Cohere Consulting - Perspectives #TechnologyCohere Consulting - Perspectives #Technologyhttps://www.cohereconsulting.com/blogs/tag/technologyTue, 24 Feb 2026 06:02:51 -0800http://zoho.com/sites/<![CDATA[Digital - A Perspective]]>https://www.cohereconsulting.com/blogs/post/Digital-A-Perspective

Digital’s progress is signified by six trends we have witnessed in the recent times. Digital initiatives in turn influences these trends to become mainstream.


The terms ‘Digital’ and ‘Disruption’, either independently or combined with each other or combined with other terms (‘Digital Economy’, ‘Digital Quotient’,  or ‘Disruptive Models’) can be found in the top  bracket of the business lexicon now-a-days and so much so that if the usage trend continues these will possibly stake claim for the ‘word(s) of the year’.  In the recent times, there have been many definitions, point-of-views and scholarly discussions on ‘what’ and ‘how’ of Digital. We also see some early actions as service providers rush to their clients with their digital offerings and claim break-throughs in deals and CIOs indicate digital as their top priority justifying the hype.  However,  there is still a lot of mystery surrounds these concepts and the fact remains that the businesses are still unsure of what is in it for them though there are making attempts to explore and learn from the early forays of the peers.


If we read through some thought leadership articles,  hear what CIOs have to say or go through the service offerings of vendors, Digital seems to mean different things to different people. More content gets added every passing day. In such a situation, adding more substance may possibly add to more confusion; alternately if we think positive such content may also help get more clarity. Hence, here is a stab at unpacking Digital and the impact it may have on the businesses.


This perspective is influenced by six trends we have witnessed in the technology domain in the recent times. These trends have caused considerable shifts in the way technology is perceived and used and may have played a role in shaping the advancement of Digital either independently or collectively.  Before we look at these trends, it may be worthwhile to share what we consider as the basic tenets of digital. There seems some agreement on these tenets in the industry albeit at a high level. One, digital is not a technology or a set of technologies but ways of running the operations efficiently with technology at its core; two, it is not a pre-defined template that is applied to business problems but an approach to anticipate and avoid problems; three, it is not just automation of customer processes but ways of converging the organisation towards better customer engagement and experience and finally it is not a goal or a destination but a journey to achieve sustained growth.


Working from this premise, we can see how these trends have influenced the advancement of Digital which in turn is transforming these trends into mainstream and thus the evolution becomes iterative.  There is nothing like a project or a method when completed would make a company Digital. However, riding on these six trends may make an organisation become more digital. 



1.  Technology powered business models


In the past, technology was seen as an ‘enabler’ that supports the business goals and solves problems.  The problems could range from managing large volume of customer accounts for a bank or making inventory visible across the supply chain for a manufacturing firm or bringing transparency in contracts for a government. The demands of the business would determine the choice of technologies and for the choice to be proper, the specifications have to be clear. Thus IT always followed the business and enabled the requirements.

There has been a role reversal in the recent times in that the technology can determine the business. The advancements in technology have powered new business models that are entirely technology driven. The growth of e-commerce and the emergence of new age companies like Uber and Airbnb are prime examples of the role reversal.  The term ‘disruption’ is associated with these companies and rightly so. These companies had technology define their businesses and went further to change the way people interact with them. To book a taxi through Uber or a room through Airbnb, the customers would need to use a technology. The success of these enterprises can be expected to rub on to traditional companies in many ways than one and may prompt them to look at technology with a different perspective to see if there is an ‘uberization’ opportunity. 

2. IT in the Board


If you pore over the organization structure of yesteryear companies, you will find IT represented as a box possibly buried under finance or operations rarely making it to the top layer reporting to the CEO. In these organizations the CIO was never a ‘CxO’ , a label normally reserved for top management.

Cut to today, with technology gaining more traction, playing a more crucial role in running the businesses, IT  has moved out of the box and is longer a function or a department but has become a partner in business to the other functions. CIOs are more frequently seen in Board deliberations and slowly gaining the role of advisor to the business, a major shift from the past where he/she was taking orders from the business.  Traditional consumption of IT was largely in the areas of Finance, Production, Procurement and Sales where transaction processing was crucial. Increasingly we see functions like Marketing becoming major users applying IT to customer profiling, campaigns and promotions. Digital Marketing, Social Media integration and automated campaigns are routinely discussed by the Marketers with their technology teams.  


