Four Things Innovative Organisations Have in Common

Software is at the core of all digital services, irrespective of industry or vertical, so it is paramount that organisations have the ability to create, deliver, and continuously modernise their platforms and systems. In Australia, and overseas, organisations are learning that the cloud is an incredible resource that is helping them innovate and achieve better results at progressively faster speeds.  In fact, cloud services make it possible for organisations to embrace new cultures, processes, technology, and skills, in order to become truly digital and deliver easy, effective, and memorable digital experiences to both employees and clients alike.

Successful organisations have four things in common

The data shows that Australian organisations are embracing four key principles to ensure that they remain relevant and stay ahead of the competition:

1. The right cloud provides the foundation
2. Reliable and resilient technology ensures security and scalability
3. Better data means better decisions
4. Modern development principles allow for an acclerated speed to market for digital solutions

Four dot points that take up so little space, but will mean the difference to an organisation’s survivability for years to come?  But how?  Let’s dig deeper.

#1 Embrace cloud computing, with intention

Cloud computing can reduce the complexity of selecting and implementing the foundational capability of an organisation. This allows organisations to focus their energy and resources on building the right solution that will empower clients, stakeholders, and employees. However, a well-planned and successful cloud migration is perhaps the most important investment you can make that will drive the innovation, agility, and CX focus your organisation needs to succeed.

For the last decade, we’ve heard the push for everyone to move to public cloud.  While yes, that should be every organisation’s desired future state, that may not be what your organisation needs right now.  And a ‘lift-and-shift’ migration could result in poor outcomes such as cloud waste and less-than-successful technology adoption rates.

By ‘well-planned,’ we mean that all options need to be considered, and you may need to explore hybrid or multi-cloud solutions to satisfy your organisational needs and drive the outcomes imperative to consider the migration a success.  Far more important than simply “moving to the cloud,” you need to have your full picture.

Taking the time to roadmap your current and future state, and plan out the journey between, will ensure that you choose the right cloud for the right workload, and give you ability to capitalise on the maximum benefits of cloud computing for YOUR organisation.  Going forward, when making pivots or new technology is implemented, this will mean a more streamlined and efficient (read: faster) investment and deployment process.

#2 Make technology an enabler

Digital services are now the top priority for successful organisations to create easy, effective, and memorable customer experiences and productive and efficient employee environments. What is key to understand is that the foundation of those digital services must be that they are available, resilient, secure, and above all, simple to manage.  The KISS principle must prevail in order to drive digital adoption.

Tech leaders embrace AIOps

It’s expected that AIOps will be one of the fastest growing technologies as more organisations see the benefit of using ML to monitor and learn from user- and system-generated data.

Hybrid workers need to be connected

Tech teams are investing in the tools and platforms that employees need to improve their productivity, regardless of their work location. Despite the significant increase in spend on collaboration platforms and tools, aroun

Tech management principles drive cultural shifts

Technologies such as DevOps, AIOps, and SecOps are changing the traditional responsibilities of tech professionals. Modern technology professionals are expected to have a broader range of skills, allowing them to take ownership of the outcomes from strategy through to delivery, management, and continuous improvement.

Automation tools and processes increase productivity

RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and other AI-based automation tools are helping technology teams to simplify employee and client processes and remove complexity – improving agility, increasing productivity, and allowing employees to spend more time solving problems and less time completing manual processes that are relatively simple to automate.

#3 Use data to drive decision-making

Having access to real-time, relevant data to make better decisions, automate processes, and focus on the right investments is at the foundation of being an agile, innovative, and client-focused organisation. The challenge for organisations – yes, including yours – is to refine your data analytics strategy to focus on the outcomes that matter.

Data analysis and business intelligence (BI) have been a focus area for many Australian organisations. In 2015, Australian companies spent around $600 million on BI and analytics. Currently, in 2022, this spend is now above $1.3 billion.

This means many organisations are now flooded with data. But, evaluating which data matters, and what processes could or should be automated needs to be the first step.  Then, creating a framework to understand how to use that data effectively is another key step. These are challenges that you will likely face when you explore data-driven decision-making.  Each organisation will be different and having experienced data consultants to guide you to the right track when you first step out of the gate is a non-negotiable for your success.

#4 Embrace modern software development

A digital experience is built with software. This means that your ability to create an easy, and memorable experience for your clients will be based on your ability to develop and/or deploy and utilise modern software.

Nowadays, most of the software you will likely implement to drive best practices in your organisation will be developed and delivered by ISVs (independent software vendors) that provide cloud-based SaaS solutions. The challenge is that these solutions on their own might not be enough to: a) meet your organisation’s unique needs, or b) deliver the differentiated experience that your organisation is striving to provide. They might get you 75% to 90% there, but to be truly successful, often organisations need to look at customising those off-the-shelf offerings by exploring custom development.

The first step in creating a great experience is determining where you should invest in custom software and applications. For example, some retailers build a custom payment interface as this may offer them a competitive advantage; but others may use a market payment service and choose to focus on delivery and product selection.  And still yet others might choose to focus on their back-end employee experience – driving the best outcomes for their employees makes for employees that go the extra mile to provide the best experience for their customers.  Each organisation has different drivers for their desired software customisations or custom-developed software.

Whatever your drivers are, they need to be established and always kept front of mind through the course of your project, to ensure that your custom development project is a success. By embracing modern development principles that ensure you are able to pivot when new information is brought to light in the course of the development, you will ensure that you don’t waste time – or money – going in a direction that is way off course from where you intended.

Empower your organisation to accelerate the rate of value delivery

Your continued success will depend on your ability to safely navigate changes in the digital landscape and embrace new opportunities. However, creating a future-ready organisation means you will need to change your organisation – from your technology and processes to your skills and culture. While point 4 above is specific to embracing the concept of delving into software customisation or full-scale custom development projects, the need for embracing those same agile principles spills over into every facet of your organisation.  If you don’t adapt quickly, you will be left behind.

You can be certain that your competitors are starting to transform. They’re adapting to hybrid work, they have (or are building) a cloud strategy that focuses on the right cloud for the right workload and enabling the myriad of capabilities that come with it, and they are delivering outstanding digital experiences to consumers.

Becoming an agile, digital, customer-focused organisation is undeniably necessary for your survival. The sooner you make that your destination and build a culture that embraces and manages change while keeping your employees and clients secure, the sooner you can rest assured that your organisation will succeed regardless of disruptions or market conditions in the future.

Nexon can power the change your organisation needs

To guarantee your future success, you need to power your organisation’s agility with efficient, flexible, cloud-based infrastructure that grows and scales as you do. At Nexon, we work with you to achieve performance and scalability in the cloud – driven by the right cloud for the right workload.

We consult on, transform, secure, protect, optimise, and manage your critical data and applications with expertise and care. Our flexible, multi-cloud model is delivered by experienced, certified consultants to meet your organisational needs. Since “The Cloud” first became a thing, we’ve been on the frontlines, helping organisations accelerate cloud-led initiatives, and integrate and modernise their environments to deliver a better employee and customer experience.