CA World began with a different angle which saw CEO of CA Technologies, Mike Gregoire predict that successful start-ups and businesses of the future will put software into all business ideas and following ‘Built-to-change’ strategy.
Firms are becoming software-based, said Gregoire who said today we stand at the centre of a global business revolution with the fourth industrial revolution being “driven by software companies.”
American inventor and businessman, Thomas Edison was cited as an example of success. Today’s culture change is based on the concept that innovation was previously reserved for the funded few and that this is no longer the case.
Gregoire offered the example of software leveling the playing field for retail investors. He said: “Algorithm-based portfolio management has really leveled the playing field for smaller investors. Automated stock trading software is now being used at over 80 percent of trading markets. It’s all about speed. Human brain processing takes 200 to 300 milliseconds, automated trading software, one billionth to the second. Advantage, software.”
But with the change in culture, and the way various businesses look to digital innovation as a way to strive, previous inventors like Edison may not necessarily be able to succeed.
Comparing Edison and energy firm Tesla, Gregoire said: “That’s the world we live in today. Powerful tools are in abundance and the information given to Edison is now available to everyone. Which means everyone can come up with the next game-changing idea.”
“Today, you don’t need to be an Edison, you need a team of Edison’s. Collaborating, innovating, building ideas and continuously improving. If it was true then, it’s true today, disruptions are coming to every industry.”
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The shift is from building fixed models where businesses strive to build company to last, organised with clear functions.
But today’s digital age businesses focus on moving forward and recognise the importance of embedded software and powerful tools to deliver efficient customer experience.
“…If you want to build a company that’s built to last, you better build it to change. A company that understand the value of risk taking, a company that seeks death changes instead of in correctable improvements.”
Gregoire confirmed that the company had the opportunity to assist Paypal in its route to digital transformation. A clip from a Paypal spokesperson identified that company rolled out 58 new products and features within six months of transformation.
“One of the things these modern companies have in common is they have a crystal clear understanding of who they are. At the same time they aggressively renew themselves to add value.”
Within the tech industry the partnerships, acquisitions and business changing movements are clear examples. Facebook buying Instagram, Cisco moving into software deployments and Microsoft’s move to hardware – show that IT businesses today are driving the global business revolution.
These are examples of how the future is being platformed on a built-to-change business strategy.
Gregoire said: “A built-to-change company is fearless, it understands the current structures and ecosystems are vulnerable to better ideas. It embraces disruptive creations, it encourages organisations to do things that are different.
“Built-to-change companies share a relentless drive to eliminate friction from customer experience.”
The importance of fearless risk-taking, being asset light and not focusing on what competitors are doing are all important pathways to develop a modern successful company which is truly agile, Gregoire said.
Customer experience drives brand growth and means putting customers at the centre of everything and every decision made within the company,
The emphasis today is on customer centricity. “What’s truly different is that until now, we didn’t have the tools, processes and the real-time business insights to execute on these concepts. Only recently have we had the computing power and the collaboration software top make this happen, so we’re now cracking the code on business agility.”
“It’s not just software, but how you build superior customer experiences, how you integrate those experiences, which is dynamic, continuous and is very core to how your business operates.”
This means from now, software needs to be identified as the main engine and enabler for both business agility and execution velocity.
The speed at which a company is able to perceive response to change is limited only by the ability for software to give insight.
Software needs to be identified as the core component of business structure, pinpointing all the essential tools and processes to make room for new and more efficient innovation. This, then leading to a fourth industrial revolution will be driven by software companies, he said.
Gregoire closed the keynote saying: “We’re entering the new era where software becomes more important than ever before.”
