No wonder Marc Andreessen quipped a couple of years ago
that software is eating up the world.
And it's not just industries.
Fundamental business functions, such as R&D and
product development are being digitized.
Here's a snapshot from one of my research papers that looks at
how the patent stock of companies has qualitatively evolved over time.
What this picture is telling you is that the proportion of information and
communication technology patents in the average firm's patent
portfolio increased nearly threefold since the mid-90s.
What that means is products of diverse firms
across a wide array of industries are being digitized.
The days when you could repair your own car, long gone.
That's because your car is no longer the bundle
of mechanical components that it used to be.
Software runs the engines, software controls safety features, and
software entertains passengers, guides drivers to destinations, and
connects each car to mobile, satellite, and gps networks.
If industries and
fundamental business functions are being transformed by information technology,
then all firms, including incumbents in in these industries, need
to place information technology at the center of their strategy and operations.
As General Electric CEO, Jeffrey Immelt noted in his letters to shareholders
in 2013, every industrial company will become a software company.
And that vision of firms requires a shift in thinking about IT,
and it requires a transformation of the IT function.
What do I mean by that?
Well, in the past, IT was a support function in firms.
The IT organization was peripheral to business strategy, it focused on
automation of transaction intensive processes, and IT was a cost center.
However, in the competitive environment that I just described,
IT moves center stage.
It is central to business strategy, product differentiation, and
market performance of firms.
This cost center drives innovation in firms, and
is now transformed to being a key competitive asset.
Yet firms are unprepared for this transformation.
Various industry reports of the like quoted here tell you that IT managers and
leaders strongly believe that they have a critical role to play
in the transformation of their companies.
However, they also believe equally strongly that they and
their IT organizations are unprepared for this transformation.
A sentiment that is reflected in this Gartner survey.
Yet, an understanding of the role of IT in creating competitive value and
transforming companies is critical.
It's no wonder that companies today are working harder than ever to prepare for
a digital future.
A recent survey by MIT Sloane management review and the Lloyd Consulting, found
that companies are strengthening cultures, re-configuring processes and capabilities,
and aggressively developing talent that will steer them into the future.
And what is the nature of this talent?
Survey respondents emphasized that leading a digital company
does not require technologists at the helm.
Instead, a bulk of the respondents highlighted managerial attributes,
such as having a transformative vision, being a forward thinker,
having a change-oriented mindset.
And other leadership and collaborative skills as critical attributes of
the talent that they seek in responding to a digital future.
And the bulk of them believed that their organizations
did not have these skills in-house.
In fact, 70% of the respondents said that their organizations need a new or
completely different talent base to compete in the digital economy.
This course on digital transformations addresses these very talent needs
of organizations that compete in a fast paced, dynamic digital world.
This course is not about hardware, software, or networks.
It's about IT-enabled business models and capabilities and
how you can leverage them to drive competitive advantage.
There are four modules in this course, and each will empower you with the skill and
capability that is invaluable in competing using technology.
In the first module, you will learn about some of the technological forces
that are leading disruption in today's business environment.
And you'll also gain insights into why encumbrance in an industry,
like Blockbuster or Borders, failed to recognize or
respond to change that is potentially disruptive to their industries.
At the end of that module, you will be able to recognize technology-led
disruptions in your own industry, and the shifts that are required
in your organization to respond to these potential disruptions.
The second module will talk to you about platform mediated business networks.
A class of business models that characterize a variety of digital goods
companies like Facebook, Apple, Amazon, etc.
Knowledge of this class of business models will help you design business models for
digital goods, as well as compete with them effectively.
The third module highlights the role of IT in designing
information capabilities that provide end-to-end visibility in your value chain.
A capability that drives the competitive advantage
of companies like Walmart and Amazon.
We will outline the ingredients of this secret sauce, so
you can design supply chains that transform your cost of operations.
Finally, the fourth module of the course will talk
about a class of technologies called Network IT.
Network IT facilitates unstructured interactions in the firm, and
in the process, aggregates information and
knowledge that is dispersed across the firm.
You will learn about leveraging Network IT as well as network analytics to radically
improve information flows and decision making in your firm.
I'm very excited to make this journey with you, I hope you are too.
We will start with a module on technology-led industry disruptions.
That's up next, see you soon.
[MUSIC]
Deepa ManiAssociate Professor and Executive Director, Srini Raju Centre for IT and the Networked Economy
