The Race to Digitise
Disruption of business models has not only accelerated, it is now driving such significant disruption that established businesses have major programmes to fundamentally re-invent the way business is done. Furthermore, existing technology investments are being completely challenged, reviewed and terminated in the interests of achieving new, radically different business models.
To achieve this the enterprise must completely change the way business and IT work to deliver the business outcomes needed. It is now no longer good enough for IT to 'deliver' technology products or technology services. IT and the technology deployed has to be embedded, it has to be a 'business partner', measured on collective achievement of business outcomes - real, tangible shifts to the new business models and business results.
This new mode of operation has some interesting characteristics. Joint teams have to be created between the business and IT to deliver outcomes. These joint teams need insight together on how technology will deliver what the business needs; and the business needs insight as to how the technology will not only enable it, but will be critical in its delivery. These joint teams need to operate in an agile, iterative process to prototype ideas on how the new business models will work and how business applications will be deployed to deliver a fundamentally different operating model and cost to serve the customer. These joint teams need to be able to work together across the organisation in the achievement of the transformation, each being clear on their dependencies, how duplication and overlap are avoided and how effective delivery is measured not only in terms of cost and milestones, but in terms of business impact and the achievement of business outcomes.
This is not an evolution it is a major change.
The skills and capability to achieve this are fundamental. It puts significant pressure on the enterprise to acquire the talent it needs to deliver the new operating models. There is a shift from project management, to the skills needed for rapid, agile, business oriented prototyping and application development. Hierarchical management structures need to change where the organisation is not organised by 'functions' but by the ability to assign capability based on the result that needs to be achieved.
Enterprises need the capability to understand how these dynamic, multi-skilled teams will operate to collectively deliver the business results. How all the parts will contribute to the outcomes. How the enterprise will understand its progress to the new business models. How decisions will be made, not just from a financial or risk perspective but also from the point of view of their ability to achieve the outcome, and the delivered business value.
Decision management systems that are based upon the ability to understand all the moving parts will be critical to ensuring these dynamic teams work together in the most effective way; driving together to achieve the business outcomes.
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