Tag: business technology consulting
Technology is not a choice but a fundamental business strategy in the current world. Enterprises will need to accelerate their digital initiatives to support emerging technologies. To remain competitive in 2022 and beyond, businesses MUST invest in new technologies to ensure future innovation and growth. Business opportunities wait for those who successfully tackle their technology challenges. Efficiently dealing with these challenges can set a business apart from its competition.
This blog will assist you in facing the biggest technology challenges of 2022. It outlines how different technologies can help your business. And how you can ensure successful digital transformation.
How Technologies Help Businesses Achieve Success?
Digital transformation is one of the driving forces behind the growth and success of any business. It can enable better collaboration within and between organizations. Today’s business leaders must focus on projects that prepare their organizations for the future. Here are a few ways technologies help businesses stay ahead of the competition.
- Online collaboration: With a big upturn in remote working, it is fortunate that we no longer have to try to make do with cobbled-together services. Collaboration is key to efficiency and productivity. Remote workers need tools that can help them collaborate in real-time allowing them to go on with their projects rather than battling with those tools.
- Automated inventory system: The biggest benefit of an inventory system is automation. It can automate manual tasks and increase efficiency and productivity. It can also reduce overhead costs and increase customer satisfaction.
- Mobile apps: Mobile apps or customer-facing business apps improve how a business interacts with its customers.
- Digital data storage: Digital data storage has reduced common data management tasks to mere seconds. It can store or retrieve data at any time from almost anywhere.
- Project management software: This software enables project managers to assign specific tasks to their employees. Also, it enables them to monitor the workflow to see if employees can accomplish their tasks on time.
Watch more: Should your business invest in custom-built software or off-the-shelf software?
Biggest Technology Challenges Companies Face In 2022
Businesses can benefit more from emerging technologies when they successfully tackle technology challenges. Here are some of those challenges:
1. Data security
Data security threats are causing havoc in organizations. Attackers constantly develop new techniques and vulnerabilities. Some of the most significant information security challenges include:
- Surface attack vulnerabilities
- Cloud threats
- Misuse of credentials
- Digital supply chain risk
- Vertical specialized threats
- Conventional attacks
Preparedness is the key to stopping attacks before they stop you. Security leaders must look beyond traditional approaches to monitor, detect, and respond to manage a wider set of risks. In the case of supply chain risk, security leaders need to partner with other departments to prioritize digital supply chain risk. Businesses often choose to hire outsourced cybersecurity firms to help them strengthen their security and ward off any data security threats.
2. Automation
Automation has become a necessity in the digital world. Effective automation can boost productivity. It is an overall system quality enhancer in the long run. With proper automation, businesses can reduce maintenance costs. Manufacturers can also use automation to reduce manufacturing costs and increase the speed of time to market.
But, finding the right automation tools and introducing them into the business workflow can create complications. Hence, a business must prepare for all the hurdles and mitigate the risk of automation failure. The success of automation largely depends on the execution of the test strategy.
3. Remote work support or hybrid workforce
2022 is an important year for the hybrid workforce model. Integration between cloud-based solutions and mobile apps is crucial to ensure consistent hybrid or remote work engagement. The key is finding the best way to care for the needs of each user and department. Plus, an enterprise must find ways to optimize its IT support to assist remote employees with their computer problems.
4. Digital transformation
Digital transformation paves the way towards more efficiency, resiliency, and sustainability. However, implementing these technologies into business is a challenging process. These challenges are:
- Talent shortage
- Employee pushback
- Limited funds
- Challenge of agile transformation
Enterprises with limited resources can assign projects to third-party organizations. A business can reduce pushback when implementing high-code or no-code solutions based on employees’ requirements. Taking a more mindful approach to digital transformation is crucial for ensuring a smooth transition.
5. Focus on mobility
The usage of mobile apps worldwide has greatly increased in the past decade. Business owners use mobile apps to deliver services and goods to their customers. They also use these apps to boost their Return on Investment. These apps allow employers to give their employees tools that help them collaborate efficiently even when they work remotely.
