Digital has so far been about pace and urgency. The race to embrace the fourth industrial revolution is still being run – but next year expect the early front-runners to ease up a little. Digital transformation is a marathon, not a sprint. And that’s good because it gives business continuity professionals the time to identify and mitigate the new risks that the digital revolution presents.
Many organisations will have specific elements to their model that benefit more from digitisation than others; and identifying where the real potential for transformation lies (in terms of risk, process and bottom line) will be the challenge to meet in 2018.
Therefore, the question being asked in the smartest boardrooms will be: “Just because I can, should I?” And it’s a sensible question to ask, because as the dependency on digital grows in line with business performance, so will the need to guarantee the efficacy of the systems and people delivering it.
Cloud is, and will continue to be, a central component. In terms of business continuity, the costs of not being able to access cloud services are considerable. Addressing this requires answers to a number of questions.
What do our customers need from us and how can we improve our service to them? Do we need to invest in it, or can we leverage it as a service in the cloud? How can we do more for less? Individual business processes can now be automated and simplified in the cloud, so which processes provide the most value?
Why not focus on digitally transforming those elements rather than continuing to try and transform your entire way of working, and thus minimise the negative impacts of change. My advice would be to focus on what digital can do for your business and its customers, and remember that all this revolves around data, and what you do with it.
No prediction about the coming year would be complete without mentioning security. In my view, the focus in this arena will (or should) shift. You can have £10m worth of secure perimeter, but users can still leave doors ajar. Security needs to be embedded into culture, and that requires investment in people and in training.
Daisy proudly sponsors the CIR Business Continuity Awards. For more information, click here.
Printed Copy:
Would you also like to receive CIR Magazine in print?
Data Use:
We will also send you our free daily email newsletters and other relevant communications, which you can opt out of at any time. Thank you.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE