There’s no doubt about it: Adopting an agile methodology in your business is absolutely necessary for ongoing success and growth. It’s also helping SMEs punch well above their weight when it comes to digital innovation, but in order to do this they need to have the right tech infrastructure in place and be open to the ways in which IT can help them innovate and improve.
Larger organisations tend to be more reliant on legacy systems, and like all giant vessels, they need lots of time and space to brake and change course. That’s where smaller businesses have the advantage, and they’re using technology to leverage every opportunity available.
SMEs understand the importance of being agile, managing costs and finding new and inventive ways to constantly improve productivity through the effective use of IT. They know the best way to compete and grow is to test, learn and iterate – finding efficiencies and evolving at the same rate as (or better yet, ahead of) consumer demand and expectations.
How can technology support agile operating models?
Improving IT infrastructure
For businesses to embrace all that is agile, employees need the ability to communicate freely, share information quickly, mobilise resources on-demand and act on good-quality data. That requires having the right hardware in place, upgrading software where necessary, and knowing what will be needed to continue and improve on operations into the future.
IT experts can help businesses do this by reviewing their IT infrastructure, revisiting their needs and objectives and leveraging developments in technology that allow them to find more efficient and effective ways to operate.
They can advise on and implement a move from more traditional cascading of information, to an infrastructure that allows them to communicate in every direction, at the same time, across numerous devices.
Your business can be more agile if your team is not tied up in tech fixes, so outsourcing your IT to a dedicated service desk means your team can focus on the business at hand every day without having to worry about tech troubles, or the costs of having an in-house IT team on hand.
Developing stronger networks
Moving up the ranks in digital innovation means more online tools, increased use of software and a greater reliance all-round on the IT network to create and support operational efficiency.
A stronger, safer network can only be a good thing for a business and lays the foundations for building on success.
Going digital
Paper is the past. It fills office space unnecessarily and increases costs and waste. It can even jeopardise a business’s security if it happens to include sensitive or confidential information and finds itself in the wrong hands.
By digitising document management, a business can transform its overall operation, streamline processes, simplify procedures and improve efficiency on every level.
At its most basic, it means everyone can be on the same page, all the time. Information can be shared or retrieved in seconds, whether that’s from a traditional server or the cloud. Edits and approvals can be made on the go and the paper mountain fire hazard can be extinguished once and for all.
Paper slows everything down and flies in the face of agile thinking, making the paper-cull a crucial first step in the transformation of any flexible business.
Developing social and working networks
Creating virtual destinations for like-minded employees and business associates to hang out can be hugely beneficial to an agile work environment. Socially, they allow bonds to be built based on personal interests, and from a professional perspective, it lets agencies, vendors and project teams get together to share their expertise, regardless of geographical location.
Leveraging data and collective intelligence
Businesses that lean heavily on social engagement and real-time analytics know the value of customer intelligence. It can inform everything from brand management and marketing strategy, to product development and operational improvement, allowing the business to grow and adapt based on what the market is doing, without the risk of guess work.
Having the software in place that allows your team to gather data, analyse and act on it, is therefore becoming more and more important.
Today, an agile approach to business requires having the right IT infrastructure and tech support in place, and an IT consulting service can show you the potential in the system you have, what you need, how to implement it, and what it can do to help you innovate and grow.
Find out how we can help you on the path to success by booking an IT audit with us:
