Content area
Full text
At many enterprises, when IT walks into a meeting, people assume it's because the projector is broken. But if companies want to accelerate innovation and provide value to customers through technology, IT must evolve from a back office function to a core part of the business.
Of course, that's easier said than done. To make IT core to the company's business value, three major problems must first be solved:
* Innovation must be accelerated with the implementation of a strong technology foundation
* A culture of commercial intensity must be created to blur the traditional line separating business and IT
* Technology must be successfully commercialized, transforming innovations into revenue outcomes
If these three challenges are solved, organizations are able to focus on higher-value customer outcomes, and deliver sustainable differentiation to the business. Ultimately, the organizations that can solve these challenges are more likely to become the disrupters rather than the disrupted.
The foundation
A strong technology foundation is critical to accelerating innovation velocity.
That foundation consists of four initiatives: building software with Continuous Delivery; running systems with "Architecture as Code"; continuous insights with operational intelligence; and becoming a "programmable enterprise," which means rapidly assembling technology assets into new business capabilities. Though each of these programs seems independent, they are interconnected, and must be architected and delivered in a cohesive manner. Organizations will have a technology foundation that is secure, compliant, and resilient by design.
A culture of commercial intensity
Culturally, when you drive change, there are three groups of people you must deal with: those eager to collaborate; the cynics or the Eeyores who don't believe change is possible; and those eager to be offended and are seeking to protect their tiny empires.
The trick to building the right culture is to first find those eager to collaborate. It doesn't matter where they sit, or how important their function, product, or service is. What's important is getting a quick win -- collaborating, delivering commercial impact, and letting the results do the talking. As you begin to string together wins, the cynics take notice, and start to convert...