Going beyond digital

Overview
The future will be all about going beyond digital. As organisations embed core digital technologies and ways of working, innovation will accelerate. This will bring new developments through the rise of machines, the adoption of crypto currency, the relentless battle for cyber-security and other post-digital trends. Each of these predictions is certain to drive disruptive change in the way we work over the coming years. The preparedness of organisations to remain agile and accommodate innovation will be the key to taking advantage of this disruption to drive future success.

The speed of innovation in an open-source world
Ours will be a future in which knowledge is increasingly commoditised. It is only the application of knowledge that will demand a premium. The connectivity and access that we have created through digital have fuelled an open-source world in which data sets and knowledge bases will be more open and unconstrained. Our digital perspective will challenge the ideology and belief in the creation of long term intellectual property, pressing companies to acquire knowledge and quickly exploit it before it becomes exploited by others. All this means that the speed at which innovation will move forward is set to increase exponentially.

An awakening to the value of personal data
The open nature of this world will also mean that consumers and customers will develop a greater appreciation of the value of their personal data. With data proliferation through new connective technologies - such as ibeacons providing personalised offers in the physical retail space - customers will become increasingly aware of the amount of data they are providing to organisations and how it is being used. Customers will appreciate the value within this data and how organisations are benefitting from it. As a result organisations wll need to ensure that they remain customer-centric, transparent and helpful to customers, making a clear value proposition. Initiatives such as Midata are testament to the increasing importance of this phenomenon.

The rise of digital mechanisation
We’ve already witnessed the emergence of drones, self-driving cars and robots being used for medical procedures; however, this is only the beginning. Over the coming years, digital machines are set to increasingly replace the activities of people. Robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning are all advances which will eventually enable ‘human’ jobs to be replaced by sophisticated, automated systems. For example, retail stores will begin to offer customers the opportunity to view and ‘handle’ items and deals on the shelves, remotely. Advances in cognitive computing will mean that more service interactions will be done by machines. And your computerised call centre agent won’t just be offering you advice on how to reboot your computer; they’ll be empathising with you and providing emotional support alongside the technical.

Enhancing the digital human
As the more transactional work we do is replaced by machines, ‘real’ human resources will be able to focus on more challenging and mentally stimulating work. The digitally-enhanced human will use digital technology to do things they’ve never been able to do before. Advances in wearable technology will present an opportunity for organisations to enrich customer interactions. Home heating engineers will access customer relationship histories through their glasses whilst following digitally-augmented service procedures. Robots, drones and 3D printers will all mean that service staff will be able to create physical interactions remotely without leaving the support centre.

Disintermediation through crypto currency and other peer-to-peer relationships
Disintermediation – the removal of unnecessary agency activities in a transactional process – will become a key focus of service improvement. Crypto currency, such as Bitcoin, will be a primary technology exploited by the adopters of more peer-to-peer service experiences. Bitcoin and crypto currencies will create the opportunity for financial services organisations to be eliminated from the transaction side of finance. Crypto-currency, created on people’s computers and maintained in a ledger owned by everybody, will prove hugely transformative across all industries.

The relentless vigilance of cyber security
Developing and maintaining effective security in a post-digital world requires careful preparation and implementation. More importantly, with the world of innovation moving at an advanced pace, the idea of securing a perimeter and then sitting back comfortably will be anathema. Our connectivity and openness of our digital world makes it just too porous. Companies will need to see security as an on-going and adapting service as opposed to a reactive moment in time. By taking more of a holistic and proactive approach, incorporating social media monitoring and geographic mapping alongside sophisticated machine learning algorithms, companies will be much better equipped to deal with threats before they arrive and avoid the cyber menace.

Overcoming the data science skills gap
Data science will become the in-demand super power in our post-digital world. We already know of the skills gap in the data scientist field. Tackling this deficiency will be a key challenge for organisations and national economies over the next few years. Organisations will become more adept at identifying and sharing what combined skills they have throughout the extended enterprise – including partners – applying a more collaborative way of thinking to tackle data analytics challenges.

Outsourcing
The open-sourced digital world presents significant opportunities for outsourcers. Outsourcing can offer organisations access to the diversity of knowledge that will drive the post-digital world. However, they will need to take care in their consideration. This world will be all about agility. Building agile platforms that offer flexible service delivery within rapidly changing strategic context will be critical. As will a relentless focus on safeguarding core competences; retaining the real value-adding functions of the business model within a vibrant networked enterprise will differentiate successful businesses from digital dinosaurs.