The modern business world is going through technological advancement. The Covid-19 incident lit the sparks beneath companies not catching up with digital technology executives. IT teams worldwide are trying to improve their processes and systems and accelerate their transition from old-fashioned businesses to technologically-driven ones.
However, becoming a tech-driven business isn’t the end of the road on the digital path. The real value for companies is to become a technology-driven enterprise, where Technology is the single most crucial element to its success. It is recognized that Technology is the catalyst and why a company can increase. In a technology-driven organization, the company is aware that its plan and vision can’t be realized without Technology guiding the way and working with every department.
The Issue With Digital Transformation
I’ll admit that. I don’t like the phrase “digital change.” I believe it’s uninformed and doesn’t have any thought. I am not dissatisfied with the notion of digital adoption – I am optimistic about it. Still, the way I’ve seen the phrase used in articles after articles, byline after byline, seems to me to be a lie.
To begin, and to be brief, the general idea, many companies have been using digital technology for more than 25 years. Some have even longer than fifty years. Even the most tech-averse company has a website, an email address for the company, and Facebook pages. A business can’t exist in the current economy without a digital footprint.
We’re moving into the digital realm, away from the old technologies, and moving into the future technology. That’s at least the way we should be moving. This leads me to the second issue in digital transformation: how it’s being used.
I’ve witnessed a lot of businesses installing modern bells and whistles on old systems and declaring it a digital transformation. It’s like installing the most recent software update on a five-year-old iPhone and saying it is the most current version. Technically, it is functional. However, it’s pretty slow. It requires some tweaks and won’t last for long. While it’s still possible to work with older systems, they do not have the same speed and agility as the latest cloud-based technology and require more time and resources for maintenance.
I am aware that leaping to replace outdated systems can be costly financially and time. It’s a big undertaking that requires lots of consideration and planning efficiently. Many businesses are relying on pieces of solutions and gluing them on to outdated Technology as a last resort that should only be short-term at most.
The purpose of a technology stack should be an incredibly scalable and adaptable system that opens up opportunities for innovative business models and new revenue streams. It should be able to replace every part of outdated technology, starting from the top and ending at the lowest.
Value Beyond Profits
Don’t fall for the trap of limiting the importance of Technology solely to profits. Making a significant investment in modernizing Technology has various benefits beyond your financial bottom line.
The actual worth of modern technology lies in the information it holds and the capability to utilize it efficiently. In older systems, data can be challenging to transfer. Software programs have difficulty communicating with one another and often need to be manually entered into multiple systems, which increases the chance of errors. However, with a modern cloud-based tech stack, you can develop an infrastructure that can seamlessly transfer data with your apps built on APIs. The data can be kept in a central, single storage area that is then accessed via APIs to be used whenever required. This increases workers’ efficiency, improves collaboration between departments and customers, and creates opportunities for better processes and the creation of new streams of revenue.
Technology advancements don’t only benefit your employees. They also can help your customers. Better services, better communications, data exchange, and collaboration could all be accomplished with improved Technology.
Cutting-edge Technology also attracts the best talent. To remain competitive in the tech industry, professionals need to stay current by utilizing today’s technology and not the Technology ten years ago, with increasing numbers of CEOs expressing concern over the lack of tech-related talent and the need for businesses to scare away prospective employees.
Reframe the way that your Board views Technology
To be a tech-led leader, your C-suite and board members should rethink their perceptions of Technology. Technology is often considered an expense. However, it’s an investment. Like every investment, it takes time to reap the benefits. An investment in Technology that is significant requires between three and five years to earn a return. But the benefits your business will gain from improvements in performance, improved customer satisfaction, and attracting top talent are far greater than the initial investment.
See Beyond The Next Quarter
We fall into a routine of anticipating each quarter and the coming fiscal year in the business world. It isn’t often that we spend time looking ahead and planning for the future. However, the speed at which technology continues to progress forces us to shift our perspectives.
Moving the entire technology stack from outdated systems is a huge and scary one. I know — I’m at the beginning of it all. However, it’s a crucial one. To get companies to the level, they’ll need to be within a few years from a technological perspective. Change must start occurring right now.
