Emerging “Post-Digital” World Provides New Opportunities for Businesses to Deliver Personalized Realities and Experiences, According to Accenture Technology Vision 2019
Today, digital technology is a strategic priority for every business. In the Accenture Technology Vision 2019 survey of more than 6,600 business and IT executives, 94 percent of respondents said the pace of technology innovation in their organizations had either accelerated or significantly accelerated over the past three years.
Given their collective prioritization of digital technology, every company will eventually converge on the same turning point—one where digital-era technology, which began as a differentiating advantage, is something expected from every business. In other words: The digital playing field will eventually even out.
Digital transformation grants companies exceptional capabilities. But it also creates enormous expectations.
So, what will this new, “post-digital” world look like? It will be characterized by companies looking for the next competitive edge.
Companies already face a new level of expectations from consumers, employees and business partners. Businesses have used the power of digitally driven mass customization to sell two different options of a good or service, then 10 different options, then 100 different options. Companies’ success with this approach has fostered for them the illusion that they can meet any need, no matter how personal or custom.
Amid these rising expectations, every business is investing in digital technologies, raising the question of how leaders will set themselves apart.
Businesses will need to turn that illusion into reality if they want to meet rising expectations. The coming era will be characterized by massive pressure as customers, employees and society make their demands known. But it will also provide tremendous opportunities for those companies that can deliver the appropriate experience at just the right time.
The Technology Vision identifies five emerging technology trends that companies must address if they are to succeed in today’s rapidly evolving landscape:
DARQ Power: Understanding the DNA of DARQ. The technologies of distributed ledgers, artificial intelligence, extended reality and quantum computing (DARQ) are catalysts for change, offering extraordinary new capabilities and enabling businesses to reimagine entire industries. When asked to rank which of these will have the greatest impact on their organization over the next three years, 41 percent of executives ranked AI number one — more than twice the number of any other DARQ technology.
Get to Know Me: Unlock unique consumers and unique opportunities. Technology-driven interactions are creating an expanding technology identity for every consumer. This living foundation of knowledge will be key to understanding the next generation of consumers and for delivering rich, individualized, experience-based relationships. More than four in five executives (83 percent) said that digital demographics give their organizations a new way to identify market opportunities for unmet customer needs.
Human+ Worker: Change your workplace or hinder your workforce. As workforces become “human+” — with each individual worker empowered by their skillsets and knowledge plus a new, growing set of capabilities made possible through technology — companies must support a new way of working in the post-digital age. More than two-thirds (71 percent) of executives believe that their employees are more digitally mature than their organization, resulting in a workforce “waiting” for the organization to catch up.
Secure Us to Secure Me: Enterprises are not victims, they’re vectors. While ecosystem-driven business depends on interconnectedness, those connections increase companies’ exposures to risks. Leading businesses recognize that security must play a key role in their efforts as they collaborate with entire ecosystems to deliver best-in-class products, services and experiences. Only 29 percent of executives said they know their ecosystem partners are working diligently to be compliant and resilient with regard to security.
MyMarkets: Meet consumers at the speed of now. Technology is creating a world of intensely customized and on-demand experiences, and companies must reinvent their organizations to find and capture those opportunities. That means viewing each opportunity as if it’s an individual market—a momentary market. Six in seven executives (85 percent) said that the integration of customization and real-time delivery is the next big wave of competitive advantage.
Companies looking to differentiate themselves must be aware of five distinct trends that will characterize the “post-digital” future.
According to the report, innovation for organizations in the post-digital era involves figuring out how to shape the world around people and pick the right time to offer their products and services. They’re taking their first steps in a world that tailors itself to fit every moment — where products, services and even people’s surroundings are customized and where businesses cater to the individual in every aspect of their lives and jobs, shaping their realities.
Read the full report here
Retrieved from Accenture Newsroom