However, providing a consistent mobile app experience can be challenging.
6. Integrations
There are three major integration challenges enterprises face today.
- First challenge: Enterprises may have mission-critical systems and applications that they wish to transform and modernize to future-proof their business.
- Second challenge: Connecting information from mission-critical systems to new applications. How to integrate information from point A to point B to bring everything together.
- Third challenge: Providing low code and no code tools to combat the shortage of skill and labor.
An effective IT management plan can help minimize or even cut the risk factors associated with integration.
7. AI & ML
Businesses are often pursuing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for their business problems. Another major focus of enterprises is learning how to complete specific tasks without human intervention.
Each company is different, so it takes a unique algorithm for a particular business process. Finding the right AI and ML algorithm can be challenging.
Connect With Future Technologies and Stay Ahead
There is no end to the ever-changing trends businesses must adapt to, to thrive in this highly competitive market. Hence, businesses must forge ahead to connect with future technologies, or they may find competing with other businesses in their sector harder. Whereas businesses that adapt to digital transformation are much more successful in the market. However, analyzing tech opportunities or deciding which technology best fits your business operations is not always easy. That is why Fingent top custom software development company helps companies realize tech capabilities and build, implement and adapt to the right digital tools.
It is the best time to move the digital transformation from your priority checklist to the “right now” list. Connect with our experts to know how we can help your company transform digitally!
How to gain maximum value from technology investments for your business?
The slow economy stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic is forcing organizations to identify and cut all unnecessary costs. Unfortunately, technology investments also fall prey to these budget cuts. It happens when businesses invest in technology without adequate planning.
According to a survey, 29.2% of respondents holistically examine their technology usage while searching for efficiencies. It may mean canceling or delaying new projects and purchases or reducing or canceling maintenance and support contracts for existing investments.
Research by Accenture reveals that while 47% of the companies are building their future growth strategies on mobility and technology, considering inefficient technology as one of the top hindrances to their growth. It is clear that IT-led innovation is the need of the hour, and 82% of companies are investing specifically in technology for improved growth.
Simply put, now, it is crucial to improve the return on investment of resources, optimize costs, and select the right solution when making sourcing decisions.
Read more: Navigate The Business Impact Of COVID-19 With These Hot Technologies
Here, we share a few tips to help you gain full value from your technology investments.
Ways to optimize costs
Gartner reveals that optimizing costs is essential for businesses and is one of the best ways to control spending and attain cost reduction while maximizing business value.
Optimizing costs should take into account:
- Automating and digitizing business operations
- Simplifying and standardizing applications, platforms, processes, and services
- Obtaining the best terms and pricing for business purchases
While this means ensuring that technology investments generate the maximum possible value, it also means cutting costs and considering how each technology investment drives business value.
Some technology may be expensive, but it doesn’t mean that it isn’t providing value to the organization. Expensive technology may already be optimized because of the value it generates, while inexpensive technology may be unused and wasted. Therefore, it is important to make the right decisions regarding purchasing hardware, software licenses, or cloud services contracts.
Once you have identified and mitigated what you do not need and what you need, there are no more costs to reduce. It is time to look at how to optimize technology assets.
Ways to get the most out of your tech investments
Despite the cutbacks and search for savings, many organizations continue to invest in technology projects and accelerate their digital transformation initiatives. However, even with the economic slowdown coupled with pandemic-related uncertainties, organizations that have performed well during 2020 are looking to increase resilience by reducing risks and demanding shorter ROI periods on investments.
That said, the key to maximize ROI is preparation. It is essential to know that you’ve selected the right solution and are ready for implementation. Several surveys done in the past suggest that the software chosen is rarely the reason for any IT project’s failure. And a few leaders even agree with this, revealing a lack of investment in preparation, project management, and implementation. Even the simplest of IT systems require some amount of work to install and configure. So, the more complex your environment is, the more careful you will have to be.
