{"id":449999,"date":"2020-11-19T13:08:37","date_gmt":"2020-11-19T11:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=449999"},"modified":"2020-11-19T13:08:37","modified_gmt":"2020-11-19T11:08:37","slug":"how-to-future-proof-your-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/449999\/how-to-future-proof-your-business\/","title":{"rendered":"How to future-proof your business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Jill Titus, Realm Digital Marketing Manager<\/em><\/p>\n<p>When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, life as we know it was turned completely upside down.<\/p>\n<p>If you had a penny for every article you\u2019ve read in 2020 citing the phrase \u2018a new normal\u2019, you\u2019d probably be able to fund that new-found hobby with ease.<\/p>\n<p>The reality is though, there probably isn\u2019t a more apt phrase to describe the situation right now.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.realmdigital.co.za\/business-consulting\/?utm_source=Realm%20website&amp;utm_medium=Consulting&amp;utm_campaign=BusinessTech\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Click here to learn more about Realm Digital\u2019s future-proofing strategies for businesses.<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Individuals are making concerted efforts to maintain a form of \u2018normality\u2019 within their homes.<\/p>\n<p>Finding and maintaining that work-life balance has proven to be the biggest challenge, but employees are seeing the dire need to be stricter when it comes to the boundaries you put in place.<\/p>\n<p>In order to \u2018future-proof\u2019 your home and family life, those boundaries need to be put in place. The same can be said and done for your business.<\/p>\n<p>Here are five ways you can look at future-proofing your business.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>1. Ask the tough questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>As unpredictable as 2020 has been, the greatest lesson it has taught us is to ask, or at least consider the unimaginable happening.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst this sounds awfully morbid, a good starting point would be to ask yourself this question:<\/p>\n<p><em>How would my business survive if &lt;insert worst-case scenario&gt;? <\/em><\/p>\n<p>A worst-case scenario will look different for every business, but asking the question, and considering the answer and outcomes forces you to plan for such an event.<\/p>\n<p>We can\u2019t predict the future, but we can certainly prepare our businesses to face unforeseen challenges.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>2. Don\u2019t put all your eggs in one basket<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>At Realm Digital, remaining innovative is fundamental to who we are, and what we do.<\/p>\n<p>While we have our core competencies and key service offering, we cannot rely on one part of our business, one development language or one resource to drive the business forward.<\/p>\n<p>Diversifying your product portfolio means that you\u2019re not relying on one stream of business to generate the bulk of your revenue.<\/p>\n<p>In our case, it\u2019s about staying on top of new technology, and ensuring our clients stay ahead of the curve.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>3. Plan for the worst<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Another terribly sombre piece of advice, but an almost necessary thing to do is to be prepared for the worst.<\/p>\n<p>You won\u2019t be able to predict the problems that might occur in the future, but you can certainly take some steps to better prepare yourself.<\/p>\n<p>By identifying the risks or possible points of failure for your business, you identify the gaps and potential threats, and can put the necessary steps in place to mitigate those risks.<\/p>\n<p>These risks could be in the form of people, processes, legal compliance or finances.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>4. Keep innovation at the core of what you do<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>In order to stay ahead of the game, you have to innovate.<\/p>\n<p>Innovation isn&#8217;t always about coming up with game-changing concepts.<\/p>\n<p>In fact, simple shifts in communications or operations strategy can be every bit as successful at helping you create huge opportunities for your business.<\/p>\n<p>Thinking about how to reuse existing resources, capabilities or solutions in new and exciting ways is every bit as innovative as coming up with an entire new solution.<\/p>\n<p>Innovation is largely a process of constant reimagining and reinvention. Imagining what could be, and then doing it.<\/p>\n<p>To foster a culture of innovation, you have to challenge yourself and the people around you to think differently, and give people the freedom to experiment.<\/p>\n<p>Innovation doesn\u2019t flow from the top down, it\u2019s every team member\u2019s responsibility to drive forward.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\"><strong>5. Resilience is key<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>If at first you don\u2019t succeed, dust yourself off and try again. A necessary mantra for anyone in business.<\/p>\n<p>You may not succeed on the first, 10th or 100th attempt, but what you are doing is learning the necessary lessons to make the next attempt a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"my-4\">Perfect your strategy with Realm Digital<\/h3>\n<p>Looking at how your digital enablement strategy is aligned to your greater business strategy is a critical step in ensuring your business is set for the future.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like to unpack some future-proofing strategies that will see your business go the distance, reach out to Realm Digital.<\/p>\n<p>Realm Digital helps companies to solve problems, unlock value and achieve their vision via consulting, design and development: building the right software, offering expert business consulting, and translating experience into innovation.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.realmdigital.co.za\/business-consulting\/?utm_source=Realm%20website&amp;utm_medium=Consulting&amp;utm_campaign=BusinessTech\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Click here to learn more about Realm Digital\u2019s future-proofing strategies for businesses.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Digital enablement experts Realm Digital provide five ways you can look at future-proofing your business. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":450003,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[14823],"class_list":["post-449999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-realm-digital"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449999","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=449999"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449999\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":450007,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/449999\/revisions\/450007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450003"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=449999"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=449999"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=449999"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}