Digital dependencies: What IT can learn from supply chain management
Companies that base their entire IT infrastructure on a single provider are taking a strategic risk - similar to that which has long been known in physical supply chains. In his guest commentary, Ari Albertini, CEO of Ftapi, makes the case for more resilience in the digital world.
In physical supply chains, companies have learned over decades what dependency means. If you only have one supplier, you may save costs - until that supplier fails. That's why diversification is no longer a luxury today, but standard: second suppliers, alternative routes, strategic redundancies. Resilience is firmly planned in.
Digitally, on the other hand, we are seeing the opposite. Companies are consolidating their IT landscapes, relying on integrated platforms, on «everything from a single source». One provider, one ecosystem, one interface. This is convenient, efficient and, at first glance, makes economic sense.
The single supplier as a single point of failure
But this is precisely where a risk arises that many underestimate. Because the single supplier quickly becomes a single point of failure in the digital world. And even worse: a single point of control. The risks go far beyond mere system failures. If the supplier fails, not only does part of the value chain come to a standstill, but in case of doubt the entire company. But even without a failure, dependencies arise: through access to business-critical data, through questions of data sovereignty or through unilateral changes to terms and conditions, prices or interfaces. Cyberattacks, system disruptions or geopolitical tensions can further destabilize these centralized structures and trigger massive chain reactions. What was intended as a simplification and efficiency gain thus develops into a multi-layered, strategic vulnerability.
While scenarios have long been played out, risks assessed and alternatives developed in procurement, this thinking is often still lacking in IT. Digital infrastructures are primarily designed from an efficiency perspective and not from a resilience perspective. The same principles apply as in any supply chain: transparency about dependencies. Deliberate diversification. Targeted redundancies.
Resilience as a management task
Of course, this does not mean questioning every platform or increasing complexity for the sake of it. But it does mean actively managing dependencies and not tacitly accepting them. Anyone who ties their entire digital value creation to one provider is not making a neutral decision, but is taking a business risk. And this risk must not be delegated to the IT department. It is a management task. A question of sovereignty, of the ability to control, and ultimately of competitiveness. Because in an increasingly digitalized economy, it is not only how efficiently systems run that is decisive, but also how robust they are when they come under pressure.
My conclusion: «Everything from a single source» is convenient - but convenience has never been a reliable risk management tool. Those who forgo digital resilience save money today and pay the price tomorrow.
Source: FTAPI
This article originally appeared on m-q.ch - https://www.m-q.ch/de/digitale-abhaengigkeiten-was-die-it-vom-lieferkettenmanagement-lernen-kann/
