For tech execs, 6 ways to chart a course to growth

In my 20 years as a technology researcher, few thought leadership projects have been as exciting and relevant to the changing times we live in than Accenture’s Business Futures 2021: Signals of Change, an essential radar for leaders to see and seize the future.

I was privileged to be part of the ideation phase together with 300 other research fellows, working as a team to scan for emerging business “signals” across the globe. Those ideas were later categorized, synthesized, and combined with on-the-ground insights from the broader Accenture leadership team and a survey of 2,650 C-suite executives across 18 countries and 20 industries.

What emerged were six signals of business change that are most critical for organizations to shape successful futures. These are the signals that are reshaping organizations globally, presenting opportunities—and incentives—to embrace change and find new ways to grow.

In this blog post, I look at the most compelling findings for the chief information officer (CIO), chief technology officer (CTO) and chief data officer (CDO), which can comprise the chief of data analytics and digital. While these insights are relevant right now, well into our second pandemic crisis year, it also helps us to see what lies ahead over the next three years.

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Business Futures 2021: Signals of Change

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1. Learning From the Future

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Seeing change before it happens. Rather than focus on the past for insights, leading organizations use data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) to make decisions and define strategies that anticipate the future.

Today, only 17% of CIOs are completely confident in their organization’s ability to foresee economic, environmental and behavioral changes that affect customer sentiment and demand patterns. AI and machine learning tools are often fed with historical data, which may present some challenges in anticipating the future. What’s needed is more real-time data, but only 51% of CIOs said that their organization’s employees consistently use real-time data in their day-to-day work. We see change coming, though. 76% of CIOs expect tech will make it possible for them to be completely confident in ability to foresee changes that affect sentiment and demand patterns.   

2. Pushed to the Edge

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Decentralized decision-making. Leaders responding to change and challenge by pushing decision-making authority to people at the “edges,” relying on highly networked teams to act with speed and agility.

Today leaders need to be agile for a fast-changing business environment. We found that 29% of executives say their organizations have either already or plan to (27%) decentralize the technology function of their business. In a highly fragmented economic world, the CTO, CIO, and other tech executives can shift their roles to enablers, with decisions taken by teams at the edges.

3. Sustainable Purpose

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From purpose-focused to purpose-run. Responding to the call for businesses to serve a broad set of stakeholders, organizations are building sustainability into the fabric of their operations—and making social responsibility sustainable.

Companies are being scrutinized like never before. Sustainability is often mentioned on earnings calls; yet there’s a big gap between word and action looking at ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) rankings for Fortune 500 companies. That’s changing, with 96% of respondents saying their processes and corporate policies include responsible practices or will within three years. Moreover, the consolidated view of our research demonstrates that those with the most deeply embedded sustainability management practices outperform peers by 21% on both profitability and positive environmental and societal outcomes.

4. Supply Unbounded

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Breaking the physical limits of fulfillment. To meet growing customer needs for fast, flexible, cost effective, and sustainable order fulfillment, companies are restructuring their supply chains and moving production to the point of demand.

New technologies help to minimize the impact of distance or borders on businesses. Consider 3D printing to make components in-situ, significantly reducing materials and labor movement and allowing for faster expansion, or last-mile initiatives like micro-fulfillment centers with smaller footprints or use of drones and autonomous vehicles for delivery. The CIO, CTO and CDO all have a crucial role in preparing for a more resilient supply chain.

5. Real Virtualities

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Redefining reality and place. As virtual environments enhance our physical worlds and redefine our sense of place, innovative organizations create new ways for people to work, consume, and socialize.

The virtual world is becoming more realistic, and the physical world is becoming augmented by virtuality. As 5G connectivity becomes more of a reality in every country, virtual realities will become even more present in our daily lives. CIOs have no choice but to help organizations to create experiences that capture consumers’ evolving demand. Almost half (49%) of consumers are ready to switch to another provider if they provide virtual try-out tools and/or shopping advisory services via digital channels, according to our research. AR/VR is scaling up in the tech priorities agenda. Some 88% of tech executives say their organizations are investing in technologies to create virtual environments; with 96% planning to invest further. They also recognize security and privacy as the main risks that could arise from the wider adoption of virtual environments.

6. The New Scientific Method

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Become a scientific company. As scientific disruption enables the creation of better, cheaper, and more sustainable products and services, leading companies will become scientific companies—and apply science to tackle the world’s fundamental challenges.

In the future, every company will need to become a scientific company to profit from innovation. As a result, most tech executives say that their organization is piloting or scaling the use of quantum, robotics, or new energy solutions, as the top three areas, with plans to further scale investments in these areas over the next three years. CIOs and CTOs need to have this at the top of their agenda, piloting, and scaling use of these scientific advancements.

A changing future, brimming with opportunities

The one thing that is certain is change. And so, we will continue to study and report back on the most relevant signals of change to help leaders as they face new challenges and opportunities. Decisions made over the next 12 to 18 months could mean the difference between thriving and struggling to survive in the next five years. The Signals of Change help leaders chart their best courses to profitable growth.

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