Read more: 11 Practices Followed by Leaders to Build Resilience and Ensure Rapid Business Recovery
Key factors to consider while developing a technology strategy to improve corporate performance are:
Investment profile: Your management team must identify your IT investment percentage (allocated to build significant capabilities) versus the foundational investment. Ideally, foundational investments should not be more than 40% of the total annual investments.
Organization focus: You must identify whether a significant portion of your internal resources aims to drive innovation or growth. Also, find out if you have the proper operating processes in place to drive these investments.
Tenure: You will have to figure out if your workforce has the right experience and skills to achieve the target.
Investment economics: Move over traditional measures and instead identify newer ways to evaluate your projects and investments.
A few technologies worth investing
Following are some of the technologies worth investing in the present business scenario:
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Blockchain
- Internet-of-Things (IoT)
- Cloud
- Cybersecurity
- Self-driving technology
- Streaming media
Tips for getting maximum value from technology investments
To get maximum value from your technology investments, you should:
- Be prepared with clear objectives and outcomes. You must ensure that your vision aligns with that of the new technology vendor.
- Ensure that you have people, processes, and governance for leveraging the technology when deployed, reducing the time to both value and ROI.
- Identify and assess your data sources’ quality to develop appropriate metrics for accuracy and completeness of data and check for any improvements.
- Invest in the implementation and system or process integrations to make sure they are carried out successfully. If you are using any third-party service provider for the implementation, ensure that you hire a reliable and trained team like Fingent.
- Identify users and key stakeholders and invest in their time to maintain the system.
- To reap benefits early in the project and demonstrate the value of initial investments, take a phased approach. Phasing could be by business unit, geography, or environment depending on the organizational structure and business goals. This will ensure that the project is manageable.
- Provide both initial and ongoing training in phases to allow end-users to familiarize themselves with the features and functionalities they have learned about before undergoing further training. That said, make sure the new users are also appropriately trained.
- Ensure that third-party consultants have completed their vendor training or certification programs before allowing them to use your tools. Also, check if you are using the latest version of the tool. If needed, arrange for additional training.
Read more: Fingent Speaks: What it Takes to Build a Successful Digital Transformation Strategy
Be smart with your tech investments
With technology and digital transformation becoming more pervasive across all industries, technology investment can make a huge difference in winning or losing a business. By focusing on the tips discussed in this article, companies can maximize value from their technology investments.
Technology wins only if it can appease users. A bad customer experience forces the customer to switch from vendor A to vendor B. Not only should you identify and invest in the right technology, but make an emotional connection to craft human experiences that drive customer satisfaction and differentiate you from your rivals.
Fingent top software development company helps you make a fortune out of tech investments by helping you leverage the latest technology trends. Our business technology consulting services focus on helping businesses tackle technology problems, attain business objectives, and derive value from tech and IT investments. Chat with an expert to learn more.
Top 5 Organizational Imperatives for Business Leaders to Become Winners in the New Normal
The post-COVID-19 business scenario will not look the same across industries or countries. It will pose challenges and opportunities to leaders.
Tips for Business Leaders to Attain Success in the New Normal
While traits like empathy, authenticity, clarity, and agility remain crucial during this uncertainty, leaders face challenges to maintain a sense of connection and togetherness within their teams. However, as businesses are beginning to get back on track, leaders will have to leverage new insights and advancements to rebuild the workplace rather than returning to it as usual.
This article discusses five best practices that business leaders can follow and prepare their organization for the future.
Read more: 11 Practices Followed by Leaders to Build Resilience and Ensure Rapid Business Recovery
1. Have a clear purpose
There is a big difference between a “factor” and a “must-have.” A company that has a unique affirmation of its identity embodies everything the company stands for. This purpose helps future-ready companies to attract people to join the organization, stay and thrive. Also, investors understand why it is valuable.
According to a survey, 82% of companies in the U.S said that organizational purpose is essential, but only half of these companies said their purpose drove impact. So, what can bridge the gap?
