Relevant business management tools are no longer passive “systems of record” that do not fit in with how modern business works. Business applications are now moving toward a unified system of inclusion, engagement and collaboration.
What is a modern business?
Plenty of organisations describe themselves as ‘dynamic’, seeking to make a certain impression. But what qualities or behaviours does the word actually invoke?
- Agility – dynamic businesses respond rapidly to the news agenda, to competitor activity, and to the wider landscape in which they operate. They’re proactive too – not only responding to these factors, but actively helping to shape them.
- Creativity – dynamic organisations aren’t afraid to do something differently from the status quo. Creative dynamism is confident, crowd-leading and trend-shaping.
- Collaboration – dynamism is fuelled by the mutual exchange of ideas, the enhancement of processes and procedures based on experience, perhaps from unexpected parts of the business, and the attitude that anyone, from any corner of an organisation, can contribute a fantastic idea.
- Innovative – dynamic organisations encourage their employees to contribute to the development of their products and procedures. Known as the “consumerisation of the enterprise”; the modern workforce blurs personal and business with individualised preferences of work style and devices.
- Speed – a dynamic business environment is often assumed to be fast-paced and high-pressure. But these qualities don’t need to go hand-in-hand. Certainly, dynamic businesses get things done as quickly as possible – but without sacrificing efficiency. Colleagues in a dynamic environment are expected to keep up with rapidly developing ideas and innovations, but not burn themselves out in doing so.
- Informed decision-making – dynamic organisations make decisions and take actions based on comprehensive, real time and contextualised information without the administrative burden. Whether that means analysing distribution inventory trends or ensuring that a 360-degree view of current customer sentiment has been taken into account, the key characteristic here is ensuring that all the relevant information has been considered.
- Mobility – dynamic organisations empower their employees to work from home, on the road and from multiple offices with all the tools and information they need at their fingertips. They understand that mobile employees are flexible, agile employees – and they appreciate that their customers are mobile too.
In a highly competitive business landscape, with an economic environment that remains challenging and an increasingly informed, switched-on and savvy customer and employee base; modern businesses need to demonstrate more and more of these qualities.
Technology to foster dynamism
One way of answering the question of how to build a dynamic business is to start thinking in-depth about the relationship between people and technology within an organisation.
Dynamic businesses understand that their people are their greatest asset, (literally in professional service organisations), the most successful organisations contain a workforce that contributes, makes a difference and use their full skill-set to meet company objectives.
Effective technology is essential in shaping the environment in which such behaviours and actions can take place. Informed decisions rely on the effective gathering and dissemination of vital information. Collaboration relies on unified management platforms across the entire business, and smooth, simple communication channels. Agility and mobility require highly responsive, always-on IT.
The relationship between people and technology underpins the dynamic modern business – so if you want to be truly dynamic, you need to:
- Attract, hire and coach the right people; and
- Invest in and implement the right technology.
Microsoft Dynamics at the heart of modern business
Microsoft’s leading portfolio of enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation systems sit under the name Microsoft Dynamics. They’re built with all the qualities of a truly dynamic business at their core – from agility and mobility to collaboration and informed decision-making – and they’ll help every department within your business to become more dynamic.
For more information, download our collaboration whitepaper, take a look at how Microsoft Dynamics NAV and Dynamics CRM are achieving deep integration within and across daily business applications and contact us to discover how you can achieve reality.
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