3. Empowered Customers


Businesses know that their customers have 24/7 access to information on the go thanks to proliferation of mobile and other pervasive devices. They also know that their customers are much smarter in using the technology and capable of doing research using multiple sources before making their purchase decisions. Social media has added another dimension where opinions/feedback are shared at will that greatly influence buying behavior of the customers.  An experience of a poor delivery or a bad service spreads fast in the virtual world that keeps the companies on their toes to track and address problems instantaneously.  With the market expanding and customers getting more options to source their requirements from, they become fickle minded and more demanding. On the other hand, companies make all out efforts to retain their customers, work towards brand loyalty and look to reach out to them in as many ways as possible. When the communication channels go up, customers expect to have the same experience across the channels thus forcing the companies to address the demands with cutting-edge technology.


4. Data for Decisions


As the businesses go global and the competition intensifies for the same set of customers, data in various forms – structured or unstructured, from variety of sources – internal or external – become a powerful source in understanding the customers better. Analytics that crunches massive amount of data to see hitherto unknown patterns of market and customer behavior, has taken centre stage in most companies. Developments in the areas of Big Data have extended the scope of analysis and the insights gained from the analysis are fed into improving existing products and designing new products that are centred around the needs and aspirations of the customers. IT teams are suddenly augmented with new disciplines such as data sciences and statistics.  


5. Connected Devices


The ‘Connected Life’ is becoming a reality with the prediction that there will be an exponential growth in more and more devices getting connected on to internet. From industries such as mining to construction to customer appliances, plethora of devices can possibly store and transmit data providing multiple possibilities in managing the physical assets and using the data for variety of applications such as supply chain efficiencies in factories and health monitoring of individuals. Though early stages, companies are attempting to explore areas where they can bring in next level of automation and data convergence to make better market decisions. The significant shift will be when the data from the connected devices will be used for not just for problem detection but also for predictions, course corrections and risk mitigation. 

6. New Model Sourcing


Cloud computing, ‘As-a-Service’ delivery models have provided companies completely new methods of procuring and managing technology.  The benefits that come with such sourcing models such as capex-to-opex shifts, outsourced support and maintenance, demand alignment have already been proved in the market and these use cases have sufficiently moved from the concept stage into execution.  These services have direct impact on resource utilization of the businesses. Even today, a large portion of the IT budget is locked up for maintenance leaving very little for ‘future-ready’ technologies. With such cost saving services at their disposal, companies can look at their IT budgets differently, moving from single-minded focus on cost-cutting to revenue enhancing investments. 

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The business environment is getting more complex and volatile and companies have come around to accept the ‘new normal’ in their respective domains.  Technology can play a crucial role in managing the complexities by helping companies become Digital.  These trends signify the shift to become Digital is multi-dimensional and as the adoption rate in these dimensions increases, we will see more developments resulting in strong technology driven organizations of the future.

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]]>Mon, 18 Jul 2016 09:37:12 +0000<![CDATA[Wither IT Strategy?]]>https://www.cohereconsulting.com/blogs/post/Wither-IT-Strategy

Organizations need to shift to Digital Strategy from IT Strategy to create greater impact on their businesses through technology. The shift involves changes in traditional methods of IT investment planning.

Information Technology has over the years become an integral component of managing an enterprise successfully.  Technology enabled organizations are found to engage with their customers better,   improve efficiency of their operations and practice better financial control. In the past, in order to bring in the right technology at the right time, organizations would rely on a formally developed IT Strategy. The aim of IT Strategy would be to identify and prioritize IT investments that enable the business to achieve the overall goals. The plan would cover what the companies need to do in the next 2-3 years, with clear description off initiatives, programs and timelines and would act as a reference for the CIOs  in their investment decisions. Technology partners or management consultants would be engaged to assist in this exercise who would understand the business imperatives and overlay an IT roadmap to align with the strategy. 

There were a number of implicit assumptions that went into the such an exercise; that the business environment would be more or less stable, technology advancements would be predictable and organizations would benefit from a longer term investment plan. Cut to today’s times – businesses operate in an increasingly volatile and complex environment; the role of technology is changing and in certain cases driving the business models.

In such a situation, how should organizations approach their technology strategy? Can we hold on to these assumptions of stability? Can we still follow a hardcoded 2-3 year approach when the pace of change outside is drastic?  


