According to a World Economic Forum 2016 report, the cumulative value of digitization could reach $100 trillion over the next 10 years. With digital pervading everything, it’s bringing with it ubiquitous and unprecedented amounts of change.
Recently, the Accenture Technology Vision 2016 report found that fostering a people-first approach – equipping employees, partners and consumers with new skills to fully capitalize on technology advancement – will be key to unlocking success in today’s disruptive digital economy.
The analysis is partly based on a global survey of more than 3,100 business executives. The survey found that 86 percent of respondents anticipate the pace of technology change will increase at a rapid or unprecedented rate over the next three years. Yet, most corporate cultures are not keeping up with technology advancements, creating a state of digital culture shock.
In this slideshow, Accenture has highlighted five trends, fueled by the people-first approach, that provide a roadmap to digital success.
A Roadmap to Digital Success
Click through for five trends, fueled by the people-first approach, that provide a roadmap to digital success, as identified by Accenture.
Intelligent Automation
Machines and artificial intelligence will be the newest recruits to the workforce, bringing new skills to help people do new jobs, reinventing what’s possible, and in turn becoming the essential new co-worker for the digital age. An example of this is German industrial company Siemens, which has automated some of its production lines to the point where they can run unsupervised for several weeks at a time.
Liquid Workforce
Businesses need more than the right technology; they need to harness that technology to enable the right people to do the right things in a highly adaptable, change-ready and responsive “liquid” culture. GE is one example of a company that is changing its culture to push the historical boundaries of success. Through a new approach called FastWorks, GE is embedding lean startup practices into the workforce to speed the rollout of a range of products from light bulbs to refrigerators.
Platform Economy
Through partnerships or through their own digital infrastructure, industry leaders are designing new products and service innovations by developing platform-based business models. These strategies are driving the most profound change in the global macroeconomic environment since the Industrial Revolution. Take medical equipment maker Philips, for example. It has built the Philips HealthSuite platform with three cloud partners: Salesforce, Amazon AWS IoT and Alibaba AliCloud. This platform business model supports an entire ecosystem of interconnected patients, providers and partners.
Predictable Disruption
Fast-emerging digital ecosystems — think precision agriculture, the industrial Internet or smart cities — are creating the foundation for the next big wave of enterprise disruptions by straddling markets and blurring industry boundaries. For a prime example, look at the automotive industry and “connected” cars. The technology in connected cars is fueling a rich platform ecosystem that is becoming one of the next major hubs of innovation. Now, companies across industries are joining the ecosystem to offer digital services and capabilities such as mobile hot spots, remote diagnostics, safety and security, infotainment, and much more.
Digital Trust
Trust is a cornerstone of the digital economy; without it, digital businesses can’t use and share the data that underpins their operations. To gain the trust of individuals, ecosystems and regulators in this new landscape, businesses must focus on digital ethics as a core strategy, with strong security and ethics at each stage of the customer journey.
