Technology is so crucial to society that people rarely stop to think that,on its own,it doesn鈥檛 accomplish much.Integrating technology into everyday life is what makes it indispensable.
When organisations tackle that kind of hard work,unexpected consequences can follow.They can have a broader impact on the world than they ever anticipated.Who,for example,would imagine that the first airline reservation system,developed in the 1960s for American Airlines,would pave the way for online banking and e-retailing transactions?
Innovative organisations are thoughtful and imaginative about how to make the most of technology.These businesses,governments,and communities don鈥檛 just install new technology in their factories or employees鈥 offices and expect it to be transformative.They rethink their operations and redesign the flow of work.Organisations reshape business models.They consider what it would take for a new device or service to make our lives more efficient,or productive,or fulfilling.
This is how progress happens.IBM is celebrating its 100th anniversary,which provides a chance to delve into the past and gain a new understanding of how progress happens.One insight gained over the past 100 years is this:Successful organisations use a systematic process of thinking when they deploy technology to transform what they do.Here are some of the approaches that push progress forward:
Connect the Data:Society relies on data.Companies organise themselves around it to beat out competitors.New business models spring from it.Communities use it to dramatically improve quality of life.All this data collection is powered by a dizzying array of sophisticated technologies:sensors,GPS,the magnetic stripes on credit cards,even MRIs.
Yet,too often,this information is siloed off.It鈥檚 not available to the people who need it.It鈥檚 not combined with other data.It鈥檚 not digitised.The progress is breathtaking when institutions in society connect data together and open it up for use by a wider group of employees,customers and partners.
Innovate through Analytics:As the world becomes more complex and interconnected,keeping track of events -- let alone making sense and acting on them -- becomes more difficult.Yet,paradoxically,the leading organisations are the ones tackling ever more complex challenges.They are leading the way in improving the lives of their employees,citizens and customers.
These companies and governments are much more sophisticated and bold in how they use everything from analytics and supercomputers to search-engine technology.Rather than simply deploying analytical tools to cut costs and be more efficient,they use them to manage rapid response in day-to-day operations,run simulations of potentially paralysing problems and then suggest solutions to them.This seeds ideas for innovative new products and services.
For example,the oceans and seas around the world face pressing challenges,including pollution,overfishing and climate change.In response,Marine Institute Ireland peppered Galway Bay with sensors connected in real-time to data-crunching analytics.The idea?Pioneer a new way of monitoring vast water resources,replacing manual data gathering with automated systems and monitoring the bay like the living organism that it is.That ensures a quickerresponses to critical issues,such as detecting pollution or alerting ships and citizens to dangerous wave patterns.
Communicate:Developing a new idea or product in secret or based upon focus groups no longer guarantees success.Innovation happens so quickly,people share so much information with each other so easily,the best way to meet their expectations is through communication and open iteration.That means using pilots,continual adaptation and social media to reach out to consumers and business partners.
It鈥檚 one thing to tell employees or citizens that a project or a product is good for them.It鈥檚 another to spur buy-in and innovation by involving these people in the creative process,acting on their feedback and suggestions and keeping them up to date about the problems and successes the project is having.
When officials in Malta wanted to install smarter,more efficient water and electricity meters island-wide,they didn鈥檛 just set about rolling out 250,000 new devices.Instead,they started with pilots,beginning with 200 people,but eventually expanding to 10,000.By including the citizens in the development of the project,the project leaders kept the whole community informed.Now Malta has the community鈥檚 confidence.
Technology can be innovative.But technology alone can鈥檛 improve our lives.Only we humans have the brains and creativity to do that.When we start thinking systematically about where technology fits in and what we need to change about an organisation or an approach to get the most out it,that鈥檚 when we leap ahead.That鈥檚 when we make progress.And we all benefit.