4 minute read
AGENTS OF TRANSFORMATION
AGENTS OF TRANSFORMATION DAVID NOËL, VICE PRESIDENT MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA & RUSSIA/CIS AT APPDYNAMICS, ON LEADING THE POST COVID-19 DIGITAL REVOLUTION
COVID-19 has forever changed the way we work. Remote working — aided by the accelerated adoption of collaboration tools and video conferencing technology — will surely be the norm, rather than the exception, going forward. In fact, according to a recent survey from Robert Half, 80 percent of UAE employees said they would prefer to work from home, post COVID-19, citing savings in time and money, and productivity gains.
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But beyond its lasting impact on how we work, the pandemic has challenged businesses to redefine how they deliver services and products — and ultimately value — to their customers. According to a recent McKinsey study, more than 90 percent of executives expect the fallout from COVID-19 to fundamentally change the way they do business over the next five years, with almost as many asserting that the crisis will have a lasting impact on their customers’ needs.
Organisations have transitioned vast sections of their business online, redefining their operations and strategies to meet new customer demands. Maintaining this dramatic transformation will be critical and ‘Agents of Transformation’ — technologists who possess the skills, ambition and vision required to drive innovation — will be the difference between success and failure for their organisations in the post-COVID world.
Pandemic shines spotlight on digital transformation and digital customer experiences
With the pivot to digital channels in the so-called ‘new normal’, businesses in the UAE have had to rethink their technology investments. This is in line with findings from a recent AppDynamics’ study, The Agents of Transformation Report 2020: COVID-19 Special Edition’, in which 99 percent of
UAE technologists reported that their organisation’s technology priorities changed during the pandemic.
Furthermore, change has happened at speed and without warning. 86 percent of technologists reported that digital transformation projects which would typically take more than a year to be approved, have been signed off in a matter of weeks. And 78 percent pointed to digital transformation projects that have been implemented within weeks rather than the months or years it would have taken before the pandemic.
At the heart of these digital transformation initiatives, is a focus on driving improved digital experiences for customers. 92 percent of UAE technologists stated that digital customer experience is now the priority for their organisation. But 88 percent feel held back from delivering the optimal customer experience because of a lack of visibility and insight into the performance of their technology stack.
Managing spikes in website traffic (88 percent) and managing mean time to resolution (MTTR) with a remote IT department (83 percent) were also cited as challenges in delivering seamless customer experiences during the pandemic.
Against this backdrop, technologists must find ways to ensure they have access to the tools and accurate data they need to make informed, strategic
decisions in real-time, and connect application and digital performance to key business outcomes — application performance monitoring (APM) has become absolutely critical.
Without access to APM tools and the visibility and insight they provide, organisations should be concerned about the future success of transformation projects. Certainly, some technologists are nervous that future-proofing is taking a back seat. 86 percent of technologists in UAE express concern about the longerterm impact of digital transformation
initiatives they have had to implement during COVID-19. Overall, 91 percent of technologists state that the pandemic is a wake-up call to their organisations to focus on digital business and longer term resilience.
Agents of Transformation rising to the challenge
It’s clear that technologists are having to deal with a myriad of demands from the business. They are having to accelerate digital transformation projects and mobilise huge sections of the workforce to operate from home, while at the same time needing to manage the network and maintain security throughout the technology stack. Not surprisingly, technologists are feeling the pressure with 72 percent of UAE IT professionals surveyed in the Agents of Transformation 2020 Report claiming they feel under more pressure at work more than ever before and 66 percent saying they are now being asked to perform tasks and activities they have never done before.
But rather than shrink in the face of these challenges, many IT professionals see this as an opportunity to stepup and raise their profile within their organisation.
Perhaps the major differentiator for success at this time is the quality, attitude and outlook of the technologists themselves. In the Agents of Transformation 2020 report, 88 percent of respondents from UAE saw an opportunity for technology professionals to show their value to the business. A further 81 percent believe the pandemic will separate the strong from the weak in tech teams across the world. We’re seeing a new breed of technologists, primed to deliver transformation and business impact.
Technologists are seizing the opportunity to accelerate their career journey and assume the role of Agents of Transformation immediately. 89 percent say that Agents of Transformation are critical in order for businesses to recover quickly from the COVID-19 pandemic, and there is an urgent need for technologists to operate at the highest level of their profession.
Leaving a lasting legacy of innovation
Armed with the data and insight they need to make smarter decisions, the right internal structures and culture, and close support from strategic technology partners, technologists can guide their organisations through the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, there is no doubt that the changes they implement in their organisations will have a lasting and positive impact.
