3 Warning Signs Your IT Strategy is All Wrong
Strategic planning enables an organization to determine how its vision and objectives will be met through its resources and capabilities. Ultimately, the goal of strategic planning and road mapping is to determine how the business will win, what capabilities are needed and how the leadership will prioritize initiatives.
Look for these 3 warning signs that your IT strategy is all wrong:
1. You are not seeing your IT strategy as a competitive advantage.
Your IT strategy is no longer just a tool for back office operations, it is a key enabler to your business growth strategy and core to creating your competitive advantage. With today’s environment of rapid and exponential change, a well-defined, business-owned, adaptive strategy is what will enable your organization to stay ahead of disruption and win in the market. Many companies are struggling to balance emerging technologies, their technology investments, and rapidly changing business needs meaning systems such as ERP, CRM, etc. must be flexible and agile to support increasingly dynamic requirements as digital business models evolve.
2. You don’t understand the impact emerging technologies have on your immediate future.
There is a tsunami coming in advanced technology and innovation for business in the next few years. Emerging technologies like Internet of Things/Edge, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, 5G, microservice, micro satellites, robotics and automation, and many others are simultaneously maturing into practical applications. While their individual impact on business operations is hard to measure, what is clear is that their convergence will accelerate change and disruption at levels yet unseen. If you are not adapting your infrastructure strategies to prepare for this rapid change you are already behind.
3. Your leadership does not have the skills necessary to take on the digital future.
Leaders of technology now have to be strategic business thinkers. They have to demonstrate the ability to integrate Information and Technology (I&T) operating models from IT-centric to business-centric and define core I&T capabilities to execute to business strategy. They must be able to anticipate how key technological trends will translate into business opportunity and success. For example: Does your I&T strategy consider the business capabilities offered by artificial intelligence? AI opens up a new frontier for digital business because virtually every application or service incorporates intelligence to automate or augment application processes and human activities. If your plans are not incorporating this type of thinking, if your leaders are not anticipating change, or if your leaders are not identifying business opportunities; you may want to consider skilling up your team.
Your digital transformation begins with a digital strategy and technology roadmap. Here are some resources to help you start on your journey:
The Evolution of Digital Transformation and the CIO
Your Digital Future Begins Now
Requirements for a Successful Digital Transformation Strategy
A digital transformation is a long and complex journey – one you shouldn’t start alone because it is fraught with hazards that can detour your business or bring it to a halt. At MSS, we work with our customers to develop a digital transformation strategy based on their unique needs. The strategy will include a shared vision and a leadership roadmap to give them a competitive advantage, prepare for emerging technologies, and recognize the skills needed to be ready for the digital future.