Live From Davos: Business at the Speed of Thought
JANUARY 13, 2016 • Blog Post
Hewlett Packard Enterprise partnered with Oxford Economics to field a global survey of business and IT executives on the rising pressures of competition in the Idea Economy
IN THIS ARTICLE:
- Faster time to value, updates to technology infrastructure and changes to corporate innovation and security culture are among the top business priorities for companies navigating in the Idea Economy
- The research revealed a strong correlation between high financial performance and investment in programs to help reduce time to value
Business is speeding up in every way as the information economy accelerates into the next phase of the Industrial Revolution. Immense disruption and continuous innovation are redefining strategy and upending industries around the world.
To better understand how companies are responding to these new pressures in the marketplace, Oxford Economics and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) fielded a global survey of 300 business and IT executives during the fourth quarter of 2015.
1. The Need for Speed
Faster time to market is a competitive necessity and organizations are under pressure to innovate quickly. This pressure isnt slowing down anytime soon. Across industries and regions, companies plan to accelerate speed to value over the next two years (30 percent today vs. 49 percent in two years). But they should be warytheir competitors are doing the same.
2. Inflexible Tech Infrastructure Is a Brake on Speed
Turning an idea into a product or service is no simple task, and a flexible IT infrastructure is critical. Companies cited rigid technology infrastructure as the leading barrier preventing rapid innovation and speed to market. By bringing together the right combination of public cloud, private cloud and traditional IT, organizations can create an environment ripe for speed and innovation.
3. Age Is Just a Number
The competitive landscape is changing. Compared to two years ago, executives are feeling more pressure today to keep ahead of established competitors than new entrants, as even the oldest companies are modernizing their technology infrastructure to stay ahead of the curve.
4. The Ensuing Culture Clash
Technology alone does not guarantee success. Cultural issues around innovation and security must be resolved before investments in technology infrastructure can fully pay off. Yet, companies show a surprising lack of focus on these organizational challenges; only half say failure is acceptable at their organization. In order to build a successful culture of innovation, both the business and IT leaders must be open to change and willing to take risks.
5. The Speed Dividend
While correlation does not imply causation, the survey shows that more profitable companies are more likely to have taken steps to build out technology infrastructure and to promote a culture of innovation within their organization.
The Takeaway
The Idea Economy is not going anywhere. In fact, companies predict that the competition will only become fiercer over the next two years. Investments in the right technology and a commitment to a culture of innovation are vital to success in this new era.
Download the HPE Matter special report from The World Economic Forum here.
Download the complete white paper from Oxford Economics here.