How to Redefine Your Company in 2014

In general, enterprises do not have a pessimistic perception of the current economic situation anymore, as indicated by macroeconomic figures that show that we are emerging from the crisis and, therefore, investments are increasing.

As explained in the article “The economic crisis should not lead to a mental crisis”, we are facing a change of cycle and it is the ideal moment to search for the new opportunities that this new era provides us.

The Recipe for Recovery

The question a lot of companies ask experts is whether there is some kind of recipe to remain unaffected or to get out of the economic crisis. Well, there is no magical solution, obviously, but according to many studies, the recipe consists of a combination of ingredients (factors). Specifically, the solution seems to lie in internationalization, reactivating investments in IT, increasing investments in R&D&i, and outsourcing IT services related to applications and systems, among others.

In other words, there is a need of change, and it is technology that will set the new standards for the markets. Technological companies, in particular, are in a privileged situation, as they know beforehand, through different studies and reports, where the new opportunities lie. This means that IT enterprises tend to have access to qualified information, which is an added value, as this type of information encourages different types of companies to adapt their business processes in order to meet the needs and demands of the moment.

Moreover, this evolution of the technological market seems to be affected by, among other aspects, the technological trends predicted for 2014, the new concept of the enterprise, continued training, digital behavior and outsourcing.

New Market Behavior

Among the technological trends for 2014 indicated by Cisco consultants in the Cisco Technology Radar report, the following tendencies stand out: WebRTC (Real Time Communication) technology, which allows for online interactive collaboration; Internet of Everything (IoE), M2M (machine to machine) communications, and the new Internet architectures created to support the exponential growth of connected devices and multicloud systems.
The new modus operandi has redefined the concept of the enterprise and the way of working. This concept can no longer be set out as it was years ago, because the result would be unsustainable. Moreover, in the current era of technological mobility, physical localization and permanent connectivity have freed knowledge workers from the need to be physically present. This human capital –which mainly consists of software engineers, IT technicians and scientists, among others- makes up the professional core that encourages new ideas. This means that flexibility in the work environment will be responsible for more productive, creative and humanized environments.
In a technological environment, continuous training is essential for professional development, because continued training is the only way to meet the demands of an ever-evolving sector.
Labor market dynamics are changing too and self-employment rates are increasing steadily. Consequently, IT companies will have to look for mechanisms that allow for greater flexibility in their delivery capacities.
Mindshare agency has drawn surprising conclusions from the Mindshare Digital Normalness Index (MDNI) research. This report intends to indicate the keys to digital behavior around the world. Among other results, the study indicates that the wealthier a country is, the less citizen activity in digital environments it shows. Therefore, countries with a higher level of infrastructure occupy the lowest positions in the list. After all, their population is not inclined to use digital means as much as citizens of the so called BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
In Europe, outsourcing tends to increase while offshoring is reducing. This is pointed out in a report presented by Quint Wellington Redwood along with CIONET – a network of IT Managers. The main reason for the increase in outsourcing seems to lie in cost reduction, while large European companies prefer to diminish offshoring because, in Europe, there are plenty of highly qualified young people, and their number has increased considerably over the last years.

In other words, technological companies have the possibility to easily turn qualified information into opportunities and, this way, trigger the economic recovery of other types of companies. This trend will set the market standards and will indicate where the new business niches can be found.

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