"Cloud computing represents one of those once-in-a-generation shifts that not only changes the way we think about managing information, but also the way we design and run businesses." - Joe McKendrick
In an excerpt from a recent Forbes blog post "Gartner's ERP Market Share Update Shows The Future Of Cloud ERP Is Now" contributor Louis Columbus summarizes his post with the following:
Impatient for results and systems that can deliver them, the high growth areas of the ERP market are being driven by companies who see cloud-based systems as more agile and responsive to their changing business model needs. Legacy systems designed for business models long gone yet still on maintenance are being extended today with cloud-based systems capable to keeping pace with an entirely new level of performance companies need to survive and grow.
Sifting Through the Noise
With Social Media, Marketing Automation, Cold Calls, etc... business leaders can easily become overwhelmed with the amount of noise out there surrounding these hot buzzwords: Cloud, Big Data, Social, Mobile and the Internet of Things. Working with trusted partners that can bring a fresh perspective and experience with these new cloud technologies is a good starting point.
While relationships with legacy vendors are valuable and have spanned multiple years and even decades in some cases - this relationship might not be what's needed to digitally transform your business moving forward.
Effective persuasion starts not with numbers, but with stories that have emotional power because that's the best way to to tap into unconscious decision making.
In an HBR article - Decisions Don't Start with Data - the author tells a story of an executive trying to steer his team towards a future vision where they need to replace their legacy system(s) and find a new vendor to propel them forward. In his approach, he first started with a data filled powerpoint backing his reasoning. This failed, not because of the facts presented, but because the rest of his team had built a strong relationship with the current vendor supporting them.
Complacency Kills
Relying on maintenance revenue streams is how nearly every enterprise software company that sells on-premise software survives today. While this business model is very profitable, it breeds complacency and a tendency to procrastinate about innovation.
Stitching it all Together
So how do you move beyond complacency and tell the emotional story to generate buy-in across your organization on your vision - driving digital transformation and innovation?
According to Gartner, the CIO is the title most responsible for driving digital innovation and change internally, the latest sign that the role is continuing to evolve away from a reputation for just managing back-office technologies.
However, technology alone won’t transform your business. It only becomes transformative when woven together in a way that creates engagement, starting with the customer and moving back all through the organization.