Business before tech: Fat Face's CIO shares her recipe for success
Technology is a tool, and not the solution itself. There is much more to consider first. So, before technology success comes business need, as you'll discover with HSO customer, FatFace.
Can you remember what it was like before the internet, and websites? Imagine your business today but without them. Can you even picture it? That was the reality for Zona Smith, Director of IT at FatFace, when she joined the company over 20 years ago. FatFace, and the retail landscape, have since undergone a radical transformation, and technology has been at the heart of this evolution.
“Take the time to understand every facet and function of the business before you even think about technology.”
In this fast-paced world, it's easy to get caught up in the latest tech trends. However, Zona emphasises the importance of prioritising a deep understanding of your business before diving into any technological implementation.
Technology is the tool, not the solution
Understand the goals of your people, how they work, what their business drivers are, and the business processes that structure their day-to-day work – do all this before you go and research about the technology.
Technology change moving at pace, but data remains the focus
There’s a lot of focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other advanced technology, yet Zona believes that to continue delivering great customer service, future change will revolve around shaping data to provide the insight needed to direct business changes. Insights that can be gleaned with good, clean, and consistent data.
I’m excited about what the future holds in data-related technology and in terms of sweating the data and using it to make the right choices.
The importance of choosing the right Microsoft partner
When on any transformation journey, Zona believes it’s critical to choose the right Microsoft partner:
“At the end of the day, you’re going to be working with your chosen partner for years. And so there’ll need to be a good cultural fit because they will spend a lot of time in your organisation.”
Key also is the partners ability to understand the nuances of an organisations industry because they will need to speak the same language. As Zona iterates, technology is the easy part – as the chosen partner you’re expected to know what you’re doing; “so you want a partner who will really get under the skin of your business.”
Focus on understanding your business first, leverage data effectively, and find the perfect partner to help unlock your full potential.
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