During the early daysof the COVID-19 pandemic, firmswere scrambling tospin up newcustomerand employeeexperiencesat a time when the economicoutlook was getting more and more unclear.For some firms, it felt like a race against the clock — a race for survival.

When it came totechnology strategy,most firms fell into one of two camps. Forleaders,大流行性流感加速了现有数字transformation plans and spending. Theyadapted theirplan and made it happen in a matter of weeks.They digitized processesrapidlyand pivoted business modelsusing existing technology roadmaps.They did truly amazing things andput distance between them and theircompetitors.

For other firms, it was more of a scramble. They were caught off guard and put into a “survival mode” mentality, which droverushedtechnologydecisions. They implementedtechnology options that may not have been on their original technology strategy roadmaps.And, in many cases, theymadechoicesin themomentthat often deployed thebest available option forcustomers’most immediate needs.They stitched together existing systemsapi和did the bare minimumto gettheirremote workersaccess tothetools they needed.

Now, asmanybusinessestry to return to a “newnormal,”thequestiontechnology leadersshould be asking themselves is,“Are the decisions we made in the past two years still the right decisions for the business todayand in the future, ordo we have some digital regrets that we need toaddress?”Forrester analysis shows that productivity from techinvestmentshas been falling for the past 20 years. Imaginewhat has been happening during the pandemic — anotherless-than-desirableresult: digital sameness. Digital sameness is when you invest in digital solutions only to find that your offering ishighlysimilar toyour competitors.

Ifyou’renowlooking toevaluate your tech with an eye towardamore volatilefuture, here are somesuggestions:

  1. Be customer-obsessed in tech decisions.Being customer-obsessed means looking at everything through your customer’s eyes. And that applies to technology evaluation and consolidation. Whether it’s a front-end customer-facing experience or a back-end internal system, evaluate its worth and value based on the customer’s needs first. That means building solutions that engage customers on the devices and channels they choose, so it’s vital you understand your customer’s preferences and behaviors.
  2. Strive for resiliency, creativity,和自适应性。Your broadertechnologystrategy shouldhelp your firm become more resilientto deliver on your brand promise no matter the crisis,become more creative in your delivery ofexperiences to customers,and become more adaptive toreconfigure your core business concepts when needed.
  3. Think platforms, not point solutions.One of the underpinnings ofForrester’s future fit technology modelisthe use of technology platforms —bundles of enabling technologies andservices preassembled to deliver a specific customer experience or business capability.Yes, that includes a cloud-first mentality, but it goes much deeper.When newbusiness opportunities occur,businessescanuse these platforms to rapidly assemble new, unique value propositions for customers that drive significant business for the firm.To get a deep dive on this topic,watch this webinar.

Of all the lessons learned during the pandemic, perhaps the most important lesson has been to expect the unexpected. Shifting to a 100% remote work environment wasn’tonmost CIOs’radars.Restrictions of in-persondiningand shopping weren’t, either.As a technology executive, your role is now to ensure that your technology strategynot only adapts to futuredisruption butallows your firm to make the most ofunexpectedchange.

Forrester’s future fit technology strategyprepares you todeliver excellent customer and employee experiencesand drive growthregardless of the未来在你的变化market. Andwe have the data to back it up: Our analysis shows that future fit leaders grow 2.8x faster than their peers.