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magazine
06
Top-performing organisations – i.e. those in the
highest quartile for annual revenue, growth,
profitability and innovation as well as revenue
growth of more than 5% in the last 12 months
– show greater mastery of digital technologies
than competitors, Pricewaterhouse Coopers US
claims in a new report.
Examples of such mastery include offering mobile
tools for customers, measuring data through social
media, mobilising applications to the public cloud and
using business intelligence more cleverly.
Two thirds (63%) of executives surveyed said
their greatest challenge lay in their inability to gather,
understand and act on customer data: 58% cited
an inability to adopt new information technologies
quickly enough.
PwC has identified four technology-related truths
that it says enterprises must build upon to increase
their Digital IQ:
n
Everyone is now a mobile consumer.
Executives
must recognize that people’s expectations are
affected by consumer-driven technologies.
Employees want the tools they use for work to be
as good as those they use in their personal lives,
and customers expect to interact with firms on the
platform and devices of their choice. PwC says that
while many firms are focused on developing better
mobile tools for their workers, they are under-
investing in solutions for their customers: only 45%
of all respondents say they interact with customers
significantly using mobile channels.
n
Social media is a critical data source.
Social
media creates a channel to engage clients and build
loyalty. This information can be instrumental in
wringing greater value out of existing products while
providing invaluable insight as new products are
developed. Despite this, most companies have yet to
embrace the benefits these tools can provide: only
37% have invested in social media tools to reach
customers.
n
Moving business applications to the public cloud
can make your organisation more competitive.
The development of the cloud is arguably the
strongest driver of the consumerisation of IT. Cloud
computing allows consumers to access information
on the internet, solve complex problems, organise
events on the fly and perform hundreds of
complicated tasks, all from their mobile phones.
Among respondents that identify their organisations
as top performers, 30% are investing in public
cloud applications and 87% expect that investment
to increase in 2012. Private cloud investments
still outweigh the public realm, suggesting that
companies are embracing a hybrid approach.
n
You can gain greater insight from business data
by working from the outside in
. The wealth of
information created outside an organisation is
quickly outpacing that of the corporate world.
Executives must think more broadly about how to
use external data to provide critical insight into
operations, product development and customer
strategies. Top performing companies invest more
in data than organisations whose performance does
not stand out: 55% of all companies surveyed said
they will be investing more in the coming year to
collect customer data and 43% say they will invest
more to measure operational performance.
www.pwc.com/us/digitalIQ
The global Tablet PC market
reached 15.5 million shipments
in Q3, 2011, according to
Futuresource Consulting’s
Tablet Tracking report, up from
4.5 million in Q3, 2010. The
research organisation says
that the success of tablets
demonstrates how a product
with little consumer demand
prior to launch can quickly
become a ‘must have’ product.
Futuresource expects major
sporting events in 2012, such as
the Olympics and Euro 2012, to
boost the uptake of tablets as
consumers seek to keep track of
results while away from home on
devices with larger screens than
a smartphone for viewing TV
content.
It predicts strong growth
throughout the forecast period
to 2015, driven by ever more
apps and mobile content for
tablets; declining prices; product
replacement as consumers look
to update and modernise; and
multiple ownership per household.
www.futuresource-consulting.com
Nine out of 10 use
their iPad for work
Nine out of 10 (91%) IT and
business professionals use their
iPad for work purposes, with
most using it more for work than
leisure, according to a worldwide
survey by IDG Connect.
Nearly a quarter of respondents
said their iPad was supplied by their
employer, a figure that climbs sharply
in Africa (47%) and Europe (40%).
More than half (51%) said that they
always used the device at work.
Other findings were that:
• 97% of professionals use the iPad
for reading;
• 70% + now buy fewer physical
books and newspapers;
• 72% of iPad owners carry their
laptop less; and
• 66% say the iPad has partially or
completely replaced their laptop.
The survey also revealed strong
loyalty to Apple, with 83% stating
they would not consider buying a
different tablet device next time.
Mastering digital technology
is fastest route to growth
Olympics to boost tablet sales
Sporting events like the London
Olympics 2012 will drive demand
for tablets. Photo courtsey
London 2012
agenda
The Toshiba
Excite was one
of many tablets
shown at
January’s 2012
International
Consumer Electronics
Show (CES). Turn to page 20 for a
selection of other CES highlights.
Powerful mobile devices
like the Nokia Lumia 800
Windows phone, now
available in white, have
turned everyone into a
mobile consumer.
www.nokia.com/lumia800