"Business Survival in Tech Sector 2025: Essential Elements to Thrive Over the Next Decade"
In the coming decade, businesses are faced with a pressing question: who will follow in the footsteps of Information Generation pioneers like GE, adapting to meet new customer demands driven by technological trends such as cloud computing, mobile, big data, and social media?
The pace of change expected over the next ten years will be far more dramatic than what has been known over the past half century. Companies that cannot keep pace with this transformation are more vulnerable than ever.
A recent global survey of 3,600 business leaders sheds light on the key attributes businesses need to thrive in the Information Generation. These attributes centre on leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), enhancing employee experience, innovating customer engagement, and reshaping business processes with technology.
Firstly, businesses must adopt AI-powered solutions to improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. AI enables automation of mundane tasks, enriching employee experiences, and allowing staff to focus on creative and valuable work.
Secondly, businesses are urged to reinvent customer engagement through AI-driven personalization, creating tailored experiences that delight consumers while reducing employee workload.
Thirdly, businesses should reshape their workflows, marketing, supply chain, and finance with AI that not only optimizes but uncovers new growth opportunities.
Fourthly, businesses must accelerate innovation by harnessing AI to speed up product development and time to market, providing differentiation in competitive markets.
Fifthly, businesses should implement AI agents and autonomous collaborators to enhance decision-making, efficiency, and strategic leadership. AI helps reduce cognitive biases, provide predictive insights, automate routine decisions, and enables leaders to focus on people-centric and adaptive management.
In addition to these AI and innovation-driven attributes, the survey and related research imply the importance of strategic workforce planning, emphasizing learning and development, work/life balance, and mentorship. Younger generations seek meaningful career growth beyond traditional leadership tracks, making these aspects crucial for attracting and retaining talent, especially Gen Z and millennials.
The Information Generation encompasses all generations due to the era of abundant data. In this digitally-driven, dynamic environment, businesses that integrate advanced AI technologies throughout operations and leadership while prioritizing human capital development and customer-centric innovation are likely to thrive.
Examples of companies embracing this shift include GE, leveraging Internet of Things technology to transform jet engines into massive data generators, helping customers improve reliability, lower costs, and generate higher profits. Other companies like Zara and H&M in retail, Google with Levi's, Sonos, Babolat, and Fitbit, are using AI and software to enhance customer experiences and offer new services.
However, businesses that do not meet these new challenges are at risk of disruption. An app called Next Glass aims to change the beverage industry by recommending tailored beverages based on data science. In the insurance and automotive industries, telemetry technology provides specific driver behaviour information for policy pricing and auto design.
Big data and analytics can help a firm spot new opportunities predictively. Cloud computing can help organizations reach more people and operate with more agility and efficiency. An Apple Watch enables purchases from retailers and connects with friends.
In a world where 90% of companies that were on the Fortune 500 list in 1955 do not exist today, having disappeared sometime over the past 60 years, it is clear that businesses must adapt or risk extinction. The Information Generation presents both opportunities and challenges, and those businesses that can navigate this landscape successfully will reap the rewards.
- To seize the opportunities and navigate the challenges of the Information Generation, businesses must prioritize strategic investments in technology, such as AI, cloud computing, and mobile, ensuring they remain competitive in the ever-evolving business landscape.
- In the coming decade, the fusion of finance and technology could play a pivotal role in business success, as innovative financial solutions, powered by AI and big data, enable agile decision-making, efficient resource allocation, and the discovery of new business opportunities.
