Just before setting off for Cisco Live I heard an economist on the radio talk about the relative performance of leading countries. The key measure was productivity: GDP per worked hour. Certainly historic outcomes are important but they do tend to provide a historic view.
As we accelerate into the digital revolution, I started to think about the best way to measure company performance. Critically, what might indicate future market leadership? Where should a company focus when it comes to communications and collaboration? What is core and what will enable leaders to set themselves apart from competitors?
I decided to spend some time at Cisco Live asking customers for their perspectives. I arrived in San Diego with a long list of potential items. But after John Chambers spoke about market disruption brought about by digitization, I came away with a simple model: The Modular Enterprise.
Those I spoke with had slightly different ideas about the implications for collaboration. But we agree on two common imperatives: Elastic IT and the Agile Enterprise.
Elastic IT
The market is evolving rapidly, bringing about amazing new capabilities, exceptional user experiences, and tremendous flexibility around mobility and the cloud. With this backdrop, it's essential to ensure value and investment protection through a flexible IT approach. And to put particular focus on three areas that would enable IT greater modularity:
Agile Enterprise
The business landscape is evolving fast. Startups reach big business valuations rapidly, while it seems as if an established brand disappears each month. In his keynote, John Chambers spoke about the impact of the digitization on business and the need to evolve rapidly - or fail. A common theme across each conversation I had after John's keynote was how interconnected enterprises need to become. And how modular and flexible collaboration must become within and across teams:
Now it's your turn: What are you focused on and do you have a plan to make your organization more modular? Let me know in the comments.
P.S. The day after Cisco Live, I sat on the bank of San Diego harbor, which happens to be the principal home port of the U.S. Pacific Fleet. As I drew the U.S.S. Midway I thought about what John Chambers had said about how digitization will change every industry. All of a sudden, a very modern and fast jet flew overhead. It made the ones on the flight deck in front of me suddenly look very dated indeed...