Outpacing Innovation, Pt. 1: Converting Complexity to Clarity

The rapid advancement of technology continues to drive unprecedented change within our society. With the vast, ever-evolving technology landscape creating overwhelming complexity for enterprises and government entities alike, technology leaders must first overcome a host of new risks and challenges before they can take advantage of the opportunities.

Across public and commercial sectors, many organizations still have significant operational inefficiencies and technical shortcomings that prevent them from modernizing their technology estates.

In the first part of this two-part series, we examine this challenge both from a strategic and delivery perspective, to realize the true opportunity of accelerating innovation and technology.

Complexity Breeds Complication

A strategic approach will move beyond just process innovation or delivery of technically feasible solutions. To plan and execute a successful organization-wide technology modernization program, any strategy must be predicated on addressing the unmet needs and specific problems present within each unique organization. Therefore, it’s important to first take the time to understand the existing challenges for each individual organization, and implement practical, uncomplicated initiatives to resolve them.

Amid changing business requirements, many public and commercial sector organizations are struggling to transform their legacy systems and reimagine critical processes. With software development practices also changing, and necessary technical expertise becoming more difficult to find, organizations are also unable to deliver new software fast enough, or with any standardized, predictable cadence.

Of course, the pressure to modernize the technology estate also brings unfamiliar risks and increasingly severe security concerns, causing apprehension among stakeholders.

Workforce readiness and conversancy is another growing problem, and the adoption of innovative and emerging technologies—which also require new skills and competencies—is beyond the current capabilities of many organizations.

The competencies, strategic knowledge, and experience to deliver solutions to these challenges are missing from most organizations, which creates barriers to the technological advancement and innovation many are seeking.

A technology workforce of creative thinkers with diverse, future-ready skills is essential to elevate thinking around the challenges. These visionaries must understand how those challenges impede the organization’s mission and operations, and deliver effective solutions that adapt as requirements continue to change over time.

Accelerating Innovation and Tech: An Interconnected Megatrend

The need to accelerate innovation and technology is one of five interconnected global trends that present government entities and enterprises with even more complexity to navigate.

Technology modernization underpins all of these trends, as the technology within an organization will ultimately:

• Inform and enable the growth and maturity of data ecosystems
• Support the development of resilient communities
• Enable the reimagining of the skills, capabilities, and tools the workforce of the future will require, and what tomorrow’s work life may look like
• Preserve the security of operations, resources, and assets in the face of ever-evolving vulnerabilities and rising geopolitical risks.

Technology modernization should be seen as the foundation for enabling organizations to meet the current global paradigm shift head-on, and to deliver on whatever requirements may arise in the uncertain future which is being shaped by the unpredictable developments occurring today.

Common Barriers to Overcome

There are a number of common barriers faced by most organizations in their efforts to effectively modernize the technology estate:

• Lack of understanding of operational, technical, and mission challenges
• Challenges with identifying and mitigating operational and technical risks tied to modernization efforts
• Inability to effectively demonstrate ROI and realized benefits
• Slow, inefficient delivery of working software
• Lack of standardized, predictable delivery of solutions
• No access to the necessary technical expertise or experience
• Increasing cybersecurity vulnerabilities
• Workload resiliency

Charting a Simple Path into the Future

While these challenges are interrelated, and compounding to create overwhelming complexity, there are straightforward, practical ways to mitigate and outwit them. While the need to modernize technology and embrace innovation undoubtedly presents difficulties, it can be met with the right approach, vision, and expertise.

To discover how to address and overcome the interconnected challenges discussed in this article, read the second part of this Accelerating Innovation and Tech series here.