Get your digital integration right: the importance of ecosystems

In this dynamic environment, to stay ahead you must embrace the complexities and find innovative ways to adapt. Companies that can navigate changes successfully and integrate multiple systems and solutions effectively will be those that thrive.

The MEA region is home to some of the world’s most innovative and ambitious digital transformation projects. Smart city initiatives like The Line and the King Abdullah Financial District in Saudi Arabia are setting the standard for how digital can enable next generation services for citizens and businesses. MEA is a hotbed of digital healthcare projects, with a health-tech market forecast to grow at a CAGR of 6.8% to 2030. Fintech, edtech and digitally-enabled alternative energy projects are all thriving and set to grow.

But large digital projects are complex. One of the biggest challenges to delivering them is that big transformation projects comprise multiple moving parts: you always need to balance existing systems and new technologies effectively. According to McKinsey, two out of three major digital transformation initiatives go over budget, miss deadlines, and fail to deliver on expectations. And only 30% of companies are successful in navigating digital transformation projects.

There are more elements than ever to manage in digital transformation projects, which makes effective integration increasingly important. In the fast-moving MEA region, no two enterprises are alike and all businesses have unique requirements. Which in turn means that integration strategies must be unique and tailored to companies’ business goals and digital maturity.

Without proper integration, you create data silos, operational inefficiencies, and missed opportunities for innovation, all of which delay digital projects and cost you money. Wrestling with the complexities of integrating new digital technologies with existing legacy systems is a long-standing problem.

Legacy systems have become outdated, and lack the flexibility needed to adapt to next generation projects. You run into compatibility issues, data migration complexities, and extensive customization requirements. But at the same time, it’s not always feasible or cost-effective to abandon legacy systems entirely. Integration allows you to integrate them into your digital transformation project, and unlock the full potential of your investments. And effective integration takes a comprehensive ecosystem to do correctly.

MEA businesses need to work with digital transformation partners who can offer access to wide-reaching ecosystems of expert suppliers and providers. Ecosystems have become increasingly essential to successful digital transformation projects and integration, because they give you access to skills and experience you don’t necessarily have in-house.

Those partners, technologies and platforms foster collaboration, innovation, and scalability in your product and service offering. And in today’s interconnected business environment, you can’t operate and thrive in isolation. Being part of an effective ecosystem reduces the risk of silos, encourages profitable data-sharing, and enhances your operational efficiency – all of which ensures all your new digital tools can be more smoothly integrated into your existing infrastructures.

On top of the tech side, MEA companies who work in ecosystems are better-placed to have access to strong relationships with governments in the region and cross-border expertise, and greater regulatory compliance knowledge. Research backs up the premise: according to EY, 85% of executives believe ecosystems are the most effective way to connect large companies with disruptors to drive new ideas and innovation. Accenture found that 58% of enterprises expect to increase revenue growth from ecosystem participation.

The most effective ecosystems are built on trust, with only trusted partners permitted to join them. Orange Business has worked diligently for a number of years to build up ecosystems of partners throughout the MEA region who bring real value to the table. And because of our positioning as a telco, a digital services company and an integrator, we are perfectly-placed to help our partners with expertise and opportunities across network, cloud, data, AI, and cybersecurity. There is strength in numbers.