The COVID-19 pandemic compels every organisation in the world to find innovative ways to deals with the New Normal. At such times, many are finding it hard to think about the future, quite understandably. Swift action is needed – but at the same time, we must take into account the long-term consequences of our decisions. Is this solution secure and compliant with data privacy regulations? Does it serve only one use case, or can we leverage it in other parts of the business? Will the processes implemented today allow us to achieve our objectives tomorrow? When choosing between alternatives, leaders must ask not only how to overcome the immediate issues, but also what kind of enterprise we will operate once the storm passes, what kind of society we are shaping right now.
Digital Transformation, now compounded with the global crisis, demands a skilful and agile approach to innovation. Cisco Business Architects have developed a unique methodology over the last decade, working with hundreds of organisations, large and small, public and private – and we openly share our know-how, tools and templates with our customers and partners. In this post, I am delighted to officially launch a 3-minute video explaining how Cisco can help you “architect business innovation for speed, impact, and scale”:
These 4 “petals of innovation” are the bridge between the opportunities in front of you and real solutions we can help you implement to address present and future challenges:
- The Digital Journey Dashboard (DJD) is your 1-page strategy — the big picture or the North star, if you prefer — which will guide executive decisions for the next 2-3 years. It’s the holistic storyline of WHY transformation is needed from a business/user/customer point of view, HOW the IT department will help drive the transformation, and WHAT technology investments are required to accelerate business innovation. The DJD empowers you to orchestrate the different initiatives/teams/stakeholders in an agile, lean and impactful way.
- Business Innovation Sprints (BIS) enable you to run at the speed of a startup to address some of the toughest and most pressing business challenges. The secret to success is to bring your business stakeholders, end users and IT together in a workshop, focused on solving one or more of the business challenges identified in the DJD. During this time (typically three half-days), they will learn new ways of working together remotely, leveraging the power of Design Thinking and modern collaborative tools.
- Executive Storyboards (ExS) help you to show & tell the story that will convince your business executives to invest in the new solutions that you have identified to drive business transformation. You’ll make technology relevant to the Board of Directors. You’ll also ensure that each service deployed contributes to the gradual build-out of a secure, intelligent platform that will accelerate your business innovation.
- The Innovation Action Plan (IAP) adds the WHO and WHEN to the WHAT. It’s your lean execution roadmap. You’ll pilot the solutions you have envisioned, engage your ecosystem partners to bring them to production, and orchestrate the best resources and experts to continuously improve the solutions implemented.
To help you understand these 4 petals of innovation, please download the Cisco BA 1-pager, and watch my 7-minute video walk-through:
In these tumultuous times, innovation and digital transformation matter more than ever. Don’t waste precious time and resources on paper work or theoretical reports that only a few will take the time to read (let alone try to implement). To solve the urgent challenges impacting your business, your employees and your customers, you need an approach that is ultra-pragmatic and result-oriented. You need to secure both quick wins AND long-term structural changes. You need to proceed quickly and through continuous iterations. You need to rely on trusted partners who can help you deliver ongoing, sustainable, and secure innovation.
Please reach out to your Cisco account team and ask to speak to a Business Architect – we can help you drive innovation with speed, impact and scale.
CONNECT WITH US