This means that digital technology has been used as a tool to better achieve strategic goals and optimize operations, not just as an influence on how to conceptualize and develop new strategies.Although this approach has already served many companies well, for some of them, however, it is no longer sufficient, especially if they want to thrive in the economic ecosystem dominated by digital.Technology is constantly evolving, businesses, societies and the world need to better understand digital technology and its vast potential to consider it more actively in order to establish better business strategies.How can companies achieve this? Through a new technology-driven business strategy.
What is a technology-driven business strategy? Why is it necessary?
The classic, most common approach companies take to managing their digital strategy is to develop it alongside their broader business strategies.However, the new, increasingly digitalized global marketplace has made the need for a more unified and holistic approach more critical.According to global consulting firm Deloitte, six key factors have necessitated a greater fusion of technology and business strategies, namely:Convergence – the blurring of boundaries between the digital market and the physical market, the merging of supply and value chains as well as the elimination of pre-existing industry boundaries.Data Proliferation – Companies must find ways to process, understand and apply insights from the ever-increasing amounts of data generated by customer interactions and their own operations.
Competing horizons – today’s business leaders often have to balance running their business with strategic planning to face an unknown and disruptive future.Customer Empowerment – Digital technology has created a much more dynamic multi-stakeholder ecosystem for customer engagement, which presents both challenges and opportunities for companies looking to improve the customer experience.Speed and Volatility – As disruptive new technologies continue to emerge at increasing rates, businesses must be prepared for ongoing shifts in their business landscape. They must be able to take advantage of new opportunities and not be overly dependent on competitive advantages which can be quickly eroded by new developments.
Companies that have until now separated their technology strategy from their business strategy will need to find new ways to merge them in order to be better organized, structured and geared towards success in a digital world.This enables companies to better utilize IT resources to improve customer experience, optimize supply chains, become more resilient to disruptions, and ultimately improve financial performance.By merging their digital strategy with their business strategy, companies can use these assets to create value.These are the basic tenets of a technology-driven business strategy.
The most complex question is: How to achieve this?
By creating isolated business and digital strategies, companies often miss opportunities to better leverage technology in business operations. Merging digital and business strategies can allow for recalibration and thus create a strategy that is more up-to-date, increasingly digital and focused on different markets.