Digital disruptions we see suggest that organizations need to follow a radically different approach to formulating their technology strategy. Disruptive technologies have brought in new business models with the likes of Uber or Airbnb.  Convergence of devices, connectivity and information availability have greatly enhanced the way we see and use technology. These developments have far reaching impact on the role of IT in the organization and thus the approach to IT Strategy.

To navigate through the complex and dynamic environment, businesses would gain by shifting from developing an IT strategy to promoting a Digital Strategy. An important aspect of this shift is the recognition of the potential of technology in determining business direction, a radical change from viewing IT as a mere function of the organization. 


Key Considerations for Moving from IT Strategy to Digital Strategy


Not business strategy driving IT but IT driving business strategy


In the traditional sense, IT was always considered as a business enabler which implicitly meant it would require business clarity that comes from business strategy. In other words, IT would trail business specifications. Well-defined processes and associated business rules were considered as pre-requisites for large IT investments such as ERP and CRM. A time delay in bringing appropriate IT was inevitable had its share of issues.

Digital strategy premise is that the boundaries between business and IT strategies have blurred.  They go in tandem and think of Uber or Airbnb,  technology may define the business strategy. Business specifications are not mandatory to select IT. Organizations may choose to follow processes defined by a business application or depend on a cloud service provider who provides business services built on strong technology.


Not long term hard coded but short cycle and dynamic


IT strategy would typically cover a 2-3 year plan providing a roadmap for IT investments with a provision to review on a frequent basis and re-word the strategy where required. It was easier for the CIOs to follow the plan, make suitable budget provisions and go through a justification and approval process. To a large extent, the plan remained static and execution would have the plan as the basis.

In the changing circumstances, a long term plan that is hard coded will have no meaning to organizations. While the planning will still have a multi-year visibility, CIOs need to be pro-active or react with agility to unforeseen business situations. Towards this, they may need to plan and execute for the short term and ensure that such plans all tie-up to provide long-term benefits.  Such situations would correspond more to market actions – either providing an additional service to customers or quelling a competitor’s actions and may span tactical and transaction levels. For instance, a bank may completely overhaul customer on-boarding process not envisaged initially,  taking care that such unplanned programs tie-up to the overall customer engagement process. 

Not prove and adopt but adopt and prove


IT initiatives typically would follow a pilot implementation and a larger roll-out taking lessons from the pilot. The IT plan would cater to such a flow.

In the attempt to stay ahead in the existing business environment, businesses cannot afford a time consuming pilot-prove-roll-out flow, instead they need to develop and implement applications on the fly and link up such applications to provide a seamless experience to the users. 

Not comprehensive bulky but focused lean


Traditional IT strategy would cover all aspects of IT – applications, hardware, other infrastructure like networks and IT teams – that would be required to enable all areas of businesses, tied up vertically and horizontally to present a comprehensive plan. The dependencies would be laid out and hence investment decisions would cover all the dependencies.

Digital strategy is aimed at focused aspects of business such as customer services or backend logistics or regulatory compliance. These business areas can be seen as independent components and decisions taken as per the demands of these business components.


Not CIO centric but business centric


The custodian of an IT strategy would be the CIO in most organizations. He would own the plan and initiate changes when required. The requirements from the business would queue up in the CIO’s office and prioritized as per the plan document.


The digital strategy need to follow a more inclusive approach where the plans would be drawn up in close coordination with business and even customers or vendors. In progressive organizations, the involvement of business would also extend to execution where they may be allowed to take investment decisions (operating under an overall governance structure)  that may span selection  of applications, infrastructure and service providers. We see this change already in effect. In a survey conducted by McKinsey on IT strategy, more than 83% of IT executives indicated that their company’s IT strategy was developed collaboratively between IT and business.


Conclusion


A shift from older methods of IT strategy to a radically different approach of Digital is vital to the organizations operating in the ever changing markets to take full advantage of the advancements in IT. The change impacts all areas of organizations and need to be initiated at the top. CIOs need to work towards getting the buy-in of the businesses through their close involvement and ownership in key IT decisions. 

