Blogs

Digitization is creating a lot of opportunities, but with those opportunities come challenges. This is especially the case in financial services, where digitization is causing noticeable disruption. Banks are going to have to make some radical changes if they want to stay profitable and relevant to a broad range of customers. What is happening in […]

Just as technologies invite us to be more innovative in our approach to customers and business processes, there are new frontiers for how we might reimagine the workplace. No longer are we restrained by physical locations or time. This provides organizations with opportunities to rethink things like talent identification and engagement, formation of organizational structures, […]

As organizations increasingly rely on digital technology, there is a growing demand for digital leaders. These are leaders who are both business and digital savvy. They are capable of quickly using technology to come up with business solutions. However, the best digital leaders know there is another important element to their role. They never lose […]

Do you know the size of your technology debt? Technology debt is the total cost to your company of replacing outdated or unsupported technologies or systems that were poorly architected. Most IT people know about technology debt, but their non-IT partners are rarely aware of the size or urgency of the debt. Few try to […]

In the digital age, there are more ideas out there on how to use IT than companies can possibly implement. They must find ways to select the most strategic business change opportunities, while readjusting and reprioritizing project delivery efforts to optimize speed to market for the right initiatives. To do this, IT leaders must engage […]

When it comes to optimizing digital business models, there are three sources of competitive advantage: content, customer experience, and platform. However, very few businesses excel in all three areas. Just think about Trip Advisor. Is it known for amazing customer experience or a stellar platform? Neither—it’s largely known for its content. What about USAA? It’s […]

As more business becomes digital, customers are expecting the ability to interact with companies anywhere and anytime. A recent survey showed that 72% of customers would replace some traditional channels with mobile apps if given the opportunity. This means that companies need to get serious about their digital business models if they are going to […]

Whether it’s new technology, new regulations, or new customer demands, companies often view complexity as something that is done to them. Accordingly, many executives think of complexity as an intrusion that requires a reaction. However, companies mastering complexity to their advantage are much more proactive. They make complexity a strategic decision with the goal of […]

Prior to MIT CISR’s CIO Roundtable this summer on digital business strategy, we surveyed CIOs about where they are in the process of creating such a strategy. We defined it as reimagining the business to take into account the capabilities of new technologies, particularly SMACIT—social, mobile, analytics, cloud, and Internet of Things. Many replied that […]

Total digitization is a big challenge for all companies. It’s also a sizeable investment. Some companies are spending 25% of their operating budget on total digitization, so the stakes are already pretty high. It’s important for firms to implement the right approach to meet their growing digital needs. In the first blog post of this […]

Since the 2008 economic recession, companies have looked to innovation to fuel growth. You see this in the wide range of digital investments for everything from mobile apps to business processes to financial products. This has led to a significant increase in spending on digitization, but it’s often not managed as a whole. In an […]

If selling data isn’t your primary business, you should think twice before you enter the market. The main reason for caution is that it’s not an easy endeavor. It requires a long-term commitment and tremendous effort to sustain competitive advantage. However, it’s not impossible. Owens & Minor (OM) is a good example of a company […]