#GartnerSYM: Disrupt or be disrupted

Jeffrey Mann, Gartner Research.

Any Symposium attendee can attest to the fact that there’s an overwhelming amount of information to take in, and with more than 70 presentations taking place over the three days, the chance that you’ll miss a talk (or ten) is highly likely.

Thank goodness then for Jeffrey Mann, research vice president for collaboration and social software at Gartner Research, and his closing keynote on Day 3, which summarised the key messages and actionable insights for delegates to commit to memory and put into practice.

Building the digital platform

In a nutshell, the Gartner event delved into what it means to be a digital business, offered practical (and technical) steps to become one, and described what the effects of the digital economy are going to be.

Driving this type of business is the IT platform, and the infrastructure needed to build the digital platform rests on five pillars: IT systems, customer experience, things, intelligence and the ecosystem foundation. Each of these domains are interconnected and interdependent, and IT leaders need to start thinking about how to take advantage of them. Mann asserted that the combined power of these elements will enable organisations to get to the next level.

He added that the idea of a platform will need to move from a box with four or six sides to a box that has any number of sides. “The number of interactions you’ll be having with ecosystem partners is going to be expanding exponentially. The ability to eliminate the borders of your organisation to collaborate in a deeper way with other elements of the ecosystem, is going to determine your ability to be successful.”

Another domain that must be considered when building digital platforms is the Internet of Things, which will not only be a foundation for digital business activities but a foundation for society. “Changes we’ll see that come from the ideas of connected homes, smart cities, automotive, and others developments, will provide the foundation for the changes you’re going to be making.”

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What CIOs need to think about right now

In order to survive inevitable digital disruption, Mann provided the following points that CIOs need to examine and put into action sooner rather than later.

• Work with CEOs to deepen the idea of how digital business is going to be entering into your organisation.
• Help CEOs pre-empt the digital disruption that we know is coming, either by doing it first or coming up with a plan on how your organisation is going to differentiate itself.
• Think about the capabilities that you have to reimagine, redesign and rebuild your products.
• Think about the idea of the digital workplace and what it means to be productive.
• Personally work with the CEOs and CFOs to make sure they understand a lot of the tasks that are going to be necessary going forward.

According to Mann, business leaders should not be thinking in terms of how they’re going to protect their organisations from the rapid changes occurring within – and coming about as a result of – the digital economy. “That will be futile, you’re not going to be able to protect yourself. Make sure you disrupt yourself before somebody does it to you,” he said.

“There’s no better time to be taking action in digital business that right now.”