Identify the best computing “style” that leads to high-performance computing

In today’s ever-changing business environment, technology leaders must be as agile as Fred Astaire, as determined as Amelia Earhart, and as strong as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Beyond that, they must know what capability to apply, when, for how long, and in what proportion. Today’s dynamic business strategies require technology leaders to constantly adjust their investment and operational styles to consistently maximize the value and performance demanded by their business partners.

To do this, technology leaders must bring people, processes, and technologies together into a complex team structure that strives to achieve common goals aligned with business outcomes. For this to be successful, there needs to be a careful balance of capabilities, both human and technological, within and between teams. Too much of one and not enough of the other, the right balance at the wrong time and the desired results will not materialize.

IT “style” is a matter of ability, boldness and a lot of intention

To meet business needs, your IT organization must leverage all four IT styles (enablement, co-creation, amplification, and transformation) in a balanced way. A style, beyond its capabilities, has specific characteristics for each team. Some teams will be responsible for “enabling” business success by providing rock-solid resilience, stability, and security; other teams will “co-create” products and services that open new markets for business partners. Business transformations may require teams to “transform” their operations with emerging technologies. Teams that want to maximize the potential of their technologies and processes can look to “amplify” the performance of their operations through automation and data analysis.

The combination of these styles and the associated IT capabilities ultimately articulates what the organization or leader wants to be known for, while meeting their business needs and expectations. This is how successful IT organizations best align to achieve positive business outcomes. The technology leader must help achieve business goals, articulate the style that best represents the long-term goal for IT, and then ensure that teams across the IT and business ecosystems are all working toward the same outcomes.

SEE: Forrester's 2024 technology leadership predictions for AI, HR, budget and manufacturing

There is no stable state, only a current state with a vision towards the future

A stable state can manifest and be demonstrated in several ways. Never adopting a new technology, or adopting new technologies every time a new one is introduced, are mindsets that leaders and teams can embrace. An IT organization that stays put is actually lagging behind its peers; However, moving too quickly will result in IT investments that may never deliver value to business partners who cannot catch up.

There must be purpose in the operating style adopted by IT. Technology leaders must constantly assess their current performance against business objectives and then rebalance the emphasis on each of the four styles accordingly to ensure that:

• Activation Efforts prioritize capabilities that effectively stabilize, operate, and protect the business, then consistently deliver on their promises, creating trust. Additionally, enabling capabilities can promote adaptability that provides the platform for future growth.
• Co-creation takes advantage of technological partnerships to acquire new skills. Teams should collaborate on the delivery of products and experiences with a focus on skills like agile development, DevSecOps, and product management.
• Amplification actions optimize business outcomes at scale. Advances in automation, AI and analytics must be leveraged to streamline processes, deliver insights and optimize business outcomes such as sales, inventory costs and customer experience.
• Transformation Initiatives fuel technology-driven businesses. Technology innovations and emerging technologies such as chatbots and generative AI are accelerating business in new directions. Tight organizational alignment and a deep understanding of customer needs are essential to be able to adapt and quickly shift capital, people, and technology to stay ahead of a changing market.

Tech Leaders: Let Your Intentions Determine Your IT Style

Technology leaders can retain their arrogance and stay true to what they want to be known for by employing the right balance of styles that drive strategic intentions. Make sure you have a clear understanding of your organization's desired outcomes. The strategic objectives will indicate the mix of IT capabilities you should prioritize based on associated costs, investments and performance constraints. Consider the following technology leadership tips.

You cannot grow on unstable foundations.

If your organization struggles to achieve stability or resilience, you won't be able to grow and your business partners won't have confidence in your capabilities either. Invest in the IT ecosystem to enable growth while reducing costs. Establish technology visibility across the enterprise to enable proactive actions and improved operations.

The more the merrier: work together to gain increased benefits.

Reduce friction between teams and increase work dynamics with agile development, design thinking, and product management. Extend developer reach and energize other teams to improve employee and customer experiences.

Get the most out of your existing investments.

There’s no shortage of options to help you amplify the best practices you already have in place. Use automation capabilities to eliminate mundane and redundant tasks from resource queues. Analyze operational data to promote proactive problem resolution.

The future is happening today; you had to prepare for it yesterday.

New technologies emerge every day. Implementing and leveraging the right new technologies gives business leaders the ability to change direction, accelerate or slow down as they see fit, without notice. Businesses rely on their IT teams to implement transformational technologies to respond to dramatic market changes and shifts in business strategy.

Challenges are opportunities for technology leaders

Every day brings new challenges to businesses. These challenges often present new opportunities for technology leaders to move the business in a new or better direction that will advance your goals ahead of your competitors. Each new challenge should be met with an assessment and possible adjustment to your operating style.

However, you still need to maintain the right balance of styles through these changes. In doing so, you will be assured of delivering high-performance IT and continually improving your business results.

This article was written by Carlos Casanova, a principal analyst at Forrester serving technology executives and technology architecture and delivery professionals. His research interests include Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps), Observability, Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM), Application Performance Monitoring (APM), Infrastructure Monitoring, Cloud Monitoring and the use of OpenTelemetry in these areas. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.