]]>Wed, 22 Jun 2016 10:23:51 +0000<![CDATA[Agility over Process Orientation in the Digital World]]>https://www.cohereconsulting.com/blogs/post/Agility-over-Process-Orientation-in-the-Digital-World

That the business environment we witness is dynamic and volatile is given.  Organizations across industries face multitude of challenges in the market place; consumers, empowered by pervasive technologies look for immediate indulgence in products and services they wish to acquire and swiftly complain about a poor performance in the social media exerting pressure on the operations; competitors, getting better at market insights move quickly with new products or promotions gaining market share; start-ups, willing to take risks come with a disruptive business models changing market equations. Organizations differ in tackling these challenges that is reflected in their preparedness and responses. If we examine what qualities distinguish leaders from others, agility takes a prominent position. Agility can be a great virtue for organisations to engage with their customers effectively and anticipate and respond to unforeseen business situations. For those who master the skill, it can indeed become a competitive advantage

However, agility is not something organizations have consciously invested in the last two decades. Instead there has been a high emphasis on process excellence to achieve business excellence. The question arises as to whether the process focused organizations are also agile or are these two conflicting approaches?


Process focussed organisations have well defined qualities about them.  They are characterized by two key qualities; standardization and efficiency. There is clarity on structure, roles and tasks to be executed. Their practices are steeped in transparency as all those involved clearly know where each one stands in the execution of the processes.  They tend to avoid any deviation from the established standards.  Any changes to the processes, triggered by business changes or as part of continuous improvement are normally taken up as projects that are subjected to well defined scope, timelines and budgets. Process groups staffed by experts would define standards enabled by world-class techniques such as Lean and Six Sigma. Information Technology would be seen as an enabler and be taken up as projects adhering to the established standards of the organization. 

The process orientation has helped these organizations achieve standards of operations across functions and locations, measure performance against set goals, improved efficiency on a continuous basis and set benchmarks.

Agility, on the other hand, determines organizations response to market situations.  Agility can be characterized by two critical qualities; speed of response and flexibility. Speed of response helps them to spot and convert business opportunities, continuously develop or evolve products and services to meet changing market demands and anticipate and counter moves of the competition. Flexibility empowers their employees to make decisions on-the-go that may related to structure, roles or process changes that are customer oriented. 

Thus, in an agile organization, a sales person may be empowered to structure differential pricing to customer segments or customize an offering to specific requirements though not defined as part of his job; a service engineer can be trained to not stop by merely servicing the product but can make a sale of a related product during a service call; a delivery executive may deviate and airlift a consignment for an emergency demand.


There are many differences between a typical process oriented and an agile organization. 


Typical Process Oriented Organization

Typical Agile Organization

Clearly defined process standards, roles and responsibilities  generally with no deviations

Broadly defined structure and roles – especially in the customer facing organization -  that changes as per business needs

Changes to procedures are time consuming due to design and validation

Changes to procedures happen on the fly

Decisions typically more centralised

Decision making decentralised

Typically rely on lagging and periodic indicators like Financials, process quality etc.

Driven by real-time measures like social listening, customer experience  etc

Continuous improvement helps in reducing errors and improve quality of service

Mistakes are tolerated and looked at as means of learning to improve speed

Focus is on reducing costs

Focus is on increasing revenues

IT seen as an enabler and lags process definitions

IT is integral to business direction and determines the business process


Clearly, to meet the increasing expectations of the consumers and deal with heightened competition, organizations can no longer ignore agility but instead should look at it as a key driver for running their businesses.  However, the argument here is not for agility at the cost of process efficiency. It is instead for building the skill on a foundation of just adequately defined processes and not ignoring it in the attempt to improve process efficiency.


Organizations can balance the seemingly dichotomous objectives by going Digital.  Programs that can automate the predominantly manual processes or integrate all communication (emails, workflows) under a common platform or manage structured and unstructured data to assess performance or building a knowledge repository that is live and easily accessible can enable organizations to be agile and process oriented.  Thus, for a bank or a retailer, technology can help to design and deploy digital services rapidly still following all the regulatory requirements, for a logistic company or a manufacturer, it can help track consignments / inventory end-to-end while complying to Health, Safety and Environment norms and for a government department, it can facilitate faster procurement while being transparent.


Agility can be the need of the hour to survive and be successful in a rapidly changing business environment. By being responsive and flexible, two critical qualities of agility, and not obsessed with process efficiency, organizations can expect to be ready to face market uncertainties, customer demands and environmental changes. Information Technology and digital programs can be leveraged to becoming agile. 



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