10 Principles Guide How Agile Organizations Use Technology Posted on : Jun 16 - 2020

CIOs and IT teams have a great opportunity to show how the strategic use of technology can help the company achieve its agile goals.

The publication of the Agile Manifesto nearly 20 years ago revolutionized the software development process. Little did the authors know that marketing, sales, HR and other teams throughout the organization would also leverage their work as the guidepost for facilitating collaboration, improving productivity, and driving decision-making processes. “Becoming agile” has become the de facto goal of many companies’ digital transformation initiatives.

The global Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the need for companies to become more agile whether they were ready or not. So many people are working from home, forcing companies to adapt and accelerate the implementation of new technologies and services. 

All companies want to be strategic in their approach to implementing technology to become more agile -- the question is “how?” Here are 10 principles that any organization can follow:

1. Technology has to be strategic. 

For technology to play a critical role in helping a company achieve its strategic business objectives, there must be someone dedicated to it full time. Someone who wakes up every morning and goes to bed every night thinking about how to leverage technology to make the business more competitive, more efficient, more dynamic. Whatever the title (e.g., CIO, director of IT), that person should be part of the senior executive team. 

2. Commit to introducing disruptive technologies.

As the old saying goes, “The only constant in life is change”. Advancements in machine learning, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and robotics are disrupting established businesses. To succeed, let alone survive, an agile organization must constantly explore how these technologies will impact its business, and how to use them to gain a competitive advantage. It’s no longer an option for organizations to wait and see how these disruptive technologies impact the rest of the industry -- every company must become an “early adopter.”

3. Embrace the digitization and democratization of information.

The pandemic has laid bare the fact that any company still storing paper records in filing cabinets is anything but agile. Strive to digitize all files, even highly sensitive information that must be stored locally. As scary and controversial as this might sound, the “default” access policy should be to allow everyone within the organization to access all company information. Only the most confidential information such as payroll or patient records should be restricted. The more information employees have at their fingertips, the better and faster they will be able to make decisions.  View More