Partner Contribution – Indevaldi
2021-04-15
Expanding into new and foreign markets is a complex enough undertaking without worrying about your technological systems. Since many nations in developing and emerging markets are still relatively immature technologically, companies need to know that their ICT can be relied upon to support their business, no matter what the industry
Eighty-one percent of companies consider technological progress the main factor of change for the next 5 years, while 50 percent of the world’s leading manufacturing companies invest in IT applications and infrastructure to help them be more flexible and agile. Technological change reshaping business growth and expansion will only intensify as artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, and cyber-physical systems take the digital revolution to another level. So it is to technology that companies must turn to help them overcome the challenges of expanding in new markets.
Technology in its fullest understanding is the capability that leads to outcomes, whether tangible or intangible. For this to happen, typically, certain skills and procedures are required. Early advances in human history are closely associated with technological progress, specifically with the history of energy. Yet, it was the dawn of the printing press towards the end of the Middle Ages which spurred the Renaissance, and which eventually led to the first recognizable techno-economic revolution of the modern age. Better known as the Industrial Revolution, this era was characterized by the mechanization of the cotton industry and the construction of canals, waterways, waterwheels, and turnpike roads. Since then, certain key trends associated with technological progress became clear:
- The size and footprint of technologies continue to increase beyond imagination, proven by bigger container ships and airplanes, higher buildings and dam walls, and space-age scientific experiments like the International Space Station, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), and the Large Hadron Collider. Technology also becomes smaller and increasingly manifests at nanoscale. Think about gene sequencing and its applications in the medical and agricultural industries;
- Every technology epoch is characterized by a different principle of operation. A sequence of capabilities can be conceived of, starting with manual effort, followed in sequence by fire, speech and art, mechanics, steam, electricity, internal combustion, electronics, mechatronics, and lately characterized by the convergence of neurotech, biotech, infotech and nanotech;
- Technology becomes more accurate and efficient. From the crude capabilities of stone tools to the pinpoint accuracy of a laser, of GPS navigation and digital capabilities in general, there is steady progress in accuracy and efficiency;
- Technology becomes increasingly complex, and understanding thereof less accessible to the layperson; and
- Due to the conflation of these characteristics, technology also becomes more expensive, yet more omnipresent.
HOW TECHNOLOGY ENABLES GLOBAL EXPANSION
Future-focused leaders, in conclusion, strife to become technology-fluid. This means they attend to the following priorities:
- They realize that technology is all-pervasive and powerful and that the current transition to robotics, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing requires them to render technology a top priority on their governance and oversight agendas;
- They actively pursue strategies to ensure that their technology assets have been sourced responsibly, that the workings thereof respect the privacy and dignity of all living things inasmuch as environmental health, and that once retired these technologies are fed back into the recycling streams representative of their industries;
- They evaluate technology and technology innovation proposals for their relevance, appropriateness, and functionality, with relevance interrogating immediacy of need and of utility value, with appropriateness interrogating fitness for purpose, and with functionality interrogating outcomes with efficiency and sustainability gains; and
- They pursue Integrated Reporting in order to inform all stakeholders of their attention to detail, inclusive of technology impacts, and they remain conscious of immediate technology priorities, such as the need for digital governance, focusing on social media strategies, thorough data and privacy protection principles and practices, and exploration of data monetization strategies.
The global solutions offered by technology can be exactly what your company needs to expand internationally and by choosing the right technology tools to power your global expansion, you’ll soon find the world is at your fingertips.
Discover how our 20 years of experience in global markets can help your organization seamlessly integrate new locations into your infrastructure HERE
