Business Transformation Requires Transformational Leaders

According to Cutter Consortium Senior Consultant Mike Rosen, there are three main roadblocks to digital business: 1) Lack of an agile architectural approach; 2) Limited data accessibility, integration, and quality; and 3) Inability to accommodate new requirements for speed, scope, and scale. Discover practical strategies for approaching and tackling these roadblocks in this short, on-demand session.

In this Executive Update, we assess how a gradual transformation from traditional IT/network units to a more functional organization, using the example of telecom operators, will address several legacy constraints in adopting new technologies. Effective implementation of such a project reduces costs and organizational redundancies and provides the further push to digitalization.

In the webinar, “Overcoming the Industry 4.0 Skills Shortage,” Barry M. O'Reilly discussed the skills shortage that is both inevitable and predictable when businesses try to solve problems with Industry 4.0, which is less about automating old processes and more about inventing a new world in which computing drives business rather than mirrors it. It is apparent that we cannot simply continue as we have in the past. Educating engineers faster, matching them to jobs more easily, and simply doing “the same old thing” has not solved the earlier skills crises — and Industry 4.0 presents even tougher challenges than what we have experienced thus far. In this Advisor, Barry shares some responses to questions following the webinar.

I often describe the strategic risk management of emerging technology and disruptive business models as a combination of continuity and change. Striking the balance is often difficult in a high-stakes, rapidly changing environment. However, one should find comfort and guidance in the fact that while the tech­nical components change, the principles of risk manage­ment remain the same. The trick is to understand the technology enough and apply the appropriate mitigation strategy to de-risk the solution while striking a balance between business value and the assumption of too much organizational risk.

From the need for more tech­nology regulation to what technologies will be most transformative, from guidelines for keeping our data safe to minimizing the profusion of misinformation — we are sure you’ll find value in the observations in this issue of Cutter Business Technology Journal. We trust that they’ll give you the foresight to proceed with optimism, yet vigilance, into this new decade.

With all that is new and changing before our eyes, we asked the Cutter Consortium team of experts to weigh in on the technologies, strategies, and business models that will have the most relevance this year and beyond.

Helen Pukszta brings us up to speed on the trends shaping drone usage. She foresees more enactment of regulations and new opportunities for business users of drones as well as for drone technology providers. According to Pukszta, “Regulatory changes, new drone technology, and continuing business adoption will make 2020 an exciting year for all drone users, but many sweeping changes, opportunities, and automation benefits of drones are still ahead of us.” How might your organization benefit from drones?

Barry M. O’Reilly questions the validity of Agile practices. According to him, “The Agile movement’s focus on process as the solution to uncertainty has allowed technical quality to fall by the wayside, bringing even more doubt as to the ability of Agile to actually deliver.” O’Reilly contends that “only the people working directly with a problem can decide on tools and process in the evolving picture of their project, and their individual talents — not adherence to or avoidance of certain ideas — guide whether they achieve success or not.” What is your opinion on Agile versus talent, or is it Agile and talent?