There was a time, when someone mentioned (or wailed about) a "business disruption," it either referred to a labor strike or a server shutdown.
Today, "disruptive" has taken on a whole new meaning in the corporate vernacular. It's something that's a game-changer, and if your business doesn't adapt or adopt it, the change could be going out of business — a phrase that still means what it meant back in the day.
A survey by KPMG reveals a fair amount about how large corporations view disruptors. Three-quarters of those in the survey say disruptors will be an ongoing part of the corporate experience. Yet only 17 percent agreed that their employers were positioned to withstand or benefit from a major disruption.
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Based on responses to the survey questions, following are the Top Five Potential Disruptors to their businesses:
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Regulatory and legislative complexity and increasing rules (71 percent)
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Shifts in security, including an emphasis on cyber security (63 percent)
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Instantaneous and ubiquitous data access (60 percent)
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Digital/mobile-enabled workforce and consumers (58 percent)
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Global access to talent and skills (49 percent)
"To deal with these disruptions, executives from the fastest-growing businesses said they are investing in emerging technology, industry-specific technology, and specialized talent at a much higher rate than their slower-growing counterparts," KPMG said.
Comparing fast-growing vs. slow-growing firm responses to disruptors, KPMG reported:
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34 percent of fast-growers are investing in talent with emerging technology expertise vs. 17 percent for slower-growing firms;
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30 percent vs. 18 percent are investing in talent with industry expertise;
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25 percent vs. 19 percent are utilizing cloud computing such as IaaS, PaaS and SaaS;
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39 percent of faster-growing firms vs. 29 percent spend more time leveraging industry-specific technology advancements.
One area where the fast-growing companies spend less time on than their plodding counterparts is updating legacy systems. That's because they tend to scrap legacy systems in favor of new ones.
Those surveyed ranked the Top Five Disruptors they saw as creating the most opportunity for their businesses as:
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Instantaneous/ubiquitous data access;
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Digitally enabled consumers;
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Multi-generational workforce;
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Global business complexity in their industry;
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Accelerated growth of enterprises.
"The fastest-growing and the most profitable organizations are increasingly — and smartly — leveraging these disruptors to continually deploy new business models, accelerate decision-making, convert data into valuable knowledge and focus on the customer," said Steve Chase, KPMG's U.S. advisory management consulting leader.
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
