AWS Shares Steps for Reinventing Your Business

Success in digital business today goes by a different playbook than it did in years past. The lumbering old enterprises that resisted change and that were built on a complex chain of old-school management structures are not the companies that are wowing the marketplace today (if they still exist at all). Amazon Web Services (AWS) is an ideal example of an organization that has structured itself in a way that will succeed for the 21^st century.

Zeus Kerravala, a principal analyst at ZK Research, a division of Kerravala Consulting, recently wrote an article for SiliconANGLE that summarized the transformative keynote delivered by AWS’ Chief Executive Andy Jassy’s at AWS’ re:Invent conference. In the piece, he summarized Jassy’s observations on what sets a successful company apart from the rest.

Leadership needs to invest and reinvent. Business success begins with effective leadership. It’s not only about managing people, it also means knowing what competitors are doing, what customers think, and having insight into what’s working and what isn’t working. Getting a company to change is not easy, and it takes a talented and effective leader.

Acknowledge the inevitable, even if it’s unpalatable. Many companies are unwilling to recognize they’re on an unsustainable path, and unwilling to make uncomfortable changes. In his talk, Jassy cited the example of Amazon choosing to offer products through third-party sellers, which allowed the business to grow. Companies that aren’t willing to take these uncomfortable steps -- think Lucent, Nortel, 3Com, Digital, Compaq and others that are no longer around – will not succeed.

Hire talent that is eager to invent. It’s essential to have people onboard who are curious about learning and reinventing the customer experience. If employees aren’t flexible and willing to change and grow, then some difficult personnel decisions will need to be made.

Solve real customer problems with builders. Technology should never exist for its own sake, or because it’s “cool.” It should exist to solve real-world problems for customers.

Speed matters at every stage of the business. Many enterprises find speed too risky, so they embrace slow change. Mindsets need to change to recognize that reinventing requires speed are flexibility, something the cloud era has enabled.

Avoid unnecessary or excessive complexity. Speed and flexibility require the elimination of complexity wherever possible. It’s much easier to be successful when choosing one partner and adding others later in the process.

Choose a platform with the broadest set of tools. Avoiding complexity means using a platform that has the most capabilities. This will make it easier for a company to migrate its existing applications and build new ones.

Set aggressive top-down goals. Setting top-down goals helps a company understand where it’s headed and what changes need to be made to get there. It’s about getting all the problems on the table, so they can be solved.

Edited by Maurice Nagle