It is now quite clear that the work itself has changed. There is no turning back.
But it’s about more than just enabling remote work or digital transformation. Every company must be prepared for profound change in how they work as a team, from core business processes to the technologies they deploy.
We are now realizing that the way we are running our companies is inefficient, exclusive and in many cases dangerous. Modernizing our tools, prioritizing cloud migration, or deploying dozens of new apps isn’t enough to keep people connected. In fact, focusing on them is putting the cart before the horse. The real challenge is developing our company culture — how do we empower everyone to contribute, no matter where they live, in a safe, efficient and scalable way?
Many companies will maintain the status quo and treat company operations as non-urgent. But those who will be successful long-term will recognize that how they operate is a priority in how they will continue to innovate and outperform the competition. Here are three ways they will.
Companies will start to adopt an open source mindset.
As many companies continue to struggle to adapt to a more distributed workforce, they will turn to organizations that have proven over the years how to create a collaborative, self-service environment of any size. Possible, no matter where its members live: open source communities
No longer just a software development process for hobbyist groups and small organizations, commercial companies are realizing that open source is also a mindset that everyone should be able to contribute to. Indeed, it is this mindset that allows open source teams to be more than the sum of their parts, creating innovative products and services across multiple categories.
Much of their speed comes from the way they work, such as prioritizing asynchronous work, establishing governance models over implementing a single leadership style, and providing access to critical information by default, including documents. or conversations between business leaders. Open source communities also avoid traditional, slow product feedback channels by making their product code available for source and by inviting their users to build products together.
In the coming year, commercial companies will begin to adopt some of these open source practices, and as a result they will be more transparent, inclusive and collaborative.
Every company should become a security company.
In the past, the challenge every company faced was becoming a software company. Those who didn’t make the digital transformation leap found themselves disconnected and left behind. Now, with increasing security threats and a more distributed workforce, every company must also become a security company.
In the latest GitLab global DevSecOps survey, half of security professionals reported that developers fail to identify 75% of security issues. This poses huge risks for companies, and business leaders are recognizing that this is no longer enough to create great products and services. They should also be very good at operating and maintaining them.
In 2023, companies will respond by making security a core part of their culture and a core competency of their product development processes. This includes creating dedicated development security operations teams (DevSecOps), embedding security and compliance practices into their developer tools, and using AI to automatically scan for vulnerabilities before products and services reach users. Is.
It’s not just a defensive measure, but a proven proactive measure that leads to fewer safety incidents, less time spent on corrective action, and increased and safer productivity.
AI becomes essential for efficiency and productivity.
Today’s knowledge workers face a stark paradox: they’re being asked to do more with fewer resources, but with more tools. This leads to a decrease in overall productivity, as many tasks become either too difficult, or too repetitive. Instead of just attacking problems with more staff and tools, companies will turn to AI to help automate both difficult and repetitive tasks to increase the productivity of all workers in every department.
Imagine software developers who can focus on building and delivering code, not on scanning for security vulnerabilities. Sales team members who spend time on planning strategies to meet revenue goals, not on data entry and data cleaning. Marketers who focus on messaging and customer relationships rather than maintaining contact lists.
Companies that use AI to automate inefficient tasks will free up their knowledge workers to focus on creative tasks, leading to increased productivity, greater opportunities for innovation and ultimately a competitive advantage. Will be.
Bottom line: Company culture and security before change and innovation
Technology is moving fast, and companies are under pressure to rein in costs while delivering the next big thing. The most successful companies, however, will look at the broader perspective. Instead of spending time chasing change and innovation, they will focus on how they operate as a company. This focus will foster a culture that allows all knowledge workers to come together to generate transformative and innovative ideas in the new year and beyond.