Why faster horses aren't enough - and what companies can learn from it
Henry Ford, the pioneer of the automotive industry, is said to have once quipped:
„If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.“
His statement is more than just a joke; it's a lesson in radical new thinking.
Mid-sized businesses in "faster horses" mode
Many European small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are in the midst of digital transformation. However, instead of truly breaking new ground, they are simply making existing structures a bit faster, a bit prettier, and a bit more automated. An old ERP system gets an update, paper-based processes are scanned instead of rethought, and reporting is optimized in Excel rather than being converted to real-time business intelligence (BI) solutions.
This feels like progress, but it's often just the digital version of a "faster horse".
The real problem
The core challenge isn't a lack of will, but a failure to translate. Leaders have ambitious business visions but no "bridge" to a reliable technical implementation. IT teams speak in technical patterns while management talks in strategic goals, and ultimately, both sides end up discussing completely different things.
The result is that projects are delayed, become too expensive, or fail to meet market needs.
The market won't wait
The EU aims to bring 90% of SMEs to a basic level of digitalization by 2030, but currently, only 58% have reached that point. The market for digital transformation in Europe is growing by more than 10% annually. At the same time, the use of AI is increasing rapidly, with 13.5% of companies currently using it, and that number is trending sharply upward.
Those who are only making their horses faster now will have to watch in a few years as competitors with cars—or even airplanes—pass them by.
From horse to automobile: A shift in thinking
True digital sovereignty isn't achieved by optimizing what already exists, but by thinking in a radically new way.
- Instead of just collecting data, generate real-time insights.
- Instead of just digitizing processes, question and redesign them.
- Instead of buying technology "from the outside," build internal expertise to act with flexibility.
This is the moment when a "faster horse" becomes a vehicle that truly carries you into the future, just as Henry Ford did.
How LOX Solutions makes it possible
LOX Solutions closes the gap between vision and technology. With our Discover Phase, we identify a business's true potential—not just its symptoms—in just a few days. In our Vision-to-Tech Blueprint, we translate strategies into actionable roadmaps. Our Impact Squads deliver market-ready solutions in weeks while simultaneously building internal structures so your company can continue to develop these solutions itself, without vendor lock-in. This creates a sovereign, future-proof system, not just a "faster horse," that you can manage yourself for the long term.
Now is the time
The question isn't whether your market will change—it's whether you'll still be in the race when it does. In five years, do you want to be overtaking your competitors or being overtaken by them?
Let's work together to figure out what your "automobile" can look like—and get it on the road.