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Who needs agility anyway?

So what if disruption is changing industries and destroying business models; the old ways still work perfectly, don't they?

There is one absolute when it comes to technology today: it keeps evolving. From the latest in hardware, to the software that powers them and the solutions that drive them, innovation in technology is relentless and never ending. Industries are being disrupted by the bold and the fearless. Large enterprises are experiencing their Goliath moments as the little David companies rise up and take markets out from underneath them. All thanks to the accessibility and ubiquity of technology.

For many companies, investing in new technologies isn't a priority. Why fix things if they aren't broken? The thing is, responding quickly to advancements in technology ensures that an organisation has the competitive edge and the agility to pivot. Those that don't respond are left behind. Just take a quick look at the Fortune 500 companies today versus those of 10 years ago. Many names have disappeared.

As South Africa enters the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it is an opportunity to place the country at the forefront of change and invention. Businesses are facing a challenging landscape and their ability to respond to change will be the greatest test of all. Is your company about to sit on the sidelines and watch? The answer should be no, especially if the nearest competitor is taking progressive steps towards innovative solutions.

The problem is, however, that remaining on the edge of technology isn't cheap. It is, in fact, very expensive. Most companies cannot afford to replace one layer of technology deployment across every user and department with another every two to three years. The barrier to change is high. Well, it used to be high. New ideas in technology rental and leasing are changing how organisations approach their IT investment and manage their budgets.

One of the biggest trends is towards dis-ownership. The days of 'my stack is bigger than yours' have been replaced with savvy investment in competitive solutions that compete on capability, not quantity. Businesses gain a competitive advantage by accessing and deploying the latest technologies in their environments, and if they can do this without the heavy price tag, even better on the bottom line.

So how can a business place its hands on new technology without the cost? It can lease it. Organisations are moving away from owned IT. This trend is global and there is a marked shift on the local landscape as well. For hardware, businesses can refresh their equipment more frequently and at an optimal rate, with delayed upgrades no longer an issue.

Also, with leasing, equipment costs can be spread across the lifetime value of the assets, allowing organisations to budget effectively and preserve their working capital for strategic and key areas of the business. They won't need to spend valuable cash resources on high-value, depreciating assets anymore, and instead can utilise their resources on appreciating assets, such as real estate and stocks.

Leading leasing partners such as InnoVent, who offer subsidised finance and robust lifecycle management solutions, are transforming the leasing industry as you know it. With a holistic approach that looks at an end-to-end asset management solution instead of just leasing, they have found a way to tailor solutions for each stage of an asset's lifecycle, from procurement, to maintaining the assets while they are in an environment, to the eventual disposal of those assets with flexible replacement options. This approach not only ticks the right budget boxes but puts the business on the right foot for innovation and disruption.

For more information, visit the InnoVent web site.

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