Best Digital Strategy consultants

Monetizing IT

Why the IT Bar is Usually Set Too Low

The IT bar is set too low by business leaders Most CEOs and COOs spend their days trying to increase revenue and market share, while most CFOs spend their time optimizing their company’s balance sheet and ensuring that accounting is handled correctly. None of these top executives have the time or the background to focus their efforts on IT, even though all of them need it in order to achieve their goals. Without the context and knowledge of what is possible and what the paths to innovation should be, it is difficult for business executives to set, or even to push for, a vision for the full impact of technology. The bar is also set too low by IT leaders There is a misconception within many corporations that IT is merely backup and tech support for other departments. CIOs are often disincentivized to go beyond operating their platforms reliably, securely, [...]

By |2021-02-24T09:26:15-06:00February 19th, 2021|Innovation, IT Leadership, Monetizing IT, Optimizing IT, Tech Disruption|
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Business Impact – the True North for Innovation

There is a lot of hype within the business sector around emerging technologies. Talk of finding new, creative ways to solve business challenges never fails to incite a buzz within organizations, for good reason. With the right compass heading, technology can sustain or change a company’s culture, and many new technologies are emerging that promise a significant impact on business over the next few years. At times the excitement is about the technology and not its business impact Innovation is important, and powerful, and impactful, but only if it creates real business results. Without the right compass heading, forward motion is NOT progress but only wasted effort and time.  Likewise, innovation for its own sake (outside of a pure research context) is often just a drain on time and money. Instead of seeking the latest technology for its own sake, an assessment of need & opportunity is incredibly important. Innovative [...]

By |2021-02-11T10:11:04-06:00October 21st, 2020|Digital Transformation, Innovation, IT Leadership, Monetizing IT, Optimizing IT|
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Gold Nuggets of Data all over the Ground

Increasingly, how an organization views and uses their data determines their level of success, and therefore the value of the enterprise. Data can be as valuable as gold nuggets for companies, but too often it’s ignored--“left on the ground” rather than mined, gathered, and inventoried as a strategic asset. Gartner research indicates that by 2021, the vast majority of stock analysts will include “data” components in their corporate valuation models for how much structured information each company possesses and how strategically they use it.  This fact will surprise few.  And yet despite this being a well-known fact, Forrester estimates that between 2/3 and 3/4 of corporate data still goes unused in any capacity for analytics.   Care Must be Taken to Protect Your Customers’ Privacy No doubt your organization has contractual obligations and has made promises (explicit or implied) to your customers to protect ALL data which, if released, could [...]

By |2021-02-11T10:11:18-06:00August 19th, 2020|Artificial Intelligence, Data & Analytics, Digital Transformation, Innovation, Monetizing IT|
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The New Digital Normal of Customer Expectations

Digital disruption began well before we were all forced to practice social distancing, but recently it has advanced into sections of society that were previously slow to adopt. As more and more business is conducted online, especially from the palm of their hand, customers are beginning to distinguish between companies who provide an easy experience vs. those who have limited or no digital capabilities. This is really just a continuation of the evolution of customer preferences, and the rewarding of those who align with (or even drive) that evolution.  In the not so distant past, we witnessed what can happen to a brand that does not respond quickly to customer behaviors. Customer battles were everywhere: Blockbuster vs Netflix, and every box store vs Amazon. Now, in the tenuous aftermath of the nationwide COVID-19 economic shutdown, we are seeing other sectors being challenged to make digital the new normal, including service, [...]

By |2021-02-11T10:10:19-06:00June 15th, 2020|Artificial Intelligence, Data & Analytics, Digital Transformation, Innovation, Monetizing IT, Optimizing IT|
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CRM Adoption Needs Good Leadership as Much as Good IT

Over 90% of companies with dedicated sales teams have licensed a CRM system, and yet far fewer of these companies believe their CRMs are strategic in their impact to the top and bottom lines.  Quora got double-digits responses to the question "Why do salespeople hate CRM?"  "Why do salespeople love CRM?" had not been posted as a question as of the time of this writing. Why is it so challenging to get sales teams to use CRM systems? Contrary to some other commentators on this topic, I don't believe the problem of low CRM adoption is due mainly to the systems being overly complex, or salespeople having limited grasp of software generally.  Don't get me wrong; some CRMs are no doubt too complex, designed by techies without sufficient input from real sales teams, etc.   There are over 300 different CRM systems in the market today, and no doubt some are [...]

