Authored by Sofia Hunter
Collaboration and interviews with experts Enrique Monsalve, Ernesto Samudio, Juan Diego Cardona, and Shashank Saxena
Over the last few years there has been an increased pressure for businesses to be agile and adaptable in order to remain relevant and competitive. The ability to adapt to market shifts, customer demands, and emerging technologies (among many other factors) can determine an organization's success. The good thing is technological advancements have unlocked new levels of adaptability and speed, empowering businesses to respond to challenges and opportunities in real time.
Below, we explore the need for companies to build a more responsive and adaptable business model and how they can leverage Microsoft tools to achieve that.
How Have Advancements in Technology Reshaped Business Adaptability?
Traditionally, businesses relied on rigid IT infrastructure and complex systems, hindering their ability to adapt quickly. However, the rise of cloud computing, low-code platforms, and real-time data analytics has revolutionized how businesses approach adaptability and speed.
As Shashank Saxena, a technology expert at Nextant, highlighted the other day, "Traditionally there used to be heavy investments in IT infrastructure, but now businesses know that there are tools out there that require less or no infrastructure and that more easily enable secure access from anywhere at any time, creating a real-time type of environment aligning with today’s reality.” This shift has empowered businesses not only to accelerate decision-making, but also to increase operational efficiency and foster innovation across teams. First, by accessing real-time data and analytics, teams can provide business insights to inform timely decisions and avoid long analysis cycles or acting based on inaccurate information. Second, automating and streamlining workflows eliminate manual processes, reducing delays and eliminating human errors which increases operational efficiency. Third, teams are more motivated than ever to explore innovative ideas and new processes because execution is so much faster and easier through these simple app development tools. It allows teams to experiment because the cost and resources to build and deploy new solutions is so low.
How Has This Shift Influenced Decision-Making and Operations?
The transition towards real-time data and agile technologies has profoundly impacted decision-making and operations through:
· Data-driven decisions: Businesses can base decisions on concrete data rather than relying on intuition or outdated information.
· Decentralized decision-making: Real-time data empowers individuals at all levels to make informed decisions from anywhere, increasing responsiveness and ownership.
· Continuous improvement: The ability to track metrics in real time allows for continuous optimization of processes.
How Can Organizations Leverage Microsoft Power Platform for Business Agility?
Microsoft Power Platform is a suite of low-code tools that enable businesses and individuals to build custom applications, automate workflows, and analyze data. There are different ways in which it can be used to enhance agility.
To name a few: Microsoft Power Apps allows almost anyone to become a ‘citizen developer’ by creating custom applications quickly with only a rudimentary, beginner level of coding knowledge; Microsoft Power Automate enables businesses to automate repetitive tasks or processes, freeing up employee’s time to focus on higher-value activities; and Microsoft Power BI offers a platform to build interactive dashboards and reports, enabling businesses to monitor key metrics and identify trends in real-time.
How can Nextant help in The Process of Empowering Business Agility and Adaptability?
Nextant has a proven track record of helping businesses of different sizes and industries leverage Microsoft tools to vastly improve agility and adaptability. As the Director of Products and Services Ernesto Samudio explains, "We bring the expertise to help businesses capitalize on these opportunities to develop solutions in very agile and cost-effective ways. Customers are generally amazed by how quickly we are able to put a high-quality solution in place. Then the fun really starts, because individuals in our customer’s organizations see what is possible, and new creativity starts to spark, in order to solve problems in new and more efficient ways through the use of these modern technologies. The slow, cumbersome IT development process that lasts over 6 months before you see any impact should really be a thing of the past in most cases.”
Nextant has developed applications that enable businesses to track inventory, manage customer relationships, and streamline operations. We build custom applications for specific needs, and tailor that to clients knowing that there are no one-size fits all solutions. Additionally, Nextant has helped businesses automate tasks and workflows such as data entry, report generation, and approval processes, that improve efficiency significantly. Finally, Nextant has designed dashboards that provide businesses with a clear view of their performance, enabling them to make informed decisions. And all of this is built and deployed in a fraction of the time it once took.
Nextant helps organizations foster a culture of agility and continuous improvement by:
· Providing expert guidance on Microsoft Power Platform implementation
· Offering training and support to empower citizen developers
· Promoting a culture of experimentation and innovation
· Helping businesses identify and prioritize automation opportunities
As Miles Mikkelsen points out, "We create such invaluable cost efficiency and resource efficiency through these tools for our customers, that now they’re surprised to see not only that their profitability is up, but also their team’s bandwidth is increased in tandem”.
Conclusion
Agility and adaptability are essential for success. Microsoft Power Platform provides businesses with the tools they need to adapt quickly, respond to challenges in real time, and seize new opportunities. Nextant, with its deep expertise in Microsoft Power Platform, can help businesses unlock the full potential of these tools and build a truly agile organization.
Contact us to explore how we can help your business achieve great agility and adaptability together.
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