May 13, 2012
In a previous post, I suggested that a business should evalute “shocks” to its architecture. So what “shocks” can a business expect in the future? Thomas Friedman’s, The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century analyzes the history of globalization and presents ten “flatteners” which suggests that the world is increasingly a level playing field in terms of commerce. Many, if not all of these 10 themes, are rooted in information technology or digitization: the Personal Computer, fiber optic cabling, HTML, browser, open-source paradigm, workflow software, search engines and VOIP.
Friedman’s original remedy, subsequent publications and various critiques focus attention on individual skill development and associated government training programs. While certainly interesting and obviously important at the national level, how should the modern-day business organization contend with these 10 flattening “forces?” And, perhaps more significant, how should business entities prepare for the unpredictable and dynamic “shocks” that will undoubtedly affect them in the future?
In fact, since Friedman’s original thesis, the Internet continues to enable the reshaping of the global marketplace and digitization of industries. Cloud computing, social media, mobility and data along with its related kin (i.e., business intelligence, predicative analytics and big data) are increasingly helping to fuel the acceleration and complete digitization of business activities, from product development to customer collaboration. And, infused among the twin powers of globalization and digital technologies new government regulations, industry compliance requirements and other market forces continue to surface.
So, the challenge is increasingly how quickly can a business change, re-orient, or transform its business to successfully navigate the current and future competitive market space?