Businesses told: Embrace new tech or face peril

by Marlon Madden

The local business community is being warned to adapt new technology or face the possibility of being left behind.

This caution has come from Kristie Powell, Vice President of Database Operations at American Express, who cautioned that the COVID-19 pandemic should serve as a lesson to businesses to be more agile.

She argued that businesses that were able to pivot during the height of the pandemic, which came with several restrictive measures, were able to survive and even grow their operations.

She noted that with the accelerated pace of technological changes, it was critical for local businesses to change the mindset within their organisations and better position themselves to meet the changing demands of customers.

“Businesses must undergo huge digital transformation efforts to incorporate new technology, to improve their customer lives, better power their businesses and support their staff,” said Powell.

She said it was critical that business leaders convince employees to embrace new technology and provide the necessary avenues for training and re-skilling so that employees are not left behind or feel at risk of losing their jobs.

Powell also advocated that as businesses cultivate a culture that embraces new technology, the process should start with an assessment of the needs of the organisation and its employees.

“If you want to develop a culture of technology adoption within your organisation you need to create and maintain an infrastructure to support it. Networks, software, processes, and best practices throughout the business must be both encouraged and provide a seamless user experience,” she said.

“Avoid looking for shortcuts, develop a digitally focused mindset and move away from legacy systems and move away from legacy attitudes,” Powell advised.

She was addressing the opening of the recent two-day Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) digital conference 2022, which was held under the theme Adapt and Change: We Must!

Stressing that digital innovation and digital transformation can help shape businesses across all industries in both the private and public sector, Powell insisted that such changes should be done with the customers in mind.

The digital transformation professional also encouraged businesses to share their data across all their units so that departments can better collaborate to “improve the customer journey”.

She pointed to the vast and quick changes taking place across a number of industries including that of marketing, banking, retail and insurance while noting that a one-size-fits-all approach would not work for all industries.

“If your competitors are leveraging this new mindset to streamline production, expand distribution, build a better workplace for employees and improve the overall customer experience, then you better up your game too,” she warned.

“We have to remain agile, Barbados . . . All I ask is that you recognise that courage doesn’t mean that you won’t be afraid to adapt this new mindset and push the technology boundaries of your organisation, but courage does mean that you won’t let fear stop you. So, let’s adapt, let’s change because we know that we must,” said Powell.

She acknowledged that there were several barriers that could easily make the adaption of new technology “slow, painful or nonexistent” for many businesses.

“The biggest of these barriers is the legacy systems that are already in place,” said Powell.

Pointing out that a large portion of the public and private sector in the region was still being operated on old technological systems, she said perhaps the most challenging for businesses was determining “how much information I should take with me, how do I extract it, how long is it going to take, how much is it going to cost and who is going to do it for me?” “Some businesses can be a bit set in their ways with the mentality ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, and others just bury their heads in the sand like an ostrich.

It is a perfectly natural way of thinking and behaving, but one that will ultimately cause an organisation to fall behind its peers as the market and technology continue to evolve and be disrupted, as new players are introduced, and more innovative and agile solutions and competitors put pressure on your bottom line,” she warned.

“Businesses need technology to improve efficiencies, productivity and agility. As technology continues to evolve, it is important that you evaluate your business operating model. You need to identify key areas where you can adapt technology to empower your people, improve productivity and secure its future success,” she advised.

Stressing the need for continued innovation, she said “countries that harness innovation and foster entrepreneurship as the engine for economic growth are more likely to pull out and stay ahead of a recession.”

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb