How Technology Disrupts the Competitive Landscape
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How Technology Disrupts the Competitive Landscape
Competition from start-ups and outside industries is growing, placing pressure on leaders to find new ways to innovate—including using technology in the process. -
New Business Landscape
72% of C-level executives surveyed said technology developments are transforming the competitive landscape, while 71% cited market factors and 55% named regulatory concerns. -
Competitive Pressure
54% of C-level execs expect increased competition from outside industries, up from 43% who felt this way two years ago. -
Tech Priorities for the Near Future
Cloud computing and services: 63%, Mobile solutions: 61%, Internet of things (IoT): 57% -
Business Trends for the Near Future
Industry convergence: 66%, The "anywhere" workplace: 50%, Rising cyber-risk: 46% -
Old vs. New School
80% of respondents use brainstorming to identify new trends, while 63% use predictive analytics and 46% deploy prescriptive analytics for this purpose. Just 23% use crowdsourcing to find trends. -
Virtual Relationship
81% expect their companies to increase digital and virtual interactions with customers, compared to 68% who anticipated doing so in 2013. -
One on One
66% of respondents said they're planning to focus on their customers as individuals, rather than as part of a segment. That's up from 54% who planned to do this two years ago. -
Outside Perspective
54% said their organization will seek new external opportunities (such as partnerships) for innovation, up from 47% who were seeking this in 2013. -
Group Input
48% of the C-suite execs surveyed said their company is moving toward more decentralized decision-making models, which is about the same percent as two years ago.
The majority of C-level executives rank technology as the top transformative influence on the competitive landscape, according to a recent survey from IBM. The resulting report, "Redefining Boundaries: Insights from the Global C-Suite Study," indicates that competition from upstart companies and outside industries is expected to increase significantly in the near future, placing more pressure on organizational leaders to find new ways to innovate. They could start by incorporating more proven technologies into these innovation efforts, because far more executives resort to the traditional tactic of brainstorming to identify new trends, rather than using analytics or crowdsourcing solutions. In doing so, they risk getting blown away by competitors old and new. "Management guru Clayton Christensen coined the term 'disruptive innovation' to describe how new entrants target the bottom of a market and then relentlessly move up market, eventually ousting established providers," according to the report. "But what was once a relatively rare phenomenon has now become a regular occurrence. Innovations that harness new technologies or business models, or exploit old technologies in new ways, are emerging on an almost daily basis. And the most disruptive enterprises don't gradually displace the incumbents; they reshape entire industries, swiftly obliterating whatever stands in their way." Nearly 5,250 global CIOs, CEOs, CFOs and other C-level executives took part in the research.