications are being used helps them create a plan to mitigate exposure and vulnerabilities. ReadyWorks also orchestrates and automates this plan, helping organizations address security vulnerabilities faster without breaking access to critical business systems and applications in the process.
What’s the biggest challenge when it comes to ensuring that IT programs are managed securely, and what are some of the most common mistakes enterprises tend to make when looking to overhaul or improve their IT infrastructure management?
The biggest challenge – and one of the most common mistakes – is trying to manage IT programs with legacy, disparate systems and spreadsheets. Missing or static information means you’ll have an inaccurate picture of your estate and that means you’ll make poor decisions around how to execute on your security strategy. You’ll never have the comprehensive visibility you need to understand where the vulnerabilities are and how to prioritize what gets addressed first. It all starts there – replacing inaccurate and missing data with real-time time, complete information. Additionally, using disparate systems and manual processes also means you’ll never be able to run these programs at scale. You need a more agile process that leverages technology built on intelligent automation and AI.
What advice do you have for organizations that are looking to ensure a smooth and secure migration to upgraded systems?
To ensure a smooth migration you need to leverage a digital platform conductor. A DPC collects and aggregates data from IT and business systems, then cleans and analyzes information about the entire IT estate, including endpoints, users, applications, servers, and all their interdependencies. It identifies program risk, defines the rules for change, uses artificial intelligence (AI) and intelligent automation to automate and orchestrate all human and system workflows, and report on results.
How do you expect enterprises to evolve the way they approach IT infrastructure management in the next 5 years?
The events of the past 2 years have highlighted the need for infrastructure teams to be both agile and resilient in the face of unforeseen emergencies and increased focus on anywhere operations. As organizations take stock of post-Covid infrastructure requirements, and increasing security threats tied to recent events, IT teams will continue to invest in technology that improves visibility across the estate and enables large scale infrastructure changes at speed.
For example, cloud migrations will continue, but with the proliferation of high profile cyberattacks, many enterprises remain leery of putting their most sensitive business processes in the cloud. This will result in most large organizations maintaining a hybrid IT infrastructure with systems strategically placed in the cloud, on-prem, or at the edge as security and performance dictates. A DPC will help them make informed decisions when it comes to managing this ever-changing and evolving infrastructure.
There will also be a demand for highly scalable distributed asset management. The number of connected devices is set to triple by 2026. Distributed asset management will become a major pain-point for large enterprises as they tackle the requirements of anywhere operations and the proliferation of connected devices. IT organizations will have to adapt to new ways of working to maintain security for these devices.
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