Throughout history, innovation has propelled human progress. We’ve seen three waves of Industrial Revolution that brought about groundbreaking advancements and reshaped human civilization. We are now in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution that is transforming the way we live, work and communicate.
Technologies that were introduced just 15 years ago seem like relicts from a museum and what was previously thought to be impossible is now becoming a reality. Decoding human genome currently takes about 26 hours and costs US$1,000, but in 15 years this will take only 94 seconds and cost about a mere dollar. As the world get more connected, there could be 200 billion connected devices by 2031, about 25 times the number of people on Earth! Such developments, together with the readiness to explore the potentials of new platforms are creating the perfect storm for an era filled with infinite possibility, and technology is at the core of what is fuelling the innovation.
To fully reap the benefits of the digital era, organizations need to adequately address the challenges and pressures that are part of this revolution. In the relatively buoyant economies of the Asia Pacific and Japan region (APJ), organizations have to craft digital transformation strategies that take a very diverse area into account. At the same time business leaders are increasingly pressured to accelerate the pace of innovation and transform their business into the next Airbnb or Uber. One challenge lies in choosing the right approach, creating the vision and executing it. In order to become a winner in the era of fourth industrial revolution, business leaders require transformation in three areas that will help them drive the digital journey successfully.
Revolutionize Technology Infrastructures
To gain a competitive edge, organizations need to re-architect their technology infrastructure from the edge, to the core, to the cloud to accommodate new platforms, devices and applications, and engage with customers in the new ways they wish to be reached. IT and business leaders should consider three fundamental strategies that entail modernization of infrastructure for the maximum efficiency, agility and scalability; automate infrastructure operations and technology services delivery; and transform people within the enterprise so they rapidly develop new capabilities that help differentiate the business.
The industry is already seeing how enterprises across various verticals are taking steps to transform, betting on innovative technologies and solutions to remain competitive. GE evolved from an organization that was predominately involved in selling hardware and industrial equipment to one that offers data and analytics software services across their products portfolio. The 120-year-old company proved that digital agility and revolutionary business models are not only reserved to the digital natives, and organizations of any size and heritage can benefit from ongoing innovation.
Enable a Workforce of the Future
Advancements in communication and smart workplace technologies, combined with emerging lifestyle trends point to a future workforce that is more mobile, more productive and more capable than ever before. According to Dell’s Future Workforce Study, while employees are generally happy in their jobs, they are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with workplace capability. Though they still rely on analog equipment like landlines and desktops, they are ready for a workplace that can accommodate their changing lifestyles and believe that smart offices will arrive within the next five years.
To embrace the benefits of a modern workforce, organizations need to modernize the employee experience with innovative devices and accessories designed specifically for the way people work, empower their employees with solutions that will modernize their experience, and encourage new ways of collaboration by connecting them to each other, their customers and data anytime, anywhere, on any screen.
Lastly business leaders need to innovate by pushing decision-making to the edge and inspiring new ways of working through disruptive technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. However, with the diversity across markets in this region, customizing implementations of technologies instead of a uniform strategy is paramount to accomplish maximum results.
Transform Security Approach
As businesses become more digitized, a growing amount of critical data is floating around the network. Moreover, as one of the fastest growing regions in the world, APJ faces increased risks from cyber-attacks. Beyond deploying the right security technologies at every layer of the network, IT and business leaders also need to think about a 360-degree approach to security that includes dedicated team resources and security solution that protects the business from both present and future security threats.
Security for digital enterprises must be business-driven to shift from a narrow-focused, single point solution to providing the business context for a security strategy and efficient deployment of resources. Prevention is better than cure and the approach to security must be intelligence-driven.
Big data analytics tools allow threats to be pre-empted more proactively. Predictive analytics help anticipate how an adversary might attack the organization, and enable leaders to remediate the vulnerability and undercut the threat before it strikes. Lastly, a security approach needs to be risk-driven to develop more complete and timely understanding of risks that will help define priorities and manage risk posture across IT architecture, people, processes and technology.
Innovation is everywhere, but it takes changing capabilities, mindset and culture for organizations to take advantage of digital disruption and thrive. Taking a strategic approach, setting clear execution plan and working with partners that have the expertise to help them to transform will help enterprises to navigate their digital journeys.
New technologies are truly driving a future of endless possibilities and the next leap in human progress. Business leaders of today need to embrace this evolution and ensure their organizations are in the best position to innovate and become future market disruptors.
Amit Midha is President, APJ Commercial, Dell EMC