Keeping up with today’s technological advancements isn’t an
easy feat, especially in the workplace where new tech requires a new routine.
As small businesses learn to adapt, a new study found that outside pressure to
become technologically savvy may do more harm than good.
In a collaborative global study, growth partnership company
Frost & Sullivan and software company Pegasystems released Why Business Agility Matters in May,
questioning small businesses’ readiness to incorporate technology, such as
advanced software or IT collaboration, into their work environment. The study,
conducted in August 2017, surveyed about 440 senior executives in several
fields, including financial services and insurance, telecommunications and high
technology, public sector and government, and retail. More than half of the
respondents worked for companies with revenue under $500 million.
Respondents were filed into three categories: adopters,
planners and nonadopters. The survey defined adopters as businesses that
embraced agility, while planners worked toward business agility and nonadopters
had no plans to do so. Agile businesses—those that welcomed technology voluntarily—experienced
more customer satisfaction, product quality and business and IT collaboration.
“Over 80% of strategic adopters rate overall customer
satisfaction and quality of customer experience higher than their industry
counterparts,” the study stated. “This group is also empowered to maintain
competitive advantage in their industry with the speedy launch of new products,
services and innovation.”
Readiness, speed, transparency, dynamism and aversion were
key traits of agile businesses. When businesses lack executive sponsorship or
have insufficient support, the likelihood of becoming agile is quite slim,
respondents noted. A lack of experience and cost-to-reward ratio were also
linked to nonadopters.
-Andrew Michaels, editorial associate
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