Innovate or Die: Software Delivery Innovation to Survive Digital Transformation

When digital disruption thought leaders discuss examples of companies that are innovating, startups are a common choice. For example, the classic story is of Uber’s ability to quickly redefine the transportation business. What was once dominated by an antiquated taxi system became an industry led by Uber and its digital disruption model.

However, start-ups aren’t the only companies that have been able to evolve in the face of digital disruption. Despite the increasing failure of Fortune 500 media companies to adapt, News Corp has been able to maintain its position as a global powerhouse with Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, The New York Post and more all under its umbrella. According to Mark Drasutis, Head of Innovation at News Corp, there are two keys to keeping up with digital disruption. One is flocking—the ability to ensure internal teams (in IT and beyond) are constantly adapting to change and can steer the company in the right direction to counter disruption."In order to be innovative, teams also need to be self-organizing and have the capacity to manage resources in order to assemble, adapt or disband. At the same time, you need to create strategies, structures, and systems which are ‘plastic’ and can respond to change."The other key is an insatiable desire to meet consumer needs. When it comes to software releases, customer experience is everything whether it’s a new feature or customer outcome, companies must ensure they stay on top of the competition when it comes to delivering high-quality experiences. However, Drasutis explains that the internal structures must be in place to support such an adaptive and innovative culture: In order to be innovative, teams also need to be self-organizing and have the capacity to manage resources in order to assemble, adapt or disband. At the same time, you need to create strategies, structures, and systems which are ‘plastic’ and can respond to change.The manual spreadsheets that so many companies use to manage software releases today have no chance of keeping pace with software release volume, scope or frequency.

Instead, implementing enterprise release management technology can take existing systems and enable them to support the adaptive environment that more accelerated methodologies are creating in Fortune 500 companies.

Digital Disruption is here

The rate of digital disruption is victimizing Fortune 500 companies in a way that has led to 52% of members of the list from 2000 to disappear due to mergers, acquisitions or bankruptcy. No Fortune 500 company wants to become the next Kodak, which was ranked 153rd on the list in 2005 until the age of smartphones washed over it.Recent research from Plutora has discovered that the year 2014 introduced an inflection point that marked an exponential increase in the volume of software changes. Now, companies must choose whether they will adapt or continue to fall behind the competition at that exponential rate.

The graph extracted from the Plutora research highlights why now is the crucial time to implement enterprise release management. When assessing a company’s status in terms of innovation and ability to adapt to digital disruption, it’s important to determine which of the three sectors characterizes the business.Where is your organization in this graph? Learn how to resolve the challenges of the digital disruption reading our free white paper: “Can your Enterprise Survive the Digital Business Era”