The Global CEO mindset – The Technology Advantage – 4 ways integrated technology boosts market advantage
All CEOs of technology based companies are faced with the integration of the end-to end service model. Bringing together customer and client value with harnessing the benefits of an integrated technology and operational organisation are key as a pivot point in a CEOs success.
What happens to business that don’t integrate technology?
The business is looking for ways to improve customer and client experience yet without technology in partnership around the table there is only tactical progress leading to competitors taking the lead in an end to end service based approach with the business and technology around the table to innovate and solve. Result – erosion in competitive position
Technology innovates yet without a business connect leading to an increased cost base for no external benefit. Staff more Allen falls as the lack of external traction is felt and technology staff feel under-utilised and the business continues working in the old ways that work for the short-term whilst the marketplace moves on. Medium term the value erosion is felty.
Key take-away
The connective tissue from the customer and.client experience to the heart of the technology organisation is essential for a customer centred view that harnesses the capabilities of the organisation for external good and company value. Anything else is suboptimal! Your business needs to run like a well oiled machine.
How to foster the integrated technology advantage?
1 Embracing security:
Ensure technology is at the heart of all business security conversations. Many of today’s Businesses are driven through a technology platform. Security of the platform is paramount in today’s cyber world. Embedding technology as a security centre within the organisation requires a cultural awareness across the organisation and a vigilance to ensure early reporting and proper usage of software and equipment. Not only is this the core of the prosperity of the business it also is a regulatory requirement in many of today;s industries as data propocol are increasingly sacrosanct and highly regulated.
2 Equipping Staff:
Connectivity of employees has always been key to productivity and enabling a creative environment to enable value. Post Covid – technological connectivity remains the core route through which many employees communicate, share notes, documents and speak to each other. A visual picture of a colleague is the next best option in a post COvid world. Technology is the glue. Those firms that invested in connective technology pre covid are now finding market advantage in their nimbleness to act and equip their colleague around communities, regions and ultimately the world for many FTSE and FORTUNE firms. Enable the bandwidth, create experiences for staff that give surety of connection when equipment is swapped or upgraded. Technology is the lifeline to the firm post covid. Respect the experience that accompanies memorable technology execution.
3 Digitisation:
The right technology unlocks positive Customer and client experience. The right technology enables the business to evolve with emerging trend and scale to market enabling safeguarded positioning for growth and the ability to deliver seamlessly on growing customer expectations. Successfully integrating technology to underpin and unlock customer experience requires an unlock of the right culture within the company. Strategy positions! Culture wins. It is the job of the CEO to lead this unlock and enable the potential of collaborative working within the firm for grater good and combined value.
4 Simplification:
Embed technology within operations to enable simplification of processes and digitisation of the estate, eliminating waste and adopting customer and client centric its as a guide whilst harnessing digitalisation and aggregation technologies
Post Covid the emphasis on technology based advantage is amplified
If technology was a core function in any firm, post covid companies are doubling down on technology advantage. Those that have invested in technology are taking the lead in equipping their staff and local=king down on security in a virtual world.
The requirement for digitisation and a technology based Business model has grown exponentially as firms redesign to survive, minimise cost and offer increasingly digital routes to market. Customers are not only more open to digitised purchase and consumption of services, they see the health benefits and adapt to the home as the central hub of life rather than the requirement to travel. Regions outside of the US move to more of a US based model where home delivery and online consumption is the norm. The world was always moving to an on demand model, covid has shifted mindsets and likely to have done so permanently that the firms who will out shine in the next decade will have their technology based model clear in the early days.
So what does ‘technology based advantage’ mean for the C-Suite?
The C-Suite is changing, technology often seen as an enable is stepping into the centre of the board room. The handshake and collaborative relationship between the Chief Commercial Officer and the Chief Technology Officer is seen as the backbone of the business model and the key pivotal relationship in embedding a service based business focused on the value chain and pivoting on a digitised customer experience with pivotal relationship touch-points. This opens up the ability for a leaner cost base and a frictionless customer experience to drive differentiation and a stone out model.
A call to action for the C-suite
As a key member of C-suite your responsibility is to the business first and your function second. Opening up the boardroom conversation to leverage technology advantage is not only only key for developing the strategy, it is essential for success in a post-covid world. The time to act is now, the time to have the conversation and embed the capability is being seized by many Businsses. How equipped is your Business to leverage the technology advantage?
