Table Of ContentNew World Technologies
2020 and Beyond
Errol S. van Engelen
New World Technologies: 2020 and Beyond
Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2019.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
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First published in 2019 by
Business Expert Press, LLC
222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017
www.businessexpertpress.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-94897-686-2 (paperback)
ISBN-13: 978-1-94897-687-9 (e-book)
Business Expert Press Big Data and Business Analytics Collection
Collection ISSN: 2333-6749 (print)
Collection ISSN: 2333-6757 (electronic)
Cover and interior design by Exeter Premedia Services Private Ltd.,
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First edition: 2019
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Printed in the United States of America.
Abstract
In today’s high-pressured world, digital transformation is everywhere on the agendas of
corporate boards and has risen to the top of CEOs’ strategic plans. Artificial intelligence,
blockchain, 3D printing, the Internet of Things, and drones are some of the emerging
technologies that are already transforming our world. In this fast changing domain—predicted
by few and now reality for all—how can companies transform today’s challenges into tomorrow’s
opportunities?
This book is targeted to help a broad audience such as students, professionals, business and
technology managers to transform an old-world brick and mortar organization to a new-world
digital leader. The author addresses various questions including: What essential components
does digital transformation include, and how does it impact the enterprise?
How does convergence of emerging technologies benefit your organization? How can you start
transformation and technology planning projects?
Keywords
3D printing; artificial intelligence; augmented and virtual reality; blockchain; digital
transformation; drones; emerging technologies; Internet of Things; robotics; technology
planning
Preface
This book is for everyone in Business and Technology, interested in Digital Transformation
and Emerging Technologies
When I started writing this book, many different ideas crossed my mind. On one hand, it’s
obvious that technology makes our life a lot easier and therefore has a positive impact on society
and business. On the other hand, certain technologies outsmart humanity and threaten our
survival as the leaders on the planet, scary, but also a feasible scenario. No one can say right now
with total certainty what’s going to happen within the next 30 or 40 years.
But let’s look at technology in a positive way though. You may have heard this phrase about fast
pacing technology “There have been more changes in technology in the past two years than the
previous fifty years.” While it’s clear that changes in our business models don’t have the same
speed. For this reason, it’s necessary to select new technology very carefully to stay in line with
your slower changing business models.
Many managers are wondering how to deal with the overload of technologies and are afraid to
select the wrong technology to improve their business. Since they own the technology budgets,
they need to be sure that the money will be spent wisely. But unfortunately sometimes they
overlook difficulties in selecting new technology.
In general, large enterprises are well positioned to adopt innovative, new technologies, and
jump into this brave new world. The ecosystems around them such as vendors and partners are
more than willing to support. And even with tight budgets, large companies have sufficient
funding and resources for projects. Whereas small and medium businesses normally don’t have
sufficient resources to hire external experts to advise on the right technologies. So they are going
to try it themselves. And that can lead to disappointment, because they may lack the required
knowledge.
Layout of the Content
I have focused on the most impacting new technologies. The technology area is so big that it’s
fairly impossible to mention them all. That’s why the technologies you will find here are very
likely to have a big impact on business and society. When deciding “what technologies to write
about,” I felt most inspired by the “Eight Essential Technologies” published by
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
I’ve structured the content in four chapters:
Chapter 1 is a holistic view of digital transformation which is causing many disruptions both in
business and technology. Big data is at the core of this transformation process, while emerging
technologies specialize in specific areas.
In Chapter 2, I focus on connectivity technologies in which I include blockchain, Internet of
Things, augmented and virtual reality. These technologies can be powered by big data, converge
with each other and have impact in various industries.
In Chapter 3, I focus on intelligence technologies in which I include 3D printing, artificial
intelligence, drones and robotics. Again, these technologies can be powered by big data,
converge with one another and have impact in various industries.
Chapter 4 is about digital transformation planning, which helps to reduce complexity when
starting or enhancing a digital transformation project. The approach I find most useful is a mix
of methodologies such as SOSTAC and Business Model Canvas.
®
Acknowledgments
I want to thank everyone who helped in the creation of my book. In technology projects, many in
the role of client, employer, or colleague helped me directly or indirectly to obtain the proper
image of the impact technology has on business. I would also thank the many online experts and
content publishers who increased my knowledge of technology.
I hope you enjoy reading while improving your business and technology skills and knowledge
with New World Technologies World: 2020 And Beyond.
Errol S. van Engelen
Rotterdam, January 2019
CHAPTER 1
Digital Transformation
Over the past several years, the term “digital transformation” has entered the realm of
enterprise IT. Digital transformation is frequently misinterpreted and misunderstood. What
does “digital transformation” really mean? What essential components does it include, and how
does it impact the enterprise? Figure 1.1 illustrates that digital transformation should be
regarded as business transformation.
The Global Center for Digital Business Transformation says that “organizational change is the
foundation of digital business transformation.” That’s because changing the nature of an
organization means changing the way people work, challenging their mindsets and the daily
work processes and strategies that they rely upon. While these present the most difficult
problems, they also yield the most worthwhile rewards, allowing a business to become more
efficient, data-driven, and nimble, taking advantage of more business opportunities.
In my opinion, there are three essential components for businesses going through digital
transformation efforts.
Figure 1.1 Digital transformation is business transformation
Engagement
Through content marketing, you can educate your customers about topics important to them
and eventually your business offerings. It gives your brand a voice to engage with your target
audience and establish a strong, trustworthy relationship with them. Setting up real good
engagement with your audience is not as simple as it may look like. Sure, one of the main
reasons for brilliant content creation is ultimately to create leads and increase revenue. But it
shouldn’t come across that way. No one likes being pressurized into buying something without
having the time to research or think about it first. Instead of trying to sell to your audience, try
to help them. Your customer will be coming to you because they are looking for a product that
you provide. So, producing content that answers their questions surrounding that product will
build trust and leave a lasting impression.
