Organisations that have been slow to transform in recent years now have no choice but to embrace change and prepare for a digital future. This is according to Julie Tregurtha, regional VP, sales for Africa, at OpenText.
Speaking ahead of a webinar to be hosted by OpenText in partnership with ITWeb, Tregurtha says: “Innovation and agility have been buzzwords, but now they really are the foundations of businesses that will thrive in future.”
She says that many South African companies have tended to focus simply on keeping the lights on in recent years, with IT investment stagnating and a reluctance to embark on new capex. Many have been tentative about beginning their digital transformation journey. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced organisations into a certain amount of digital transformation to survive the changes brought about by lockdown.
“Now organisations have to plan beyond survival, and focus on how to thrive in the years ahead,” she says. “The world is changing fast, employee and customer expectations have evolved, and all this is happening amid serious economic constraints and growing unemployment. It may take several years for us to return to the pre-2007 ‘heyday’ levels.”
Organisations need to move now to position themselves to thrive in an uncertain future, she says. “It’s clear they cannot become agile and innovative while focused on maintaining ageing infrastructure and legacy systems – they need to have the right systems and technologies to take them forward.”
While organisations may be well aware that they need to embrace new digital tools to become more agile and resilient, many do not know how or where to begin the journey. Drawing on the examples set by leading global enterprises, OpenText has identified four key priorities to enable organisations to thrive post-pandemic.
Digital transformation can appear big, scary, expensive, but there are many approaches organisations can take to accomplish a great deal of transformation without taking a big bang approach, OpenText says.
At the OpenText Thrive Once More webinar, Tregurtha will outline the four strategic priorities for re-establishing a competitive advantage, including the steps to take and what factors to consider.
For more information, or to register for this event, click here.
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