We know that technology is changing the world – in that more and more traditional companies are moving to be software-driven organisations. There is a view that software and technology are continuing to change traditional businesses – even those that are bricks and mortar. I subscribe to this view. A recent viewpoint by the Boston Consulting Group supports this concept. To quote: “Companies in the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) industries are at the vanguard of bringing the products and services to market that will drive this cross-industry transformation. Future winners will grasp this opportunity by responding to the needs of customers, expanding to new customer groups in emerging markets, and building trust in business models that are driven by personal data. Lasting success will require much more, however. Leaders need to understand this rapidly changing landscape, and companies need to transform their mindsets, capabilities, and overall business models. Companies that can quickly and effectively build capabilities based on software and computer intelligence into their business will gain competitive advantage. They will need to focus on innovation rates but also on overall strategy, alliances, customer-centricity, and productivity—essentially managing the transition from current business models to new ones.” It is clear that we are re-imagining many industries – retail and media being just two. The document continues: “Over the past five years, the top-performing TMT companies —such as Apple, ARM, Samsung, Tencent, and Naspers—have been among the top performers across all industry sectors. The weak performers have collectively destroyed hundreds of billions of dollars of shareholder value. This contrast between winners and losers is particularly evident in the tech industry, where the pace of change is arguably the fastest. Likewise, in the media industry, a few traditional companies—such as Pearson, publisher of theFinancial Times—have successfully managed cash flow in their traditional properties while building digital businesses, but most companies have struggled. And although the telecom sector includes some strong performers, a weak European economy, the end of high growth in emerging markets, and the challenge of transforming to data-centric business models have massively destroyed shareholder value. The messages are clear. You need to be a part of the new digital metasystem. You need to understand how software is influencing your business. If you are global, you need to be entrenched in emerging markets. If you are a mature company, you need to transform your business fast while managing your legacy assets for cash flow. And because the digital and emerging-market platforms are burning hot, you do not have the luxury of taking five years to manage this evolution.” Read the entire article here.
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