How to add rocket fuel to your resilience

4th March 2024

by Richard Higginbotham

In a world prone to disruption, resilience is a commodity prized by organisations. The question is: How can you build up your reserves quickly – ahead of any storms? Here’s a strategic change that can make a difference.

In recent times, organisations found themselves at the mercy of economic headwinds, including inflation, supply chain issues, recruitment challenges and other shockwaves.

“To thrive in the coming decade, companies must develop resilience – the ability to withstand unpredictable threat or change and then to emerge stronger.” That’s according to some blunt advice from management consultants McKinsey a while back.

But their assessment still holds true – and their suggested focus on developing resilience in five key areas is well worth considering. These are:

• Financial resilience: The traditional response to economic uncertainty has been cost reduction. But you can’t cut your way to resilience. You still need resources to make changes.
• Operational resilience: Organisations must be flexible to meet changes in demand and be stable in the face of disruption – all without sacrificing quality.
• Technological resilience: Organisations must have a strong and flexible infrastructure. They need to be secure, make use of high-quality data in a compliant way and deliver on digitisation projects.
• Organisational resilience: All employees need to feel included and able to perform at their best. The right tools are required for talent to prosper.
• Reputational resilience: Organisations must align their values with actions because customers and stakeholders will increasingly hold firms accountable.

Traditionally, these goals might carry expensive price tags. Think bigger budgets, new roles, major investment and HR initiatives. Also, would these measures even arrive soon enough?

Fortunately, there’s a way to boost your resilience faster and at less expense.

Finding extra talent close at hand

The name “enterprise low-code application development” sounds like the preserve of IT teams. But don’t let the title put you off. Low-code has a broader role and can serve as rocket fuel for resilience.

Instead of needing to hire expensive outside developers, organisations can look within for the skills they need. Low-code fosters collaboration between IT and business stakeholders. Together, they form “fusion teams” for shared success.

Low-code development doesn’t require a deep understanding of programming. Instead, you can build apps, interfaces and workflows using visual drag-and-drop tools, rapid prototyping and reusing existing code. Typically, colleagues from across departments get creating solutions, while IT focuses on governance and security.

Some digital initiatives will transform and simplify key back-office processes, others will enrich customer journeys, and many will do both. You’ll see greater digitisation, automation, modernisation of legacy infrastructure and improvements in quality and experience.

Grassroots innovation at speed

With low-code, you can deliver grassroots innovation quickly, spending modestly and usually making cashable savings along the way. Quick wins that save resources can build momentum, as teams continually spot more ideas for improvement. In turn, this frees up people for smarter activities.

As economic landscapes shift, strategic adoption of low-code development is becoming fundamental to agility, competitiveness and resilience. Suddenly, it’s easier to accomplish more digital initiatives economically and prioritise ROI.

Instead of being rigid and likely to show cracks under pressure, organisations can transform into agile and scalable operations. Change feels natural, rather than a jolt to the system. When storms hit, organisations can flex and roll with the punches, adapt quickly and bounce back strongly.