RSMUS.comThe Speed of Technology
In the 2015 rankings released by Forbes, Apple, Google, and Microsoft hold three of the top five leading market values in the world. Technology is what they do and who they are, which allows them to excel in creating value to customers as well as investors. The growth of technology has fueled the recent recovery of our economy and has investors going crazy. Technologically advanced companies that are first to market with a new product or service can gain incredible market share over their competitors. Being first to market is extremely important with the ever increasing speed of how our economy fluctuates, and has encouraged companies to react with greater agility. How quickly your company can respond to these changes is becoming increasingly essential for success. Will this trend slow down? Probably not…
Millennials + Accessibility = Change
The amount of devices connected to the internet has increased with incredible speed recently, and will even more so in the future. As of 2015, Gartner has predicted that there are 4.8 billion devices connected to the internet with 2.8 of those being consumer devices. In the next five years, the number of devices connected to the internet is expected to rise to 25 billion with consumers accounting for 13.1 billion, and businesses up to 8.3 billion from 1.6 in 2015. This increase in technology is becoming the new norm. This change is coming in the form of Millennials (also known as Generation-Y) who recently topped Generation X as the largest segment of the labor force. They currently make up 34% of the workforce which is expected to rise to 75% within the next ten years according to the PEW Research Center. Companies must not only prepare for this change, they have to proactively engage before it is too late.
Source: pewresearch.org
The Steps to Managing Change
1. Integrate
- Having updated technology is important for your business, but making sure that all of your technologies work seamlessly together is what will produce the “1+1=3” factor.
2. Automate/Outsource
- With Human Capital being more important than ever, it’s imperative to make sure that your resources are being used in a productive manner by focusing on work that adds value to your company. A process that can be automated, or a service that can be outsourced may include an upfront capital investment, but will keep you prepared for change and lead to cost savings in the future.
3. Analyze
- By having the ability to accurately track the metrics that matter the most to your company, you can focus your resources more effectively on value added processes/services.
Are you ready?
Change is inevitable and preparation is vital. The companies who fail to see the enormity of this change will lag behind their competitors at an increasingly devastating rate. Having the proper technologies in place will assist you in capitalizing on the new norms and becoming a market leader. Contact us if you have questions about how RSM can help keep your technology ahead of your competition.