Leaders can set the purpose in motion and make it real for people. This can be achieved when employees identify and feel connected to their organization’s purpose. For example, Amazon leaves a chair vacant during meetings to represent the customer’s role in decisions. CVS Health stopped selling tobacco products to achieve the purpose of helping people to attain better health.
Research reveals that people who live their purpose at work are four times more likely to report better engagement levels than those who do not.
Simply put, purpose inspires commitment, reveals the untapped market potential, and even navigates uncertainty. So, companies must articulate what they stand for and use their purpose to connect employees and stakeholders in ways that justify their business choice.
Read more: 7 Ways for Your Business to Overcome the COVID-19 Aftermath
2. Create a value agenda
An organization must create a value plan that helps convert its ambitions and targets into tangible elements such as business units, product lines, regions, and capabilities. This allows companies to articulate where value is created and set it apart to drive future success.
Organizations must use the value agenda to focus their efforts and enable their employees to understand what matters. If this is achieved, the results can be significant and hard to replicate.
For instance, Apple ensures it provides the best user experience. The company gives importance to not just the product design but also the product packaging. Apple has a dedicated packaging team to ensure users elicit the right emotional response while unboxing.
Having a clear value agenda will help a company devise better strategic priorities and become agile to shift resources as priorities change.
3. Distinct culture
Future-ready companies need to have a distinct culture that can help them distinguish themselves from others. Culture includes rituals, symbols, behaviors, and experiences that describe how an organization works.
For example, Amazon enforces its “two-pizza rule,” according to which every internal team should be small enough to be fed with two pizzas. This rule supports the company’s approach to meetings: no PowerPoint, shorter meetings, and start with silence to allow participants to go through the pre-meeting memo. These approaches may sound silly, but in reality, it enables the company to reach better decisions faster.
For successful companies, culture forms the backbone and fuels sustained excellence in performance over time. Studies show that companies with strong cultures are three times more likely to achieve higher total returns to shareholders than those without a healthy culture.
Leaders have to consider specific behaviors that employees at all levels adhere to create a robust performance culture.
4. Flatten structure
In recent years, the business environment has become more complex and interconnected. Many companies have adapted to these changes and created a more sophisticated matrix expecting it to solve market complexity. However, this is not how it should be.
Future-ready organizations must prepare themselves to become fitter, faster, flatter, and better at unlocking considerable value. The goal should not be to eliminate hierarchy but to flatten the organization, adopt the most uncomplicated profit and loss management structure, and reinforce business objectives with robust performance management and other mechanisms.
For example, Haier, a China-based company of appliances and electronics, adopted emergent and agile teams instead of the traditional hierarchy. The multinational company has no layers, no conventional bosses, and no middle management.
Another example to consider is Google. It follows a “non-zero-sum” management approach that emphasizes developing a communication line running in all directions rather than reporting relationships. It brings together cross-functional and professional skills while avoiding hierarchical mindsets. Such teams can act fast because they are flexible, are ready to learn from mistakes, and try new approaches.
In simple words, the future-ready organization must include models that are designed around people and activities. As technology advances, bosses will become coaches and enablers rather than micromanagers. When organizations set their priorities and ways of working, responsibilities, and transparent decisions, they can empower their frontline staff to make decisions.
Read more: Five Business Technology Trends CEOs Need to Embrace in 2021
5. Prioritize data-rich tech platforms
Data is of utmost importance, and future-ready companies need to take it seriously. For example, Netflix transformed from a small DVD-provider to a multifaceted global OTT content platform and media production company by leveraging insights from its user data through powerful algorithms.
So, future-ready companies need to understand that data can empower decisions, and the value agenda provides unexpected yet promising opportunities.
To get maximum benefits from the data, future-ready companies must create practical approaches to data governance, redesign processes in a modular fashion, and leverage cloud-based technology by dynamically reallocating their budgets. By utilizing the data effectively, companies can develop new products, services, and even LOBs.
