Gartner: CIOs have to be aware of agility

 

The ability to adapt to any set of circumstances does not necessarily come easy. After all, from the business perspective, there are occasions when it’s easier to simply carry out processes in the established ways rather than push the envelope.

However, a lack of agility will eventually prove to be the mark of an unsuccessful enterprise.

Typically, as the emphasis on digital becomes more pronounced, it’s the job of the chief information officer (CIO) to lead the charge in terms of business development. However, the true value in focusing on agility is best found when the entire company has a more defined idea of its goals.

“Done well, agile development can be an integral part of the portfolio of methods that the CIO uses to deal with increasing business demand for innovation. Done badly, agile development will create a lot more problems than it solves,” explained research director with Gartner Nathan Wilson.

The principles of agility

Gartner has identified several principles of agility that companies should look to abide by, the most notable include:

• Agility is not one specific thing. Business agility is not focused on one area or inner framework of an organization. It is more of an ideal that has to be embraced by the collective. Ultimately – in the case of software – different areas of the company may have varying aims and goals, but achieving them through agility is only possible when every stakeholder aligns their interests.
• Agile is not a ‘pick and mix’ methodology. One of the biggest mistakes made by organizations is to embrace agility to some extent, without using it across their processes. Such companies can progress rapidly in certain areas in the short-term, but may struggle to ensure the entirety of their operations stay fruitful over a longer period of time.

Ultimately, business agility is only going to grow in importance. Those that are adaptable, particularly when it comes to strategic planning, will likely get ahead and stay there.