In business, speed isn’t just an advantage. It can be the deciding factor between scaling up or stalling out. For small businesses and startups, a single bottleneck can mean missed contracts or lost funding. For larger corporations, inefficiencies can quietly drain millions of dollars. And in highly regulated industries like energy and telecom, those same delays don’t just dent profits, they can trigger fines, jeopardize compliance, and erode customer trust. Aiming to help large and small businesses thrive is Ibukunoluwa Adeitan Omokanye, a business analyst and data strategist with years of experience in regulated industries. She’s helped organizations streamline operations, improve compliance, and avoid costly service interruptions.
“In utilities and telecom, I’ve seen delays in network maintenance reporting lead to prolonged service disruptions and customer dissatisfaction. This was not because of negligence, but because the data wasn’t flowing fast enough between departments,” Omokanye said. “That kind of lag causes huge financial losses and regulatory pressure. Start-ups can learn from this by building scalable systems early, even if they seem over-prepared, because operational readiness becomes your speed limiter as you grow.”
For small and mid-sized businesses, operational readiness often comes second to sales, hiring, and product development. But Omokanye warns that neglecting data integration and process efficiency early can strangle growth later. “You lose time, trust, and money, often all three,” she said. “If accountability isn’t built into your workflows from day one, you’re always reacting instead of leading.”
That philosophy has driven her work for companies at every stage. She’s helped utility giants spot operational bottlenecks before they turned into service crises. She’s advised smaller firms on designing compliance systems that pass regulatory audits without a costly scramble. And for start-ups, she advocates treating operations like a growth engine, not a back-office chore.
One of her most telling examples came when she developed real-time performance dashboards for a client. By highlighting metrics that had previously been hidden in monthly reports, executives could act on problems before they became outages. The result was millions saved, deadlines met, and customers kept. “They were able to proactively resolve a system bottleneck before it became a city-wide outage, saving both time and millions in potential damage,” she said.
The lesson translates beyond utilities. A manufacturing start-up that catches quality-control issues in real time can avoid an expensive recall. A software company that integrates compliance into its release cycle can close deals faster in regulated markets. In each case, visibility equals agility, which gives companies a competitive edge.
Omokanye also connects modernization with broader economic benefits. “When systems are modernized, they respond faster in crises, which lowers the long-term cost of emergency services, outages, and legal liabilities,” she said. “Modernization isn’t just about speed or aesthetics, it’s about resilience. And resilience pays dividends downstream.”
Her advice for small business owners and founders is to invest in the systems that will allow you to compete globally, even if your market feels local now. The competitive pressure isn’t just coming from across the street, it’s coming from across the ocean. From Europe’s smart grids to Asia’s AI-driven traffic systems, other markets are proving that integrated, data-driven infrastructure creates faster, more reliable service.
For Omokanye, this is as much about people as it is about processes. She’s quick to credit mentorship for her own growth and urges leaders to bring their teams into the efficiency conversation. “Don’t wait to be ‘perfect’ before speaking up or applying. Confidence builds through action,” she said. “For young women and minorities, representation matters and every step you take helps build that path for others too.”
The businesses that win in the next decade, she believes, will be those that combine efficiency, compliance, and human insight into one seamless operating model. For companies willing to invest in readiness now, the payoff could be faster growth and an edge in the global marketplace. And as more businesses embrace this mindset, the collective gains in productivity and innovation could further boost the U.S. economy.
