We are entering a new phase of technology where disruption is the primary model over just empowerment. This disruption is now a new type of catalyst that is no longer taking down small products or companies but is destroying the business models of Fortune 500 companies. The tide has changed to one where all types of emerging technologies are forcing every company and person on the planet to embrace change or die.
The CEO’s responsibility used to be to manage risk and set the strategy for the organization. In today’s world, the CEO is now required to both manage risk and manage disruption. If the CEO cannot effectively manage disruption, they will find their company losing massive amounts of customers and revenue like some well-known companies — Kodak, Blockbuster, Borders, Compaq, Tower Records, etc. Babson College cited a scary statistic – “Over 40% of the companies that were at the top of the Fortune 500 in 2000 were no longer there in 2010.”
So if you are not willing to face the risks of change you will fall behind and be replaced by the new. As harsh as it sounds, you can embrace disruption and come out ahead in the process. You do this by having the right advisors and technologists helping you learn and apply the correct constructive deconstruction strategies to your business and IT organization. Disruption creates a compression in response time that can be overcome with a mindset and methodology that emphasizes flexibility. You need to work with a company that has the appropriate agile business mentality to help you develop IT services in a Cloud framework, as well as be a Cloud broker for future growth.
Information Technology is used in every business model and across every aspect of society. It is now as important as food and water in terms of everyday life. When IT first started its integration into society, it was a force of change. Its runway was long and there was no problem with having projects that had implementation time lines that ran for 1, 2, or even 3 years. It was completely acceptable and the norm. As more and more companies started to consume IT, the model and behavior of it slowly changed. Now, we find that it has evolved into a force of disruption with a very short runway. So, if you do not have project and implementation timelines that match the runway, you will crash and burn.
This now critical role of IT in everyday life is why the advent of Cloud technology is becoming so important to your business. A company no longer has the freedom and luxury to slowly develop IT solutions for their business because if they go too slow, they will find themselves falling behind competitors. By using the Cloud you are able to consume a variety of IT services without the wait, and allow your business to keep up with the demands with which it is faced. You must have significant business agility and maturity in your IT organization because your company’s life relies on it. The Cloud is your antidote to this force of disruption that you are seeing every time you sit down with your business leaders.
It is time that every CEO accepts the new demands of their role and learns how to manage disruption. They need to bring in a set of IT professionals that understand the Cloud in the right context, and can help align it with business demands, so that the forces of disruption can be harnessed and used to propel company revenue growth and customer acquisition. By leveraging the methodologies and practices of those that have successfully implemented Cloud solutions, a CEO can develop the foundation of an IT organization that can help him manage both risk and disruption for years to come.
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