The advance of digitalisation requires new skills and new partnerships

IT takes a central role in business development

For a long time, IT has been seen as a support function and equated with the costs of running servers, managing clients and maintaining systems. At management level, discussions have focused on whether the IT manager should be part of the management team, how much IT should cost and which systems need to be updated during the year. With the advance of digitalisation (read more in "The technology revolution is bigger than you think, the whole organisation needs to act now"), new opportunities are opening up for IT to move from being a support function to taking a central role in the business development of the company.

Digital transformation is largely about pure business development and there is a strong consensus among researchers and industry that more digital understanding needs to go into decision-making. The business of the future will require services in the cloud and those companies that are unable to create value using digital technology will find it increasingly difficult to compete (we have written more about this in "How much IT debt can you afford to build?").

The move from cost item to strategic business function requires new skills

But to make the leap from cost item to strategic business function, today's IT departments face a number of challenges. A key part of this is ensuring that they have the necessary knowledge and skills. In a survey by Sungard AS, 700 IT decision-makers in Sweden, the US, the UK, France and Ireland responded to how they view digital evolution and what it means. Almost half of the respondents feel that they are not keeping up with digital developments.

It is also about changing and complementing the skills and profile of the IT department's employees. According to the same Sungard study, more than 80% of decision-makers say they need to recruit new employees with the right skills to enable digitalisation. Those who best run servers are rarely the same individuals as those best suited to develop new IT solutions with a business focus.

Traditional IT partners fall behind in the wake of digitalisation

Another challenge lies in the choice of IT partner. While today's IT managers are facing a disruptive paradigm shift, where the right digital capabilities are a prerequisite for success, many vendors continue to focus on "IT just works". Existing IT systems that support traditional methods can feel stable and reliable in many ways. But they rarely enable the innovation and creativity that IT managers are now expected to deliver.

Increasingly, we hear IT managers in forward-thinking companies declare that there are no longer any "IT projects". Now they are all "business projects" focused on creating efficiencies or realising new business opportunities. When the vendor recommends traditional IT projects, it sets the stage for communication problems.

The vendor that still focuses on running servers will simply not be the strongest card when it comes to implementing business support solutions focused on business value and competitiveness. As forward-thinking companies look to like-minded partners to win the race, traditional IT vendors that have not kept up with the transformation will be left behind.

IT, a core process with high priority

My belief is that tomorrow's successful companies will have one thing in common. They will all see IT as a core process with a high priority. And the fastest will win.

These companies will have solved the equation of reallocating time and money from operations to innovation to ensure that IT becomes a key competitive advantage. Discussions will no longer be about reducing IT costs. Instead, the focus will be on ensuring a clear link between the vision of the business plan and the goals of the IT business to ensure the "right IT cost". Enabling the IT manager to steer IT activities towards the company's overall goals creates the conditions to move from being reactive to being a proactive driver of business innovation.

Contact us to learn more about how WeSafe and Microsoft products can open up new opportunities for your IT to play a central role in your company's business development.

Inspiration and knowledge straight to your inbox

Sign up for our monthly inspirational newsletter that provides tips, insights and advice on new ways of working, processes and security related to Microsoft 365, Azure and various tools in the Microsoft cloud platform.

Microsoft 365 Evergreen

Microsoft 365 Evergreen

Microsoft 365, a constantly evolving platform!

How do you keep your Microsoft 365 environment updated, productive but also secure, i.e. Evergreen?

Read more

Free Demo of Microsoft Viva - your new employee platform

Imagine having access to the company intranet directly in Teams. With Microsoft Viva it's possible, Viva is the platform where employee communication, engagement, well-being and knowledge are at the centre.

Read more and book

Are you interested in other blog articles from WeSafe?

Want to know how we can help your business thrive in Microsoft 365? Get in touch and we'll tell you more!