“Technology is the enabler for business outcomes”. This common mantra is often heard when tech teams talk with business stakeholders in corporate settings. It sounds sort-of right. After all, it makes little sense to embark on a project for technology’s sake. Don’t rock the boat.
At the same time, it is limiting. If the mindset of technologists is restricted to merely achieve what their clients (external or internal) think technology can enable, then we are holding back. We do not contribute as much as we can.
Accelerating possibilities
The pace of technology innovation looks like the business end of a hockey stick. The era just gaining efficiency and productivity is well behind us, even in corporate IT. It is time to leap:
With machine learning, deep data analytics and online customer engagement, information has become a product, no longer just a resource. Through forward-thinking approaches, even traditional businesses can take advantage of entirely new business models driven by technology. Of course, that requires technologists to lead, not just enable a set of business initiatives.
Stretching roles
As technologists, we have to stretch in two areas that we may not always be comfortable stretching in:
- Connecting the business asset dots
- Challenging business assumptions
First, we don our consultative hat. It’s a far cry from that comfy propellor hat, prompting exploratory thinking around assets, combined with a healthy disregard for the status quo.
Business assets are often only loosely connected, or even walled off. They are based on models that took shape in the last century. Products, services, marketing, sales, support are separate capabilities, with separate people, and separate technologies. It’s difficult to propel the organization when looking at these assets individually. Technology innovation allows us to connect the dots in new ways, breaking down barriers and crossing silos. It helps us to create an ecosystem, as a virtual layer on top of the organization, that exploits connections between the parts.
Imagine an information ecosystem that consists of interoperable components, each accessible with simple-to-use interfaces, easy to discover, and easy to relate to other components.
What possibilities could you drive if you could immediately flow customer support insights into service development? How could actual real-time product use patterns drive marketing campaigns to solve undiscovered customer’s needs?
From slow enabler to fast incubator
Transforming from being an enabler to a driver in a corporate environment means to execute in a different way. We can’t wait for requirements to emerge. Or for large projects to get funded. The name of the game is to innovate, fail fast, prototype and iterate. Think lean startup instead of slow ramp-up.
In a perfect world, organizations recognize this and allocate resources to foster this kind of innovation. Meanwhile, we just have to get started, anyway we can.
Ernst Rampen ©2018