Exposure
Going viral on social media is what every business wants to do. All the attention and all the
respect can take your business to the next level. The problem is doing it. I’m a regular follower of
social media and I’ve experimented with different strategies to garner more interactions. This is
how you can improve exposure and reach:
• More content is better than less, but too much content is not the name of the game
• Client engagement is your goal, drive traffic to the best-converting pages
• Connect with your customers—let them speak to their needs and drive trust and reach for
your brand by leveraging their experiences as part of your Social Media and Content strategy
• Identify opportunities to repurpose your existing content to drive active visitor and
audience participation
Technology
Without implementing the right technologies, it would be fairly impossible to successfully
migrate from a traditional business to a digital company. The most important technologies to
use are marketing automation, big data, and business intelligence. Big data empowers other
emerging technologies such as blockchain, Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality, 3D
printing, artificial intelligence, drones and robotics.
Many of the discussions surrounding digital transformation have focused on the technology:
mobile applications, cloud platforms, artificial intelligence, big data, and so on. However, having
the technological foundation to support such innovations is only one piece of the digital
transformation puzzle.
To fully embrace this growing trend and reap all the benefits it offers, corporations need to make
a major change to their company culture. Digital transformation is about more than just
adopting new technologies: It’s about reinventing your business to be driven by data—and that
starts with your team.
Think Business Transformation, Not Technology
In the business world, everyone is talking about digital transformation—from AI to robots to the
Internet of Things. But according to many top experts in the field, most people are missing the
point.
Technology doesn’t provide value to a business. Instead, technology’s value comes from doing
business differently because technology makes it possible. I would like to refer to George
Westerman’s MIT Sloan Management Review article, “Your Company Doesn’t Need a Digital
Strategy.” Creating a digital strategy can focus the organization in ways that don’t capture the
true value of digital transformation. Westerman, who is a Principal Research Scientist with the
MIT Sloan Initiative on the Digital Economy, suggests that the right focus is on a better strategy
that is enabled by digital.
Focus on Strategic Transformation, Not Technology Adoption
According to Westerman, technology helps you do business differently, but the right strategy is
not technology-focused. It incorporates the right technologies for the right jobs. Regardless of
your industry, Westerman suggests keeping these four points in mind to avoid common pitfalls.
Get Away from Silo Thinking
Focusing on the technology can direct aspirations toward what technology can do (mobile, big
data, virtual reality, and so on) rather than what a transformed business should look like. For
example, a mobile strategy comes to a screeching halt when the company fails to consider
opportunities that are not enabled by mobile. This kind of incremental thinking misses much
bigger opportunities across silos.
Don’t Push the Envelope Too Far, Too Fast
Looking too far forward toward advanced digital innovations can make other technologies seem
mundane. However, business leaders leave easy money on the table if they ignore incremental
steps and pursue risky opportunities that may not be ready to pay off yet.
Don’t Ask Your Tech Leaders to Drive Transformation Alone
Even the best IT leaders won’t be able to transform a business if they don’t run that part of the
business. “While I’ve seen many successful digital transformations led by great tech leaders, the
transformation comes from working with them, not asking them to do it alone,” writes
Westerman.
Build Essential Leadership Capabilities, Not Just Technical Ones
Think of digital transformation not as a project but as a capability. When you focus on
transformation instead of digital, you shift the weight to creating real business value from
technological innovations.
Digital Maturity Matters in Every Industry
Digital maturity (see Figure 1.2) is a combination of two separate but related dimensions. The
first, digital intensity, is investment in technology-enabled initiatives to change how the company
operates—its customer engagements, internal operations, and even business models. Companies
in all industries are investing in interesting digital initiatives. However, in many firms, these
investments are uncoordinated and sometimes duplicative. Firms maturing in the second
dimension, transformation management intensity, are creating the leadership capabilities necessary to
drive digital transformation in the organization. Transformation intensity consists of the vision
to shape a new future, governance, and engagement to steer the course, and IT and business
relationships to implement technology-based change.
Figure 1.2 Digital maturity matrix
Source: Capgemini consulting and MIT center for digital business, 2012
Beginners
Pharmaceuticals: Executives see threat in digital transformation but less opportunity than other
industries do, perhaps because of regulation. Many are building capabilities in analytics and
worker enablement, but most firms are just beginning their digital journeys, leaving many
opportunities untapped.
Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG): Digital opens new possibilities for firms to engage directly
with customers. Twenty-four percent of firms surveyed stand out as digital masters, while others
lag far behind. Generally, less-mature CPG firms can improve through stronger visions, greater
digital investments and more robust transformation management.
Manufacturing: Traditionally slow to react to digital, manufacturing is on the cusp of emerging
from “beginner” status. Efforts in digital remain focused on operational efficiencies and worker
enablement, but the B2B nature of many companies may limit their attention to digital
customer engagement. Manufacturers see less opportunity and threat in digital transformation
than other industries. To mature, firms may need a transformative digital vision, plus the
engagement and governance to develop impetus for digital investments.
Conservatives
Insurance: High expectations for digital and strong vision and governance suggest that the
insurers should be leading the digital revolution. Yet, this is not the case for most firms.
Generally, scores for engaging customers through social media and mobile are lower than
average, suggesting that the combination of strong digital governance capabilities, regulatory
worries, and a risk-averse culture would not be an innovation enabler.
