Disruptive technology forces change

BNZ Bank chief executive Andrew Thorburn. Photo / HOS

The impact of disruptive technologies is forcing many companies to rethink they way they do business.

Sixty-four per cent of CEO respondents to the Mood of the Boardroom survey say they are grappling with such changes.

And 97 per cent say they are making greater use of technology to drive productivity increases.

"Cloud computing and Software as a Service combined with better broadband will revolutionise IT services and lift productivity for New Zealand companies," says a tech sector boss.

Mainfreight's Don Braid says "the emergence of online trading has meant a change in the way we view this in the supply chain and the way we view who the customer is."

"Online retailing and digital marketing are significant disruptive issues in retail," reports a major retailer.

BNZ's Andrew Thorburn says technology has increased customer engagement dramatically. "It has allowed customers to do business quite differently.

"We are part of this world now and need to understand it, and invest more time/money in it."

Interestingly, 36 per cent of chief executives say their businesses have competitively benefited from disruptive technologies affecting "legacy industries".

Fifty-nine per cent of CEO respondents say their company faces, or plans to make, strategic changes to optimise their digital infrastructure in the next 12 months.

Sixty-three per cent have plans to drive engagement through social media and 16 per cent are looking at outsourcing functions like call centres.

CEOs report their businesses are moving to make greater use of technology through The Cloud, data mining, the "internet of things" and to drive productivity. Forty-one per cent say their businesses are moving to converge with other industries.

Says Siemens' Paul Ravlich "Our technology is helping to create the internet of things."

Auckland Airport's Adrian Littlewood says "Over the next couple of decades I think the world is about to embark on a huge new wave of productivity gains resulting from the 'internet of things' - the ability to measure everything and closely match supply and demand side needs."

• Cloud Computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).

• The internet of Things refers to uniquely identifiable objects and their virtual representations in an internet-like structure.

CEOS are moving to

• 74 per cent Make greater use of The Cloud'
• 63 per cent Explore data mining
• 60 per cent Utilise the "internet of things"