Creating Collaborative Products for a Troubled Market

The current selling environment stinks. There really is no other way to put it. That being said, I still find it difficult to be pessimistic. Fact of the matter is that both up and down markets can breed opportunity. The challenge is determining what that opportunity is and how to capitalize on it.

At my company, I’ll admit that we are having a difficult time finding that one bright spot in the market. So we have changed gears. Instead of looking for market segments that are bucking the downward trend we are now seeking future trends in workplace development. The companies that can remain at the forefront of how businesses work will ultimately be successful regardless of the short term market conditions.

Currently, there is at least one trend that presents a number of opportunities. This is in the area of "workforce mobility". The past ten years have seen huge gains in productivity through the use of technology. This includes software offered in different ways (the SaaS trend comes to mind) and new workflow solutions that help automate specific task-oriented business functions. These past trends when combined with the current dismal economic outlook means that companies that intend to survive will have to change the way that they operate. This will include finding ways to reduce operating costs and keep those knowledge workers that they can’t afford to shed.

Workforce mobility can be defined as a blended offering of functionality and enabling technologies that support a widely distributed workforce while controlling output in a transparent environment.

Companies that find a way to maintain a truly mobile workforce will find that their people’s individual productivity improves significantly. The average worker is at least 50% inactive while in the corporate environment. Without getting into the specifics of how workers waste time while at work, if you remove the corporate environment you will find a significant positive bump in productivity for many workers.

The beautiful thing about where we are as a technological society is that technology has finally matured on a wholesale basis. Fiber optic networks, cheaper laptops and other hardware, inexpensive collaboration tools, portable wireless devices, etc. mean that it is relatively easy for even small businesses to assemble market specific solutions that can reduce costs, improve productivity and actually increase controls for a workforce that go to work each day in their home offices. Any company that found a way to combine collaborative solutions with basic corporate needs such as document management, data acquisition, disaster recovery, etc. would find an eager market even when dollars are tight.

So how should companies capitalize on this trend? Simply focus on what you already know. My project outsourcing firm understands intimately how consulting firms operate. We know where we as providers fall down and where we shine. We also understand what kind of solutions could make us operate more efficiently. Now, full disclosure: my company already manages a global workforce under a virtual business model. So we are already accustomed to a widely distributed workforce. We have several offices in India and several in the U.S. (Boston and Washington D.C.) that must work closely in order to be successful. Even our employees in a single market, such as Boston, only rarely come together; and even then, it is often at a client site in a different city.

We are currently working on a product that really represents subscription based infrastructure for professional services firms. So, by developing a solution that will help us operate in this dynamic market, we are also creating new revenue opportunities by offering our homegrown solution to other participants in the marketplace. This strengthens our competitive position, ensures that we remain thought leaders in our market and helps us diversify our revenue base.

So what should you be doing for your firm? Ask yourself what you do well and what you don’t. Try to visualize an environment where you simplify your world by intelligently leveraging technology. There is no blanket solution that will work everywhere. But there are enough tools available that you should be able to at least lower your own costs right now. And if you can do that for your own firm, then you can do it for others. That is how new products are born.