BUSINESS MODELS​

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Radical Change is risky. But digital transformation is radical change. The optimal approach is the creation of a Minimum Viable Product Portfolio that supports your Customer Experience Initiatives.

Business Models' 3 Elements

In a digital transformation context

Are you ready for Change?

And we mean, radical, transformative change?

Many companies and teams say they want to digitally transform. The fact is that most of them are not really open to the possibility to radically change, as shown by the numbers (7 out of 8 fail. see page). If you and your team or company are open to the idea of transforming your business, you are ready to the next phase in becoming a digitally mature enterprise.

Digitally ENHANCED Businesses

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According the the MIT Sloan: “One media executive said: ‘We’ve realized that if we don’t transform the way we do business, we’re going to die. It’s not about changing the way we do technology but changing the way we do business.’” 

So, what options do you have? If you have already a physical business then the path is clear: Start augmenting it digitally. The question is, where do you begin? Or, if you already are in the road to becoming a digitally mature enterprise, perhaps the question is: Are you succeeding? With appropriate measure systems, like Balanced Scorecards or KPI Dashboards, this should be answered relatively quickly.

Speed is another factor to consider: If you are transforming, is it fast enough? This answer must take into consideration:

  • Your Industry
  • Your competition
  • The window of opportunity for your product or service
  • Your budget and Strategy

We at Agile Systems have experience in a wide array of industries. Due to the extent of our work we likely can support the digital augmentation of your business.

New Digital Businesses

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If you are either a Startup, or a well established company trying an idea from scratch, you have before you great opportunities with great risk. 

Grab a copy of the book “Lean Startup“, by Erik Rice, regardless of your company size or type. Appreciate the value of an MVP and how it can travel the path of business experimentation within your budget and skillset.

Before you start developing anything though, do your homework. Read the section about why 84% of companies fail at digital transformation initiatives. 

Use agile processes as often as you can. Agile is more a philosophy than a method. It is an idea with great merit but think of it as an starting point in your own journey. Sure, the agile manifesto is a great philosophical place to start, but by no means a complete “thought infrastructure” for your digitalization efforts.

Review your tooling. This is a key process in succeeding in new digital transformation initiatives. Always experiment.

Finally, look for expertise in the digital areas you are interested in. As there is a wide spectrum of digital possibilities, this is the most cost-effective approach we have seen. Invest in digital talent but at the same time minimize costs and risks via MVPs.

Digital Globalization

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In the “Nine elements of digital transformation”, Westerman, Bonnet and McAfee indicate that: “Companies are increasingly transforming from multinational to truly global operations. Digital technology coupled with integrated information is allowing businesses to gain global synergies while remaining locally responsive. These companies benefit from global shared services for finance, HR and even core capabilities like manufacturing and design. Global shared services promote efficiency and reduce risk. They even promote global flexibility. One manufacturer can shift production around the globe with only a few days’ notice in response to interruptions or excess demand.” – read article.

It is now standard, that new Data Transformation initiatives are globalized by nature. For example: In a most minimal digitalization scenario, for example, using the Cloud in a project to host either a Git, CRM, etc, you have the potential to harness the power – and cost savings – of digital globalization. And if, for example, a scrum team were not use the enormous advantages of overseas talent,  it would be losing out to the ones that do. Daily stand-ups in the standard Scrum methodology are becoming “daily Slack, Zoom or even Skype” occurrences. Agile Methods are becoming “digitally transformed” themselves.

Furthermore, language and cultural variety should not be a barrier anymore. And if your software stack and tooling is located in the cloud, then your project is set for a healthy start.

Additional Reading

From leading industry thinkers