Two Success Strategies to Help You Innovate Faster Than Competition By Premalakshmi R, Head – Cloud Platform, Oracle India

Two Success Strategies to Help You Innovate Faster Than Competition

Premalakshmi R, Head – Cloud Platform, Oracle India | Thursday, 23 August 2018, 13:47 IST

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Premalakshmi R, Head – Cloud Platform, Oracle IndiaIn the Industry 4.0 era, the pace of digital disruption and the urgency with which Indian businesses are embracing digital transformation is an indication of the C-level commitment at companies as they transform into digital-first businesses. The findings of Gartner's latest annual global CIOsurvey goes one step ahead and highlights how commitment levels of Indian CXOs towards digital transformation are rivaling that of global top performers.

The unpredictability and speed of digital transformation have shortened technology cycles, putting extra pressure on businesses. CEOs are well aware of the changing landscape and are now banking on their CIOs to accelerate innovation and increase operational agility.

Delivering on these imperatives is easier said than done. For the best chance of success, there are two key strategies CIOs should employ, with cloud as their foundation: 1) try new ideas quickly, and  2) to borrow a quote from British politician Benjamin Disraeli: “The secret of success is to be ready when your opportunity comes."

" With digital disruption advancing swifter than before, CIOs should constantly look for new avenues and seize the cloud advantage to help their company create a sustainable model for innovating faster than the competition "

Why you should try new ideas, fast

Peter Williams, Deloitte’s chief edge officer and former CEO of Deloitte Digital, was a speaker at one of our events and he defined Innovation as ‘trying new ideas’. He proposed success requires unpacking the definition from back to front. Start with ideas, see what’s new to you – it doesn't have to be brand new for the whole world, it is often adopting new things that are happening elsewhere but is new for you – and try it, and if need be, fail fast. In short, experiment! The cloud makes it easier and faster to try, fail and move onto the next idea. It enables “as a service” buying models that reduce or even eliminate both time and cost for pricey investments, and you only pay for what you use. Adding to that, cloud services are constantly updated with new features and functionality, constantly giving even more ability to innovate.

The value of this approach is already being witnessed. One Frost & Sullivan survey of 800 senior executives in APAC found that enterprises using cloud computing are far more likely to have capitalized on international business opportunities, compared to those that are still primarily using on-premises systems.

Why you should be ready

CIOs can further enable innovation by being ready to strike when the opportunity presents. This requires a key shift: from builder of technology, to being a guide or digitalmaster, setting direction, bringing together the best in cloud and leading the organization along the right path.

The cloud has empowered CIOs by offering them more technology building blocks at their disposal than ever before. From new mobile development capabilities around chatbots to better cyber security based on AI learnings, and automated marketing tools that provide real-time, actionable insights into consumer engagement. These and other pioneering solutions provide a powerful platform for innovation, while also freeing up resources so that the business can focus on serving customers and beating the competition, rather than developing software in-house.

The unending choices and offerings pose a new risk altogether. There are also a few challenges that are faced because of multiple choices and offerings. Rather than needing to try to keep up-to-date with a range of current and emerging technologies, and becoming pigeonholed in any one trend, the key is for CIOs to maintain a clear strategy and direction and take a modular approach. This will allow them to be at pace with the rapidly progressing technology evolution and give them the best chance to be ahead of the competition as well as support innovations.

Let’s consider the example of  NCDEX e Markets Limited, India’s leading National Spot Exchange. It works with domain experts and offers trading platforms for trading in a host of commodities, both agricultural and non-agricultural to various market participants, primary producers including farmers, traders, processors etc. NCDEX wanted to migrate from an on-premises IT environment to a modern, scalable cloud infrastructure and chose Oracle. NCDEX’s migration was easier than imagined while delivering the same topnotch customer experience as before. NCDEX also cut months from its procurement and deployment cycles.

As a wise man once said, the best time to start is now. With digital disruption advancing swifter than before, CIOs should constantly  look for new avenues and seize the cloud advantage to help their company create a sustainable model for innovating faster than the competition.

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