What Future Ready Enterprise Means to Me

We are in a world that knows no bounds. Technology is driving the growth engine, helping small companies become large enterprises faster than ever before.

Companies like Uber and Airbnb quickly grew from humble startups to major market players in their industries. What catapults their growth? It’s that these brands have an eye for the future. This insight works in their benefit. However, it’s not just what you know about the future; it’s also prepping for the future. This sets a future-ready company apart from ones that are not.

Focus on the next, not just the now

To #BeFutureReady, an enterprise needs to be constantly looking to see what lies ahead. Everybody can see what’s directly in front of them, but how many know what’s coming up next? Technology allows us to see further into the future, but it’s also a moving target. Traditionally, companies purchase the latest tech every five years. Now, businesses need to keep their ears firmly to the ground to get the latest tech trends before competitors.

Moving from infrastructure to mobility

For many startups and small and midsize business (SMBs), the lack of infrastructure, huge capital investments and large teams are the biggest barriers to growth. The advent of technologies such as mobile, cloud computing and unified communications allow small companies to outmaneuver even the biggest enterprises at little cost. Today, many small businesses are running on a global scale, toe-to-toe with their bigger rivals. Investing in technology is no longer a hefty expense. This means businesses of all sizes can be prepared and agile for new markets and customers.

Engagement is key

Being future-ready is a commitment to technology. More importantly, it’s a commitment to the way businesses engage. With an increasing number of tech tools available for virtually every business function, it’s easy for businesses to get mired in a web of tools. Many businesses focus so much on tech adoption that they lose sight of their real target — customer satisfaction. While there’s a proliferation of tech solutions, you must smartly choose the ones that will help you achieve your business goals. Put the maximum emphasis on engaging with your customers, exceeding their expectations through service. Use technology to get you there. Every future-ready company follows this formula. Think of Google or Amazon — their innovations always center on delivering exceptional customer service.

Innovate, don’t stagnate

Future-ready businesses harness the connected world. They bring together the best talents and tools to inspire innovation. Small or big, innovation is all about driving what is next. Social, mobile, big data, cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT) — all of these areas are at the core of what is next. With software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and infrastructure as a service (IaaS), any company can innovate, grow and succeed. However, due to the speed at which technology and the business landscapes are changing, they can easily lose the race.

It boils down to this: To build and nurture a future-ready company, you need to reinvent your business process. You need to deal with the emerging realities in your domain to see what lies ahead. Technology will be the force that guides you.

This post was written as part of the Dell Insight Partners program, which provides news and analysis about the evolving world of tech. Dell sponsored this article, but the opinions are my own and don’t necessarily represent Dell’s positions or strategies.The original article can be found here.

Image: Creative Commons

Daniel Newman

Daniel Newman is the Principal Analyst of Futurum Research and the CEO of Broadsuite Media Group. Living his life at the intersection of people and technology, Daniel works with the world’s largest technology brands exploring Digital Transformation and how it is influencing the enterprise. From Big Data to IoT to Cloud Computing, Newman makes the connections between business, people and tech that are required for companies to benefit most from their technology projects, which leads to his ideas regularly being cited in CIO.Com, CIO Review and hundreds of other sites across the world. A 5x Best Selling Author including his most recent “Building Dragons: Digital Transformation in the Experience Economy,” Daniel is also a Forbes, Entrepreneur and Huffington Post Contributor. MBA and Graduate Adjunct Professor, Daniel Newman is a Chicago Native and his speaking takes him around the world each year as he shares his vision of the role technology will play in our future.