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Organisations have always needed to be efficient, profitable, and reliable to do well. And, according to John Kotter, organisations have traditionally done this by focusing on establishing processes, hierarchies, and standardised procedures. These attributes were intended to ensure consistency, quality, and predictability in an era where stability and well-defined practices were valued. After all – no one ever got fired for buying IBM.
Now, in the digital era, customer’s tastes and preferences change seasonally, innovations in technology occur continually, employees view technology experiences as a key factor in deciding where to work, and smart-thinking little startups redefine product and service categories at blistering speeds.
So, when we think about what IT leaders need to be focused on in 2024, we need to make sure we have the ‘traditional’ bases covered. But, in today’s rapidly changing and unpredictable business environment, agility and speed have become the critical factors for success.
1: Data Modernisation – to enable smart and effective decision making.
With the speed of change we’re all experiencing, we need to be able to make accurate and effective decisions, quicker. If you take the process company boards go through to gather content for AGMs papers, for example, it wouldn’t be unusual for that ‘data’ to be 6 months out of date before it’s first seen by the board.
With the right storage, processing, and analytics tools, near-real-time data-driven decision making becomes more realistic for mid-market organisations. This enables IT leaders to make more accurate resource allocation predictions for a project, or identify required outcomes more accurately, thus making the chances of success much greater.
Data can also be used to uncover inefficiencies, identify underutilised resources, and create cost-savings – all contributing to a more agile, flexible, and adaptable way of working.
2: Automation, platform integration, and AI.
Only three years ago, we were referring to intelligent automation and virtual assistant technologies as ‘stretch goals’. Now they’re considered essential strategies for creating an environment where people can adopt a more agile way of working.
Intelligent automation and productivity-enabling technologies are already dominating conversations in 2023, and this trend will continue in 2024. For example, Microsoft 365 Copilot will behave as a virtual assistant, sitting ‘by your side’ as you go about your daily business.
But, to enjoy success in this and all other generative AI products and services, you’ll need to ensure your data is accurate, complete, consistent, and relevant to your analysis or decision-making process. This includes verifying the sources of data, addressing any data entry errors, removing duplicate or irrelevant data, and performing data cleansing and validation.
It’s for this reason that organisations are putting more emphasis on creating high data integrity. A Data Landscape and Maturity Assessment (DLMA) is a review of your organisation’s effectiveness in using data, and is the starting point in your journey towards ensuring you have high data integrity.
Unlike other maturity assessments which can be purely technology focused, Tecala’s DLMA provides a 360-degree view on the intended data use within your organisation, which takes into consideration your people, processes, data landscape, organisational vision, and mission, as well as looking at your cultural and ethical guidelines around how you should and shouldn’t use your data.
3: The adoption of cloud and cloud native applications.
It’s a testament to the maturity and ease-of-use of Software-as-a-Service and cloud platforms that they can so quickly be purchased and configured to run core business processes within hours of the need arising. This freedom and flexibility in the cloud enables the kind of operational efficiency and agility we need.
IDC predicts that “750 million cloud-native applications will be created globally by 2025, as businesses work toward building these sustainable digital value engines”.
It’s interesting to see them use the term ‘digital value engines’ rather than just ‘apps’, because it makes the point that technology needs to deliver tangible and measurable value – i.e., meet specific business outcomes. And fuelling all these IT solutions and platforms, so they can enable agility is, of course, data.
4: Flexible and secure hybrid working.
Another key characteristic of an agile organisation is ‘empowered’ people. By this we mean people who are as connected, productive, and secure working from home or ‘on the move’, as they are in the office.
Hybrid working is only going to become more common as we move beyond 2024, so ensuring people have the necessary tools, as well as secure access to corporate resources, collaboration platforms, and reliable communication channels will continue to be a priority.
The reimagined Microsoft Teams platform is a good example of this in action. Not only does it bring all your communication and collaboration tools into one place, when deployed across a high-speed, robust, and secure network, it also delivers greater speed, performance, flexibility, and intelligence. All the hallmarks of an agile organisation.
Now featuring AI-powered experiences such as Copilot for Microsoft Teams, it enriches every meeting and collaboration you have, making it a gamechanger for mid-market organisations.
5: Making Cyber Security an enabler, rather than an inhibitor.
Traditional approaches to Cyber Security focused on network perimeter defences and static controls. They struggled to support the ‘inside/outside-of-the-network’ nature of hybrid working, and their rigidity slowed down the adoption of technology integration.
They also lacked the adaptability to respond quickly to changing user roles and dynamic network architectures.
Jump forward to 2024 and we find Zero Trust becoming an essential component of the agile workplace. When Zero Trust is implemented alongside SIEM and MDR, we’re able to embrace flexibility, real-time monitoring, and risk-aware practices to build our agility.
By assuming that the perimeter of the network can’t be secured and no user or device within the perimeter can be trusted, we can verify every user, device, and application attempting to access resources.
By collecting and analysing huge amounts of security event data from various sources across the organisation, on an ongoing continuous basis, and monitoring the IT environment for signs of security threats or incidents, we can detect and deal with abnormal or suspicious activities and respond to them in real time – before they become business-impacting events.
Although patching, firewalls, and continuous education (along with many other cyber security staples) will continue to be important, this Zero Trust, SIEM, and MDR approach needs to be at the core of the agile organisation.
Tecala has developed a unique methodology to ensure the adoption of technology can be collaborative, agile, and strategically led. We do this by partnering with our clients to identify technology that can deeply improve the way our clients work and the success they experience.
Together, these five focus areas create a dynamic ecosystem. Data modernisation feeds insights into automation, cloud adoption enhances flexibility, and secure hybrid working hinges on robust cybersecurity.
Working together, they create a resilient yet agile operational framework, that puts you in good stead to navigate an uncertain future, seize the opportunities it presents, and keep one step ahead in an increasingly digital and interconnected world.
Tecala’s Data Landscape and Maturity Assessment (DLMA) is the first step in ensuring effective use of your data. In a three-step approach we assess the current state of your data, formulate the future state based on your goals, and provide a gap analysis between where you are now and where you need to go.
ChatGPT and OpenAI are creating unlimited potential. Let’s get your organisation ready.
In this blog we put a spotlight on the importance of high quality, processed data to be the foundational resource for your automation and AI initiatives.
