Adding innovation, subtracting complexity
All seem to agree with one essential idea: to compete in this new uncertain, changing and tumultuous world scenario, new technologies are becoming essential.
The developments that started in early 2020 with the Covid pandemic showed us the irrefutable truth: those companies that had already started to use remote working models, that had initiated the migration of workloads to the cloud and that had digitized and automated their processes -with the consequent ability to keep things running even if there were no employees in the physical facilities of the organization- were the ones that adapted the fastest and made the best progress towards business continuity.
It sounds easier than it is: many companies, particularly SMEs, feel stifled when it comes to starting an innovation or digital transformation process. Resources are always scarce, and these days they are being stretched to the limit. Is it possible to move forward with an innovation project without overburdening them or spending a large part of the total budget on acquiring and maintaining technological structures?
The answer is yes. Concepts such as cloud and mobility have democratized access to new technologies. Today there is no need to buy expensive hardware that easily becomes obsolete or software licenses that are impossible to acquire. You buy exactly what you need, at prices that can be adjusted to any budget, with a battery of experts behind you who take care of updates, information security and even automatic management to ensure maximum performance at all times. In the same way, the presence of a technology partner in the project frees the company to take care of all those things that are not part of its core business.
But that is not the most important thing: the key is to change the mindset and understand that “innovation” is not necessarily synonymous with “total disruption”, “absolute change of the entire organization” or “big bang of our company”. Innovation can consist of taking a small step: automating a small but highly inefficient process, for example. The virtuous circle will be activated immediately: that same implementation – which may be solved through a very simple app, there are so many free tools out there to help with maximising budgets and human capital. With that gain, the second step is within reach.
Innovation is nothing more than improving something, doing it in a different way from the way it has always been done (even if in that traditional scheme it would have fulfilled its objectives). If a digital transformation project increases complexity or increases the pressure on the organization’s resources, it is probably time to stop the game and rethink it from the beginning. Simplicity is the key to success.
By Justi Vila, FJ Communications