In Ep. 26 of the Growth Swarm podcast, John Siefert, Bob Evans, Scott Vaughan, and Tony Uphoff discuss some of the reasons behind today’s period of economic uncertainty, as well as strategies for innovating and driving growth even in the face of it. Digital transformation, data modernization, and the cloud can play a big part, as you’ll discover in this week’s episode.
Highlights
00:32 — The recessed and contracting economy is “blowing up on the news,” says John. In this episode, John and the rest of the Growth Swarm crew take the Acceleration Economy direct practitioner approach in considering what to do about the current state of the economy.
01:58 — There is no playbook for the current economic situation the world is facing as the nation has never been through something quite like this before, says Bob. Rather than focusing on the layoffs caused by the economic status of the world, businesses should be considering the opportunities this is presenting.
02:29 — The cloud offers extraordinary alternatives for businesses to create their own futures. Specifically, there are three revenue drivers the cloud presents:
- Co-creation with partners and customers that result in new products, services, and revenue streams that weren’t there before
- Faster speed of innovation
- IT budget is freed from mostly being spent on “keeping the lights on” to also being spent on innovation, customer dazzle, and growth
04:12 — These three fundamentals of the cloud enable businesses — in pairing with hard work, focus, and a lack of fear — to get through the economic contraction quite nicely.
04:25 – Business leaders with calmer heads will prevail — those with thoughtful minds will reimagine business models.
04:57 – Kenny Mullican, CIO of Paragon Films and Acceleration Economy Analyst, wrote a piece on co-creation and how partner ecosystems enhance the customer experience. Kenny’s piece laid out a simple and eloquent framework on how partner ecosystems can benefit customers and why that should be placed in the context of businesses. John also cites Kenny’s Cloud Wars Expo Industry Cloud Battleground session on automation process strategy in the context of the financial services industry.
06:23 — Co-creation offers opportunities to “blur distinctions” between industries and ideas. Bob wrote a piece on a co-creation initiative between Google Cloud and the Renault Group which brings the core competencies of two industries together.
07:05 — Unlocking the power of data modernization is the path toward business transformation. Data modernization is a valuable means of combatting the economic state of the world.
07:59 — Today, the notion of “process” is starting to shift because of the cloud-based tools that are available to target inefficiencies. Cloud-based tools also enable businesses to be able to map a customer’s journey as they engage with a company.
08:49 — Two Acceleration Economy Analysts, Tom Smith and Kieron Allen, recently attended Celosphere 2022, Celonis’ annual conference on process mining and execution management. Though around for some time, process mining is now being reinvented in a way that effectively frames the execution of a business and is orchestrated around the customer.
11:41 — Recently, Scott wrote a piece about Carnival Cruise Lines and its cloud database. The company has used its cloud database to deliver a better experience and dazzle its customers. Being able to pull data in real-time has “changed the game” for Carnival. The company is not only growing in capacity but is now able to delight and upsell its revenue as a result of the cloud database.
14:52 — Rising Cloud is a company that is offering cloud-based services — through an AI algorithm — for 40% of the cost of major cloud providers. Business leaders who are on the fence about cloud services might consider Rising Cloud, which is an affordable option to experience the power of the cloud.
17:10 — John cites an article by Acceleration Economy analyst Chris Hughes, who wrote about how to translate cybersecurity concepts in a way that demonstrates to CEOs how these technologies are business enablers and not just another expense.
18:12 — For business leaders, the current economic state is a good time to reconsider the protection of their organization and how access controls are built for employees and customers of a business, says John. He was impressed with some of the affordable data access tools that Okera discussed at the recent Data Modernization Battleground roundtable.
18:59 — John asks for everyone to share the number one point of guidance of feedback for executives who need to explain to their boards what’s going on today.
19:17 — C-suite execs who want to fight the contracting economy should consider their organizational structure, says Bob. In today’s world, businesses should break down silos and ensure the company is focused on the customer and speed.
19:44 — Per Scott, something that is working for businesses in today’s economy is placing a greater focus on strategic bets and investing funds into the “right things,” which can be a hard decision to make.
21:05 — The cloud allows businesses to “unlock IT budget,” says Tony. During a time like this, companies want to be able to quickly reallocate funds and find ways to liberate dollars to apply toward growth initiatives, rather than adding to the budget.
22:24 — Business leaders who are paying attention to what their customers desire will be able to “manage almost any storm,” says John. Disasters strike when organizations place too much focus on internal operations.
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