Advent Software (NASDAQ: ADVS) makes software designed to automate portfolio accounting for investment management firms, ranging from family offices and investment advisers to large institutional investors and hedge funds. The company has a market cap of $1.60 billion.

One of the most influential books I have read in recent years is "Escape Velocity" by Geoffrey Moore, the renowned Silicon Valley consultant, venture partner and author. Once I picked it up, I could not put it down. Around the time it was published, Mr. Moore came and spoke to our senior management team at Advent Software. His message, and the core message of the book, is simple: successful companies naturally have difficulty escaping "the pull of the past" – breaking free of their legacy strategies, priorities and methods, even when they know they need to change. As a result, they continue to invest too much in past recipes for success and not enough in change and endeavors that will drive future success.
That message continues to resonate with me as my own company navigates a rapidly changing market and competitive environment, and I believe it holds a great deal of relevance for any technology professional in a position to guide their company's strategy.

Let Market Trends be your Guide

Whether you are a CIO or an enterprise technology executive, we all spend a lot of time thinking about how our clients' business and technology needs are changing, and how we should anticipate and respond to those changes to help them continue to thrive. In order to head in the right direction, we must have a clear understanding of the changes the market is going through and how those trends impact our clients. When we understand the broader market environment, we can then expand our thinking beyond day-to-day concerns to get ahead of looming challenges for the organizations we serve.

For example, the investment management industry faces a number of ongoing and emerging challenges. The globalization of wealth, as fortunes are growing more quickly outside the U.S. than within, means that firms have to think about how to compete internationally. Industry regulations around the world have become more complex. Investors expect greater transparency, accountability and risk management.

Meanwhile, the technology paradigm they have gotten used to is undergoing a seismic shift, with the explosion of cloud, social and mobile platforms. Investment professionals, like professionals in other industries, are looking for leadership to guide them through the confluence of such dramatic technological change with the new realities of the globalized world.

Understanding trends like these allows those of us who serve the industry to anticipate client needs and be where the organizations we serve need us to be (geographically and technologically) before they have to ask.
We all know the old saying, "if it ain't broke, don’t fix it," but in our world, it really does not apply. Technology leaders helping companies evaluate the latest advancements must always be thinking about what is next. We must stretch ourselves to see the bigger picture for our industries.

Seize the Opportunity

The good news is that change creates opportunity if you are willing to embrace it.
To remain at the competitive forefront, companies, regardless of industry, need to be bold enough to make the right kinds of investments and set the right strategy to maintain a course for long-term success.
When Advent was launched 30 years ago, we were among the first to introduce desktop software for portfolio accounting and reporting. But the world has changed by leaps and bounds over the past three decades. Once-revolutionary achievements are no longer cutting edge in today's environment.

To maintain our position in the financial technology space, Advent had to grow from that first single product to a wide range of solutions serving the different segments of the investment management industry. This evolution did not happen overnight and it was not always easy, but it was critical to remaining relevant in today's incredibly competitive global business landscape.

This is not a scenario unique to Advent. Though the specific nuances may vary, the pace of innovation is speeding up across industries and we share a number of the same challenges. Clients are becoming more sophisticated. Consumers are more demanding and discriminating. Providing value that allows clients to differentiate themselves is more important than ever.

As leaders, the charge to find that differentiator and drive change falls on our shoulders. Identifying the right opportunity is half the battle; we must also recognize that these windows of opportunity open and close and that when a window opens, it's important to act with equal measures of urgency and prudence. Reacting quickly is key to gaining a competitive edge, but reacting before thinking through a broader strategy can be as damaging as a missed opportunity. To take advantage of the next generation of opportunities, we must prepare and be ready for it.

Invest in the Future

Making an investment in change is a careful balance of risk and reward. Any large-scale transformation involves an element of risk, but our duty as leaders is to make bold decisions – and then get the right resources and people in place to execute successfully. None of us are capable of acting in isolation, and while we may guide our companies in new directions, our success is dependent on the support of the entire organization.

To do this, we have to inspire and empower not just our management teams, but all our employees to take an active role in the evolution of the company. The pull of the past affects them, too, and we have to help them overcome complacency and embrace big visions.
In Advent's case, investing in change has meant evolving our business model from that of an enterprise software company to a provider of cloud-based technology services through a series of strategic change initiatives. We have learned that we can build upon our past without being beholden to it.

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