When the business cycle changes, companies’ competitiveness is re-measured

For business and IT leaders, preparing for a business cycle shift means ensuring the right strategic target state and ambition-level definition are in place. In this blog, Midagon’s seasoned strategy and transformation advisors Marko Alatalo, Tero Lindholm and Petri Pehkonen, whose experience within the ICT segment spans over two decades, list some of their top considerations for business leaders to ensure competitiveness when the business cycle changes.

Competitiveness can be viewed, for example, from the following perspectives: 

• Is the company truly ready for streamlined digital business models and ecosystems?  

• Does the business receive enough "deliverables" from product development? What is the role of IT in developing revenue-generating digital products and services?  

• Do you know how to develop digital products that effectively use data both internally and for the customer's benefit? 

• Is it understood which internal processes should be reduced and where process development that produces customer value needs to be increased? 

"Organisations often develop their operations in a way where their previous level of operation is the key indicator. Although the ideology of continuous improvement is desirable in itself, the question should always be asked: ´What would or could the most efficient competitor do now?´ This puts the strategic reference framework at the right level, taking into account, e.g. breakthrough technologies and goals for developing the product and service portfolio", says Marko Alatalo. 

"When creating a company's business strategy, it is also decided which product family and business process areas are expected to undergo major changes. To understand the target status of the sub-areas, the vision of changes in digital data and solution architectures must be brought into the discussion already in the early analysis phase. The strategy's implementation plan should be refined with an experience-based assessment of the extent of the changes. The implementation must also include mandatory risk management measures from information security and AI. Due to rapid changes, company-level refinement of digital responsibilities and skills is also often necessary”, says Tero Lindholm. 

"Public cloud services are available for many different purposes and pricing models. However, it is good for the company to create its cloud strategy and make the implementation of the strategy measurable. Strategic goals can be related to, for example, cost savings, business requirements related to agile product development (time-to-market), OpEx/CapEx balance, the introduction of new tools or modernisation of the technology platform (downgrading of legacy systems). This is typically not just an IT exercise but part of the company's technology strategy", says Petri Pehkonen. 

Independent transformation leadership and subject matter expertise 

Midagon has effectively supported leading organisations in understanding the challenges, planning measures and managing their implementation. Our executive advisors are 100% supplier-independent and technology-agnostic, which allows them to help and advise business and IT executives in achieving the target state of the combined business and IT strategy.  

Assignments often begin with a phase where the organisational change journey required by the strategic goals is clarified, identifying the critical points (MWBs), and the required investment levels. At this stage, the management shares a common understanding of the actions required for decision-making. As part of the planning phase, the project portfolio is typically planned, prioritised and scheduled at the program and project level so that it can be made concrete for the entire staff and partners. 

As an independent expert, Midagon complements the customer’s organisation and internal know-how with transformation leadership and subject-matter expertise until the targeted results are realised.  

Our advisors are glad to discuss further how to ensure your organisation’s competitiveness and digitally enabled product and service development - don't hesitate to reach out!