Need for Speed

2020 has set a new precedent for businesses across the world. The pandemic has thrown fuel onto what was already an increasingly cutthroat business climate, thanks to higher demands from customers, new entrants and more competition than ever before. In order to meet these challenging circumstances, organizations need higher velocity in every area of their business. While many people view “speed” in the context of “speed to market” only, there are other aspects that are just as critical to business success. Having consulted with our clients during this extremely unprecedented time, here’s where I’m seeing the “need for speed” in action.

Speed to Market
A big factor for success in the corporate world will always be speed to market. The first mover advantage is a luxury that not all businesses have, yet the majority will always strive for it. Whether that’s introducing a new product or service, or expanding into new markets, or simply adding new functionality, it’s a very common goal across industries. We’ve seen that the onset of the pandemic has escalated the need to rapidly address changing customer needs, preferences and market conditions. This has further accelerated an already heavy focus on the need for technology to respond and innovate quickly.

Speed to Savings
In the end, it’s all about the bottom line, which is why speed to savings is another crucial area in the need for speed. It can be achieved by lowering costs, doing more for the same investment or the same for lower spend, or through increased efficiency. Businesses have always sought improvements that boost the bottom line, but in the last quarter, we’ve seen expectations grow for that to happen even faster. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that companies are especially conscious of their bottom line right now, and seeking to avoid any waste that they can.

Speed to Value
In today’s economy and business environment, pivoting has become the name of the game. Whereas speed to savings is focused solely on cost containment, speed to value is about better leveraging capabilities and resources to drive new opportunities for growth. Due to the pandemic, we’re seeing many clients looking for new ways to leverage their technology investments to create incremental revenue when possible. Take ParkMobile, for example: their popular mobile application helps customers find, reserve, and pay for parking, but with sports, concerts, and other special events canceled, they sought a way to offer the same level of usability to their customers on their existing platform, while helping out in a time of need. Customers were able to use the app to donate to one of a hand-selected group of non-profits located in the cities where ParkMobile operates. The company matched a portion of the funds, which came to a total of over $30,000 raised for charities. Customers utilized the new functionality that we helped bring to the market in just two weeks.  

The pace of business rarely slows down, and now more than ever, the need for speed is at an all-time high. With many businesses wanting to innovate and pivot while meeting customers’ rapidly changing needs, doing so as quickly as possible is essential to survive in this business climate.

Learn more about how we’ve helped our clients achieve their “need for speed” by reading these results: Pharma Company Outsources Full Support to Sparq Saving 40% and Supporting Healthcare Clients During the Pandemic