Technology is constantly changing, and its rate of evolution is only increasing. This means that businesses, especially those that have been around for several decades, also need to constantly change to remain relevant in this environment

Constant adaptation is a prerequisite for technology companies if they are to survive in this rapidly changing world, suggests Deirdre Fryer, regional product manager for Africa at SYSPRO.

"This means always remaining up to date in terms of industry knowledge and staying on top of what other organisations, particularly your partners, are doing in this space. It means having regular conversations with them in order to understand their roadmap and what they are planning. Furthermore, it is imperative that your C-level executives read the latest industry literature and constantly engage with customers in order to know exactly what they need as well. Ultimately, it is about being as agile as possible all of the time," she explains.

"In the past, when technologies were launched, generally businesses had several months or even a year or more to get their people up to date with it. Today, however, new technologies are adopted so quickly that things have become much trickier. Successful companies need to constantly be aware of what technologies are coming down the line."

She adds that it is important to also understand where it fits into the bigger picture. There are times when a technology that is relevant for consumers is not necessarily also relevant for businesses. Therefore, the organisation needs to interrogate whether implementing such a solution will be good for the business. The last thing it should do, she warns, is adopt something new simply because it is the current flavour-of-the-month.

"Even when it comes to technologies that are worth adopting, the balancing act can be tough, as it is important to find the adoption 'sweet spot'. If you wait too long to adopt something, this can put your company on the back foot, which may mean having to act more quickly and undertake the adoption process more rapidly than you would like, which can create new challenges for you."

"In a highly competitive space, missing the boat like this can be problematic. However, jumping in too early can also create problems for the business. For example, being too far ahead of the curve can mean that your customers fail to truly understand the business value, which can lead to an otherwise promising technology failing."

Another tough lesson that is sometimes learned, she says, is that while a technology may be wonderful and capable of great things, there can be a struggle to articulate this to the customer in terms of how their business will benefit from it. When you cannot contextualise it in this manner for the client, adoption can be slower, as they tend to view such a solution as just another expense.

"The other big issue with business evolution is whether to grow organically or acquisitively. From my perspective, organic growth is generally the best approach. After all, if you are an expert in a particular area and build your own in-house skills set, you are able to offer much longer term value to your clients. On the other hand, acquisitions do play a role, particularly in a situation where, as we mentioned earlier, you may have waited too long to get on board with a new technology. By acquiring another organisation that is already successful with the technology, you may be able to get on the front foot once again."

At the same time, she points out, it can sometimes be difficult to bring such a product into your own structures and get it to fit and integrate with the way you normally work. This can end up costing you a lot more time and effort to get the acquired product to fit into your stack than would have been the case had you developed it yourself.

"Perhaps the best advice as far as ensuring business longevity in a rapidly evolving market goes is to understand that you can't be everything to everyone, so don't try to be. Know your strengths and what your particular stack can do for your customers. It is not always clever to try to get into new markets simply because of new technologies that arise. Sometimes it is wiser to rather grow more focused on your existing customers and on how to deliver more to them," she says.

"From our experience the best plan to mitigate risk and understand the technology relevance is having the blue print of your requirements," concludes Fryer.