By Vladimir Collak
You’re running a technology company. If you’re not, your business is dead. Yes, you have read this correctly. No matter what business you’re in, you are (or should) be in a technology business. I am not just referring to productivity tools like spreadsheets or email. I am talking about a fundamental way you use technology to operate your organization.
Technology can be deadly
Simply put, if your company does not embrace technology, it will eventually perish. Take a look at what happened to Borders. In 2001, Borders, a nationwide bookseller simply handed over its online book sales to Amazon because it considered online books as unimportant and non-strategic. After all, they were a company that was selling physical books, right? Why worry about online books? Well, by 2011 the company filed for Chapter 11 and today it simply does not exist. In short 10 years this major bookseller went from a nationwide company to a liquidated company largely because it ignored a major technology shift as well as a shift in customer expectations.
Technology can save you
While the above example does not exactly paint a positive picture, there are always two sides to a coin. Companies that embrace technology and actively listen to their customers can flourish. As Marc Andreessen, one of the fathers of the web browser said – “Software is eating the world”. In his article he points out that virtually every industry in a modern world is using technology and particularly software in some fundamental way. Many leading organizations that would traditionally have nothing to do with technology like booksellers, video distributors, music companies, or direct marketing companies are actually software businesses. Which businesses am I referring to? I am sure you’ve heard of Amazon, Netflix, Apple, and Google.
So how can technology save you? Here is how:
- Provide a radically better value. Competition has a tendency to commoditize everything. However, if you figure out how to provide a radically better value for your customers, you can delight them, but at the same time create a significant competitive advantage that could be difficult to replicate. This can certainly be done without technology, but in our modern hyper-connected world, that’s less likely. Take a look at the example of Borders. They did not focus on a radical value that e-books provided, but their competitors certainly did.
- Don’t implement technology for technology’s sake. Instead better understand your customer. Deeply understand them and envision a world in which their life is better. Then think about how you can leverage technology to make that a reality. This will allow you to use technology, but not just for its sake.
- Look at other industries. Most industries suffer from a notion that since business was done a certain way for years or decades, there is nothing that can be improved. However, in most industries that’s simply not true. To help eliminate this myopic view, look at other industries or similar businesses. For instance, a fuel carrier should be looking at transportation leaders like the UPS or FedEx to see how they are running their operation. How are they using technologies to better serve their customers?
- Look at consumer technologies. Every one of your customers uses technology in their personal life. Whether they are using a website, a mobile app or some gadget, they are increasingly used to a new world with instant access to information and insight. They expect the same level and quality of technologies in their business world. If you don’t provide that, someone else will.
- Hire a business savvy CTO (Chief Technology Officer). It used to be that technology departments reported to CFOs. Historically accounting departments needed computers to crunch numbers so IT (Information Technologies) was managed by accounting or finance. That’s no longer the norm. Today, every company no matter how large or small needs a business savvy technical leadership. Maybe your CFO is that person, but chances are his or her concerns are more with the financial aspects of the company and less with how technology can transform your business.
Software is eating the world – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460.html
Borders bankruptcy – http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/07/readers_without_borders.html
Borders bankruptcy – http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-09-26/borders-to-sell-intellectual-property-to-barnes-noble.html
Vladimir Collak has a broad range of experiences in managing technology organizations with a passion for creating transformative solutions. He currently serves as a President and CEO of Ignite Media, LLC. (www.ignitedev.com). Ignite’s mission is solving business problems through technology. Vladimir can also be found on his personal blog as www.collak.net.
