A future fit technology strategy has emerged as a cornerstone for propelling customer-centric business growth in today’s dynamic business environment — and the primary enablers of this strategy are the adaptive practices that facilitate collaboration, coordination, and continuous improvement across departments, business units, and partners. Adopting these practices can drive value, support innovation, and position your company for customer-obsessed success.

Now, you might say, “That’s great, but how do we develop those adaptive practices?” To answer that question, we identified the best practices found in the submissions for the inaugural Technology Strategy Impact Awards. We added real-world examples to help you understand the full future fit practice strategy and see how it could support your organization. Here are the four pivotal best practices to guide your strategy:

  1. Align technology investments with business value. Future fit organizations optimize their technology spending by aligning it with business objectives. This approach, coupled with the implementation of a technology business management framework, strategic portfolio management, and a dedicated enterprise architecture team, ensures that investments in IT systems drive innovation and spur growth.
  2. Make continuous change an operating principle. In an ever-evolving world, future fit organizations maintain their relevance by adapting their technology practices continually. Regularly updating the operating model, leveraging product marketing for user engagement, and utilizing governance as a change facilitator are all integral to this process.
  3. Foster shared accountability to accelerate time to value. Embracing shared accountability and collaboration speeds up the delivery of value to customers. Utilizing small, cross-functional teams, adopting a “shift left” and “two in a box” approach to software delivery, creating a product-centric culture, and implementing DevOps are all vital practices in achieving this goal.
  4. Empower employees with self-service and training programs. Future fit organizations cultivate an adaptive workforce by democratizing access to emerging technologies and fostering continuous learning. This approach aids in driving innovation and improving employee performance.

Our new report What Makes A Future Fit Practice Strategy? provides an in-depth exploration of these practices, peppered with compelling real-world examples. Learn how to build a future fit technology strategy that fuels growth, fosters innovation, and empowers your organization to thrive in the face of change.

And now, we’re excited to announce that we’re accepting entries for Forrester’s 2023 Technology Awards! This is an excellent opportunity to showcase your organization’s innovative technology practices and gain recognition for your efforts. We can’t wait to see what you’ve been working on and how you’re driving your organization’s technology strategy forward.

The deadline for submissions is Monday, June 19, 2023. To view complete award nomination criteria and submit an entry, visit here (NA), here (EMEA), or here (APAC).