Those most responsive to change will become the ones best equipped to survive, or so the well-worn maxim goes. Or, as Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, has stated: ‘if you woke up an industrial company today, you will wake up as a software and analytics company tomorrow.’ History is littered with examples of companies and individuals who have failed to embrace change. In the age of rapid technological advancements, it is becoming imperative for all companies to recognise the impact new technology will have on their operations.
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Yesterday’s sci-fi is today’s reality
In an interview with CNBC, Peter Diamiandis, MIT Space Engineer, said that 40% of companies will no longer exist in 10 years if they refuse to embrace new technologies. These encompass artificial intelligence, robotics and cognitive applications, with 72% of Fortune 500 CEOs stating that their greatest challenge is in keeping up with the rapid pace of technological innovation.
But the technology of tomorrow is already here. Sensors are in everything that we do and use. Machine learning technologies are disrupting industries. These are the tools of the future, pioneering new growth and developing new revenue streams. And businesses know this. A recent survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, intended to gauge the current and future use of IoT by the global business community, shows that almost half (47%) of businesses agree that IoT will be one of the most important parts of their organisation’s digital transformation strategy.
It is clear, then, that companies are drawn to the potential that new technologies hold and recognise the benefits they can have. So what’s holding them back from fully employing them?
Go beyond just recognition
Obviously, simply recognising how great these technological advancements are is not exactly enough to yield tangible results from them. In other words, if you’re fascinated by the potential of, say, artificial intelligence but not ready to take the necessary steps to move your organisation towards implementation, then you’re playing directly into your competitors’ hands. Indeed, if you’re not thinking about implementing these technologies now, you will soon find yourself on the losing side.
Sure, the adoption of AI and machine learning technologies has its pain points. Coping with the sheer amount of data is a task in itself, let alone figuring out how to efficiently handle, integrate, model and construct it. This can especially be the case for businesses that wouldn’t necessarily classify themselves as tech titans. Managing the data can be challenging, it has to be extracted properly.
Let AI give you a hand
Instead of getting lost and drowning in data, companies can overcome this by taking steps to implement powerful development platforms and integrating them with AI technologies – most notably, machine learning and predictive analytics. To do this, organisations must rethink the way they operate and identify the areas where new technologies can create most value. This will allow them to employ these more effectively: they’ll be using the right platforms to analyse the right data, building appropriate models based on what the data suggests, and ensuring only the most relevant data insights are being used to orchestrate future business operations.
Organisations will have to be ready to take the necessary steps to overcome the initial challenges in implementing these new technologies, or be prepared to face inevitable decline. Embracing digital disruption will no longer get you ahead of the game – it’s something every business must do in order to survive in today’s rapidly changing world.
Mark Armstrong, Vice President and Managing Director EMEA, Progress
As Vice President and Managing Director for EMEA, Mark is the senior executive responsible for the overall success of the Progress business in the region and is a key individual within the global sales organisation. Mark is responsible for defining and implementing the company’s overall business strategy in EMEA, with the primary goal of growing top-line revenues for all three Progress business units.