Read more: Navigate Business Impact Of COVID-19 With These Hot Technologies
There’s no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has left many businesses in grief and economic dislocation. Business leaders must lead with empathy and compassion as they start to re-energize and revitalize their teams. The best leaders establish and reinforce behaviors that can support their organization during this crisis and after.
Read more: Business Process Re-engineering: Facing Crisis with Confidence
Get in touch with us to discover how Fingent, a top custom software development company, supports customers in ensuring business continuity and enables effective employee engagement during the current pandemic.
According to data collected from almost 788 small firms by Fasthosts Internet, it is found that there is a huge difference in terms of adopting new technology in the workplace and finding success through using it.
One out of three firms said that they have failed in improving efficiencies, even after adopting business technologies like smartphones, tablets, and other computer software. The paradox here is that almost half of the small firms in the UK have admitted that they regularly purchase new technologies, even if it is without being certain that they need them.
In order to improve efficiency, it is not enough to merely jump on the bandwagon and adopt technology. You need to know the exact kind of technology your company needs and make sure that it is aligned with your business processes. You definitely need to get yourself acquainted with a lot of information related to technology and understand its relevance in your business, for which you will need the help and advice of IT experts.
The numbers that literally indicate the need for an IT professional
Further into the research conducted by Fasthosts Internet, there are several factors which point to the fact that business enterprises need to seek advice from IT professionals for their technological aspects. Let’s take a look at some of them:
- Up to 35% of firms felt that their new technology purchases led them to work longer hours or failed to improve efficiencies in some way. Around 48% found their new technology to have increased efficiency and lead to “smarter working”.
- About 74% of small companies, that is to say, a vast majority of them, felt that implementing technology did not free up their employees’ work time, which they had hoped to use for raising the organization’s innovation and scope.
- Only 41% of them found their employees to be enjoying using new technology, while about one in five firms said that they employ staff who are frightened of using new technology.
- A large margin of firms, that is about 85% of them, admitted that they are almost never aware of how to use the new technology in the best way, as and when they are introduced.
- Only 1 in 10 firms has sought help from their IT advisor or their technology provider, in the event of being disappointed with a particular part or aspect of their adopted technology.
Off the list of figures, it is also generally found that many firms struggle with the way they buy as well as use technologies in their workspace. Although almost all of them are well aware of the importance and relevance of using technology, a lot of them find that success on using technology is a hit-or-miss situation. For some, it clicks, while for others it doesn’t.
Why does this happen
According to Stephen Holford, Marketing Director of Fasthosts Internet, “Busy business owners can find the time and advice needed to ensure all technology investments are well placed. An inadequate approach to buying and reviewing solutions can lead firms to miss out on the maximum value of technology.”
The major reason for such failures is basically the way technology is researched on by the companies. On the need for technology, companies resort to random research about the kind of technology they need to adopt, often leading them to irrelevant or even misleading information. It is on the basis of this haphazard information that they buy their technology. This results in a large number of firms wasting their money on solutions that they probably don’t even need or simply do not perform well.
What’s worse is that not all of these thoughtless investments are even brought to notice. Only 11% of small firms in the UK, review whether the new technology that they have adopted is working well, each time a new piece or part is introduced. And as mentioned before, not all firms go back to their provider or IT expert on finding that their technology doesn’t work satisfactorily.
What ideally should be one of the first things to do before adopting new technology, that is, seeking the advice of an IT professional, is done by only one in four firms. In effect, only 25% or about a quarter of firms, are doing the right thing.
In order to avoid such failures, business enterprises need to plan technology investments properly and consult IT professionals who know best about the right kind of technology for their business. They need to work closely with suppliers, throughout the purchase.
Once the technology is deployed, businesses need to keep track of its success rate and take necessary steps to overcome shortfalls or errors as and when they occur. They also need to constantly upgrade their knowledge, through advices, case studies, guidelines, and the like.
Have you consulted an IT professional for your business yet? If not, talk to us.