The past decade has been a period of unusually rapid change and disruption as organizations worldwide have implemented a breadth of technology solutions to transform how they understand their customers, empower employees and optimize operations.
A research by Microsoft named State of Tech Intensity 2019 Study makes clear that as the 2010s give way to the 2020s, organizations are moving beyond adopting the latest applications and are developing their own proprietary digital capabilities to help propel success and gain a competitive advantage.
According to this study of 700 executives and decision-makers, organizations are betting on the power of advanced technologies and an entrepreneurial mindset to build their own unique digital capabilities.
“In the process, they’re essentially becoming technology companies themselves as they drive progress and innovation in their industries. We refer to this approach as ‘tech intensity,’ and we strongly believe it is what will determine an organization’s future success,” says Deb Cupp, corporate vice president, Worldwide Enterprise and Commercial Industries, Microsoft.
According to the study, tech intensity is a key competitive driver and will have a significant impact on global communities and organizational culture. 75% of respondents believe that harnessing tech intensity is the most effective way to build competitive advantage both in the present and in the future. There is also an agreement that tech intensity will be a catalyst for ongoing disruption.
When it comes to the extent to which companies have already embraced tech intensity, the study says that 73% of companies are already creating their own first-party intellectual property using next-generation technologies such as machine learning (39%), IoT (37%), AI (32%), blockchain (29%) and mixed reality (21%).
Another key finding of the study is the effect of tech intensity on organizational culture. Staying on the cutting edge of technologic progress is essential to retaining talent, according to the study which says that 92% of those surveyed agree it is important or very important to work for an organization that keeps up with software and application trends.
The research says that tech intensity will have a positive impact on global communities. 36% of those surveyed expressed confidence that tech intensity will actually make the global economic playing field more level.
The study highlights tech intensity’s potential to offer better public services at lower costs, bring improved connectivity in rural areas and reduce corporate waste. Other key areas where respondents expect to see improvements include health care, consumer safety, worker safety and access to financial services.