By |2021-02-11T10:11:59-06:00January 16th, 2020|Artificial Intelligence, Data & Analytics, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Systems, Innovation, IT Leadership, Monetizing IT, Optimizing IT|
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What CXOs should know about Digital Transformation

Digital transformation is a buzzword which has crept into the language of business in recent years, and the definition of the term varies greatly. At Innovation Vista, we define “digital transformation” as the effort to use technology to grow revenue. Digital Transformation - IT strategy insights for CXOs Digital transformation is driven by a broader view of Information Technology than its traditional goals of increasing efficiency and automation to help businesses save money and boost productivity. Today, technology has advanced in ways that allow businesses to do much more than what was possible in the past. Even in its traditional scope, IT has become a major component of most businesses' success. Most corporate executives and C-suites are comfortable with it in this shape and size, but when there’s talk of re-envisioning IT, even with the promise of greater impact, CXOs can become understandably nervous. Hesitations on Digital Transformation One of [...]

By |2021-02-11T10:12:04-06:00December 14th, 2019|Digital Transformation, Enterprise Systems, Innovation, IT Leadership, Monetizing IT, Optimizing IT, Stabilizing IT, Tech Disruption|
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Not Every Company Needs Our Services · Only Those Which Have Data

A recent McKinsey study found that companies which invested in data quality and analytics increased their profit margin an average of 6%.  For context, the average profit margin across Fortune 500 companies was just 10.7%...!  Who isn't interested in pursuing an increase in their profits of 2/3?  And unlike traditional IT automation, Digital Transformation can not only reduce costs but also potentially increase revenue. Unless your company does not track or utilize data at all, you are missing an opportunity at these kinds of returns if you're not "weaponizing" your data.  GAAP Accounting does not currently allow companies to book their data as an asset on the balance sheet, per se, but it’s safe to say that between two companies with similar financials, the one with the highest quantity & quality of data is truly “worth more” (and will have tangibly better results!) than one with limited, low quality data.  [...]

By |2021-04-09T05:19:38-06:00September 29th, 2019|Data & Analytics, Digital Transformation, Innovation, IT Leadership, Monetizing IT, News|
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JUST Keeping the IT Lights On = Awaiting Disruption

Is your IT just “keeping the lights on”? i.e. Are you just waiting to be disrupted?  Don’t get me wrong – keeping the lights on, avoiding security breaches, even creating organizational/margin efficiency with IT – these are worthy goals. But they are TABLE STAKES in today’s economy; we go far beyond this in our proprietary Innovation framework: → STABILIZE your IT – yes “the lights need to stay on” reliably, securely, auditably → OPTIMIZE strategic trade-offs – get what you pay for, pay to your point of maximum ROIC → MONETIZE your IT – invest in tech capabilities to drive REVENUE & MARKET-SHARE Innovation Vista’s mission is to INNOVATE BEYOND EFFICIENCY for TOP-LINE IMPACT in midsize companies: → Taking market-share with tech capabilities your competitors can’t match → Enabling Digital connection not just in remote teams, but with your customers → Accelerating your existing revenue cycle with deep customer insights [...]

By |2021-02-11T10:13:15-06:00June 18th, 2019|Digital Transformation, Enterprise Systems, Innovation, IT Leadership, Monetizing IT, Optimizing IT, Stabilizing IT, Tech Disruption|
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Turning IT into a Profit Center · Client Success Story

Innovation Vista keeps our past clients and partnerships confidential.  Unless you choose to publicize our joint work, the public - and specifically your competitors - will not know you are working with us, or planning anything new or different.   Sun Tzu said it well: All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.  -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War It is often useful for new and potential clients, though, who are envisioning possible innovation and digital projects, to consider how our approach has benefitted other companies, even just in broad anonymized strokes... One recent example was a financial intermediary involved in connecting counterparties with specific investment needs [...]

By |2021-02-11T10:13:20-06:00May 1st, 2019|Artificial Intelligence, Data & Analytics, Digital Transformation, Innovation, IT Leadership, Monetizing IT|
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Blockbuster – April Fools Day cautionary tale

It is a hallmark of the disruptive nature of digitalization that it has turned the tables on surprised companies who have gone from industry leaders to bankrupt has-beens in relatively short periods of time.  In an effort to encourage our clients to avoid similar thought traps, and to commemorate and analyze a few of the most famous of these failures, Innovation Vista is initiating an annual "April Fool's Day" article series.  We are pleased to kickoff this series with the sad & strange case of Blockbuster.   The Multiple Missed Opportunities of Blockbuster with Netflix The disruption of the video rental industry is very unique in that the industry leader had multiple chances to purchase, and then to partner with, its disruptor, less than a decade from its own bankruptcy. To our knowledge, this seems to be the best example of opportunity of this kind being offered, and of course, [...]

By |2021-02-11T10:16:21-06:00April 1st, 2016|Monetizing IT, Tech Disruption|
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