So much of our lives are different today than they were in January. Remember those days? Jumping into an elevator, into the back of a ride share, or running to meet friends at a restaurant… not to mention easily buying anything you might want from the grocery store.
Things will never be the same
The past six months have taught us some lessons and exposed some of our weaknesses — but they also identified some opportunities. Things like remote work – initially considered a risk and a distraction — have shown to actually improve productivity while giving our teams more flexibility and a better work/life balance. And even more significant opportunities like an entirely new way to think about supply chains and trading partners.
Our customers are leading us. It turns out we like having groceries delivered. We expect omniexperience, we demand flexibility, control, and security, and we are all savvy enough to make changes to get what we want.
So, whether you are directly concerned for your customers (or your customer’s customers) it’s clear that the “old way” of inflexible processes and data locked away isn’t the answer. In fact, those who are slow to react may never recover.
It’s time to Open Everything
Open Everything isn’t a political statement, but a call to action for all of us to change the way we think about our customers, partners, and employees, their data, and how we connect and serve them. It is a call to action to start today to unlock the opportunities in your existing heritage infrastructure and move to an API-first world.
Many have been (slowly) moving in this direction — specifically when directed by regulations like “open banking” and Australia’s “Consumer Data Right.” These direct companies to prepare for consumer choice of things like data portability and accessibility. But Open Everything is a way to effectively take the first-mover advantage by embracing the changes that are to come, today.
In fact, in your business today there are likely multiple projects in different business areas that are doing their best to get ahead. They may be called “re-platforming,” “modernization,” or “digital transformation” and they are likely in silos, without the leverage that comes from a broader strategic commitment.
These are most often driven by specific cost-reduction, efficiency improvement, or customer satisfaction challenges. But why stop there? Why not have a plan to move from Open Something to Open Everything?
But we know (as do multiple studies on transformation) that this isn’t a project-oriented thing. Companies have to commit. And those that do will be the winners in the new world. You only need to look at how one or two platform or marketplace businesses have radically disrupted the retail business and how a complete rethink of banking has eliminated the need for branches and opened up a massive market of non-traditional customers. And no industry or region will be safe from the changes.
It isn’t easy. Opening everything will stimulate conversations about business models, security, service requirements, platform/infrastructure modernization (or not), and so on. Nothing should be off the table. And we learned in “The Innovator’s Dilemma” that these conversations are happening right now at your competitors, partners, and customers. So what is holding you back? Where do you start?
You need experienced guides
For over 20 years, Axway has served as the backbone and guides for some of the most critical solutions of our time. Our perspective has never been “all you need is a little more technology…” —in fact, we build on the idea that you can deliver brilliant digital experiences from your heritage infrastructure. And a firm belief that the choices you make today should be on a path to a future-proof business.
We’ve built a team of experts in execution, academia, and transformation that work with you to define that path forward. And as far as technology, we are annually ranked as leaders in the critical areas that matter. Our capabilities are uniquely designed to take you from here to there — without disrupting your business.
The days of erecting “walls” around your business with the inflexible process and brittle infrastructure are over — you can be secure, reliable, flexible, and customer-centric in the new world.
Are you open?
Do you have what you need to invent new customer experiences, build a dynamic digital ecosystem, and create new revenue streams?