How can you stay ahead in the fast-paced world of digital technology? BT describes how it's a matter of focus...
Digital technology is moving at dizzying pace. As users, we’ve adapted to that pace but as a CEO, I know it seems harder than ever to keep up, let alone get out in front.
How can you help me stay ahead of my competition is a question I’m often asked by our customers, because technology shouldn’t just help your business survive, but thrive. It should make you quicker, lighter and more responsive.
My discussions with customers focus on four themes – perfect predictability, speed, security and people.
Perfect predictability, globally
The digital technologies that are driving this transformation – Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Machine to Machine - all rely on your network.
You need your infrastructure to perform in a way that’s perfectly predictable – secure, global and always-on. You need a partner keep it up and running, to fix issues before you even know there’s a problem, keeping your reputation intact. And you need it to be global to help you scale your business, move into new markets or manage your ecosystem of suppliers, partners and customers, wherever they are.
The need for speed
Alongside availability comes speed and agility, now as important as cost in the eyes of many decision makers. Why? Because, in the words of one of our consumer packaged goods customers, “I’m paranoid that we are not transforming fast enough.”
Digital transformation is rewarding fast movers. It demands speed of delivery from trusted partners like us as you look to exploit services such as the cloud to evolve your traditional IT infrastructure, simplify your network and speed up your business. And partnership is key to finding the right long-term solution for your business.
Safe and secure
We know security is hard. It’s constantly evolving to such an extent that it isn't a problem that you ever fully solve. Even the biggest organisations get it wrong sometimes, because the security landscape is complex, with millions of connected devices and machines talking to machines.
But what’s changed is the importance of security within organisations. As one of our oil and gas customers said, “There is a real sense of urgency in security at Board level.”
Security is inextricably linked to trust, yet there’s a stagnant distrust in the world. We ask people to place a lot of trust in technology and new ways of doing things. We can lose that trust in an instant with poor security. As you look to transform your customer service, security has to be at the forefront of your mind.
People at the heart of everything
Perhaps the conversation I have most often is around the transformation of organisational culture. People are at the heart of our businesses, they are often the face of our transformation to customers. Making sure your people get a great collaborative experience is a great place to start.
A more connected workplace lets you put your people first and helps them reap the benefits that collaboration can offer, such as faster decision-making, improved time management and simper, smarter ways of working.
But it’s not just your people who are changing. The way people shop and share their experiences has transformed. Your customers are now driving the buying process using websites, blogs, vlogs, social platforms and more. Embracing new channels and technologies can help you exploit fresh opportunities and stand out from the crowd.
Connect and protect what matters most
So how do you stay ahead? By focusing on the things that matter most. Your customers, people, and partners. Your applications, devices and data.
You need your infrastructure to perform in a way that’s secure, global and always-on. We can help your organisation to move to the cloud; to turn collaboration into part of your culture; to transform your customer service and simplify your network.
Sometimes you know what matters most, sometimes you might be looking for someone to lead the way. We have the brand, strategy, technology, people, scale and skills to work alongside you. And we partner with the best in the business around the globe to add their expertise to ours.
It’s why the world’s biggest companies turn to our global services, platforms and partners to connect and protect what matters most.
So let’s talk about what matters most to you. Click here to contact a specialist.
Or download BT's report - SD-WAN is the cornerstone of network transformation - here.