INDUSTRY VIEWPOINT - Power to the people and no delay

In today's commercial world, large corporates can be defined as one of two things; a global business-to-business enterprise or a local consumer-to-consumer enterprise with global aspirations.

However, through e-commerce this corporate domination is under threat from startup organisations that are capable of setting up and delivering new and improved services and products more effectively.

These new organisations challenge established corporates as they come to the commercial battlefield unencumbered by past legacies. They are therefore able to offer better customer response and better value.

Large corporates handle an enormous volume of complex business transactions which are further complicated by the consequences of historical core business legacy systems. Therefore, competitive advantage for these organisations, over the new breed of company,can only be achieved through the successful exploitation of new technology that co-exists with and, eventually, supersedes these core legacy systems.

It is increasingly apparent that in many cases these programmes are failing.

This is not because of the technology itself, but because of the failure to prepare and adapt both the IT and the business organisation and its culture to the changes necessary to fully exploit new technology systems.

There are two key areas to which corporates are applying new technology. The first is in the improvement of their knowledge of their customers, thereby strengthening the ownership of them. The second is in the reduction of core business process cycle time to deliver improved customer satisfaction and increased margins.

Both areas directly relate to the core of any company and it is essential that any new technology is right and provides the appropriate functionality.

However, if the users of the system have not been convinced of the new approach, if they've not been retrained or supported and, most importantly, if they've not adapted to the change in culture, then IT implementation will stand very little chance of succeeding and delivering the competitive advantage that had justified its expenditure in the first place.

For large corporates, the desire may be there to change the way they work. In practice, it is more difficult for these organisations to change a deeply embedded culture and a track record of 'that's the way we've always done it'.

It is easy to forget that it is the people who make the difference, not the technology. For example, the increased use of human interface designers to design screens and systems that fit the working methods of the staff reflects the need to allow people flexibility in the way they use the imposed functionality. This is the same as allowing people to manage their diaries differently, or lay out their desks to please themselves.

No two people will do it the same way, but they achieve the same end result. Such is the principle with the IT systems they are expected to use.

We see an increasing demand for individuals who understand both the technology and the business process to which it may be applied.

More importantly, a growing proportion of our staff are required to understand how to work with large organisations to achieve both the cultural and organisational changes that are necessary to successfully deliver these critical systems.

We may live in a world increasingly influenced by technology, but it will always be the people who make the difference.

David Sherriff is managing director of ECsoft UK.