Fusion team

What is a fusion team?

A fusion team is a multidisciplinary group of employees that uses data-driven processes to reach their business goals.

The team is also able to drive technology decisions that differ from IT recommendations. 

Fusion teams are usually temporary, meaning they only facilitate and implement a specific change.

Business architects, analysts, technical professionals, change management, legal, and data security teams are all incorporated into fusion teams to upend business strategies and make impactful and sometimes risky decisions. 

According to Gartner, “at least 84% of large and midsize companies, and 59% of government entities have already set up multidisciplinary teams.

At least 74% of organizations in industries that are traditionally subject to heavy regulation – have fusion teams.”

This means that DevOps teams are being slowly phased out and replaced by fusion teams that are focusing more on enterprise architecture and technological innovation

Fusion teams and the rise of software democratization

The rise of software democratization means that IT teams no longer have exclusive access to application creation, which has now shifted towards fusion team-based strategies.

Cross-departmental teams are used to connect talent across different areas, share expectations, and often report back to the fusion team rather than teams within their field. 

Digital native companies are using digital workplace initiatives to transform internal frameworks and are working to implement new strategies based on multi-functionalism.

Fusion team leaders are expected to think outside of the box and go beyond their usual responsibilities to enforce and execute executive change.

Fusion teams are at the forefront of strategy, road mapping, and resourcing often carrying the burden of end-to-end accountability.

What are the benefits of a fusion team?

Fusion teams directly overlap with an agile working culture. Conventionally, areas of knowledge are structured into different categories of work, such as HR, finance, and sales.

Fusion teams adopt hybrid office models and break conventions by focusing more on product or service development.

Because fusion teams are composed of people from many different departments, they can easily identify customer needs and create the best products and services. 

The 4 main advantages of fusion teams are: 

1. Distributed knowledge that is supported by all departments with a vested interest

2. Unification of team members who are all responsible for delivery

3. Informed decisions by teams who have access to independent resources

4. More autonomy, which allows for greater responsibility and team commitment

Fusion teams vs. legacy teams

Legacy teams, like DevOps, will soon be replaced by fusion teams who are combining IT solutions and employees from different departments to expand and formulate digital solutions.

Fusion teams are growing at a phenomenal pace and are being actively supported by enterprise architecture and technology innovation leaders. 

Because customers are moving online quicker than anyone predicted, businesses are searching for new ways to personalize experiences and get ahead of the curve.

Customer value and experience are being transformed by new technologies like AI, machine learning, IoT (Internet of Things), blockchain, and virtual/hyper-reality.

This has led to businesses harnessing the power of digital technology to meet customer-centric objectives and stay competitive

How CIOs support fusion team

According to Gartner, at least 84% of companies and 59% of government entities have set up “fusion teams”.

Out of 1000 fusion teams surveyed from across different sectors, 43% said that they already report outside of corporate IT and are instead aligned with the point of value delivery.

Across the board, CIOs agree that fusion teams require an autonomous approach to build and launch innovative digital solutions. 

CIOs should concentrate their attention on human areas of digital business risk and use “digital judgment” to empower fusion team leaders.

Digital judgment can be defined by the set of principles, sentiments, and behaviors that surround effective risk management that’s carried out by technology decision-makers.

Gartner’s research found that teams with leaders that have ample digital judgment are five times more likely to accomplish objectives without introducing an enterprise risk. 

Fusion teams and digital transformation

Fusion teams are becoming ever more crucial to the long-term success of digital transformation initiatives.

Multidisciplinary fusion teams can effortlessly collaborate and adapt to new ways of working as business priorities shift and change. 

A key aspect of fusion team dynamics is the independent development of interfaces that directly affect customers and create new experiences.

High-functioning fusion teams are built from the ground up and allow individual groups to independently work on tech stacks.

Digital transformation is bolstered by innovative processes that allow fusion teams to easily deploy new features directly onto a website, mobile app, or search engine.

Conclusion

Single platform approaches are no longer appropriate for modern fusion teams because they don’t offer enough flexibility.

Digitization is increasingly delivered through fusion teams who present multiple benefits to organizations.

Coaching commitments, learning mindset, open disposition, and business acumen all need to be incorporated into fusion protocols that fully align with business priorities. 

To meet the changing needs of businesses and consumers alike, fusion teams frequently collaborate, adapt, develop and mandate new tools and processes.

While they continually seek out new and innovative ways of working to strengthen business practices across the board, teams need autonomy and support to make effective decisions.