Horizon scanning: It’s time to take a new approach

A vast number of organisations look to sources such as Gartner’s Magic Quadrant to gain insight into the latest innovation. It’s a hugely valuable service, and a good place to start your search - however the problem is that one-size-doesn’t-fit-all. That focus on enterprise-grade solutions won’t be right for every organisation. This is particularly relevant given the increasingly complex IT landscape.

Some organisations come at horizon scanning from the point of view of ‘what’s happening?’ as opposed to ‘what do I need?’ They are two different approaches with very separate outcomes. But some significant shifts in B2B tech purchasing behaviour also mean that well-established methods for horizon scanning simply aren’t as effective today.

Take industry regulations, for example. The IFRS16 accounting standard presents challenges to organisations, and most enterprise ERP systems. The major ERP players were too slow to market and many still haven’t implemented their IFRS16 functionality in their products three years later. The result was the emergence of a handful of niche players from the midmarket and SMB who were quickly able to fill those gaps with additional tools that could be bolted on to organisations’ existing systems.

Elsewhere, we’re seeing the consumerisation of enterprise technology in response to changing user demands. Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon have all streamlined their user experience so people feel more engaged with them - such as purchasing something with just one click.

That kind of experience is also driving changes in the software market. We know that with software, you’re either buying the toolkit, or you’re buying the product. With a product, you are provided with a login and you’re good to go. It doesn’t require any customisation. A toolkit, however, will take time, effort, preparation, and perhaps some configuration to get to where you need to be. The impact of consumerisation is that software companies are increasingly going down the product route – as seen with the growth of software as a service (SaaS) – software on demand, to suit the user.

Of course that also presents its own challenges, including individual departments purchasing software for their own line of business, often without the knowledge of IT. These Shadow IT solutions support business critical processes, creating a host of integration, management and security concerns for the IT team.

First steps to modernisation

If you are ready to take your first steps on the path to IT modernisation, a good place to start is by asking ‘where are we?’ Take time for some unbiased reflection of the state of the business, the state if your current IT systems, and the state of the market. Because unless you adopt that honest approach, you can potentially choose the wrong course.

Secondly, think about where you are headed and how quickly you want to get there. If you wanted to travel from Land’s End to John O’Groats, you can create a turn-by-turn directions from Google Maps view of the journey, or you can just head North. You can walk or you can fly. Both are valid approaches, but it has to be the right approach for your organisation, from a communications standpoint and for the level of detail you require.

Lastly, be mindful of roadblocks and toll roads. There are some things that will get in your way. Some of them will be technology-based, but more often than not it is the ‘three Cs’: culture, capacity and capability. So get yourself ready for those kinds of conversations. Most transformation projects under achieve because business leaders don’t agree with, or have a realistic view, of how technology can support the business. However, there’s an opportunity to bridge the gap between IT and the rest of the business, with conversations focused on outcomes rather than feeds and speeds.

Organisations that are adept to digital leadership have found that evolution, not revolution, is the way forward. One the most commercially successful organisations, Amazon, is known for doing tiny things constantly to build solutions and drive value. Organisations sometimes don’t understand that they don’t have to rip and replace their existing systems – sometimes a few adaptations can unlock the value they’re seeking.

Overall, it is important to look at any new technology investment holistically, and strategically. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but the alternative is that you may end duplicating technology you have already, or introducing something that will create friction for users. Speak to those software companies, get the opinion of trusted consultants and get that level of granularity that is missing from adopting a one-size-fits-all approach.

Return to C-speak - Technology trends, turbulence and tactics