The first step towards becoming agile

By Dr. Anand Deshpande The way we do business today has changed; with new and disruptive business models entering the industry on a regular basis, the rules of the game are being constantly re-written. Among the many changes that are occurring, the most significant one is that business no longer has a physical address. The traditional idea of where one transacts has been entirely overhauled. As a result, how we approach new customers and service existing ones has assumed a mobile and collaborative flavour. This reflects our attempts to instill, within our organisations, a sense of agility and nimbleness so as to keep up with the rapidly changing landscape. However, for an organisation to be truly mobile it must incorporate one of the most integral steps of business agility: using technology to its fullest potential. To do this, to be truly agile, the requirement is for more than a few strategic changes: what we need is a digital transformation wherein mobility is not an afterthought but at the very core of operations. The key to digital transformation A careful evaluation of different companies will help you see that the enterprises which have succeeded in becoming truly agile, are the more recent entrants. Why is that so? For these companies, mobility intrinsically bound to their model and approach in a way that makes the digital nature of the organisation inextricably linked to the way the company conducts business. For most other companies, the ones that have been in operations since before the digital era began, though changes have occurred, independent ones, in silos, there hasn’t been a transformation, one that embraces all that is digital in a lasting and meaningful way. Understanding agility A question that is key to this discussion is, what, truly, is agility and why is technology so important to becoming agile? Agility, in simple terms, refers to an organisation’s ability to ensure disciplined execution alongside continuous innovation and speed. To achieve this, the most crucial change that must occur is at the most fundamental software development level. Whether it is for project, customer or internal employee management, the call is for the development of intuitive, mobile and dynamic platforms with strategic thought to user experience. Organisations must be equipped at their software level to embrace mobility in a way that it is steadfastly linked to client and internal affairs management. How it makes a difference The many benefits of a technologically agile organisation are compelling and vast; from being able to ensure quality standards to higher customer satisfaction to increased company loyalty. This occurs, among other things, through an ability to implement more valid and updated metrics, make more effective forecasts and reduce risk. An agile organisation is able to take management to entirely new level, one wherein management systems operate continuously, seamlessly and collaboratively so as to provide more informed and immediate feedback. Members of an agile organisation share data easily making the benefits of this information sharing available as leverage not only for sustainable and strategic growth but also a competitive advantage. It’s a small world after all The need to be technologically agile has become even more pressing in the light of globalisation. Geographic borders in business have ceased to exist which means cross-country transactions have become an everyday reality. An agile organisation is not only able to effectively combat the traditional challenges that tend to crop up with a global work environment but also make most of the opportunities it brings with it. Through an improved technology approach, intelligently designed software can enable collaboration to occur in real time so as to streamline communication and ensure that all key stakeholders are constantly in sync. This makes it feasible for companies to quickly penetrate new markets and expand their geographic reach. Take Uber, for example, the world’s largest taxi company. After the United States, their second biggest market is the drastically different India. Being able to move fast and create a presence in different cities across the country has been integral to their overall success in the subcontinent. No one is exempt The need to become mobile is now pervasive. The idea that agility is limited to organisations specifically operating in the IT sector must be erased. Whether its education, hospitality or manufacturing, agile organisations in each of these spaces are being able to step ahead of the curve and offer its customers and its people important advantages. This gives them the opportunity to build their respective client bases and attract the best talent. Agility is not the future, it is the now which is why we must embrace its potential. By ensuring that our software is customised to empower true agility, we will be able to take a definitive stride towards this. In this way, we will be able to cope with an increasingly volatile business environment and maximise the opportunities represented by the powerhouse that is 21st century India. The author is Founder and CMD, Persistent Systems