According to a research study conducted by Oracle with Dr. Micheal Mendel, an advisor to successive US governments, it was found that the GDP in the US could be increased by 2 trillion dollars if all the organizations adopted emerging technologies. With the rise of autonomous technology, the cost of manufacturing will dramatically reduce.
Technologies bank on economies of innovation i.e. steps taken to automate everything intelligently. We are entering the last mile of motivation, where everything that can be done by software and machines will be done by them. We are already seeing live examples- Ford uses robot arms to weld car parts. A Swedish dairy cheese manufacturer is using robots to milk cows. Of course, these technology interventions need human interventions from time to time- sometimes the cows get uncomfortable with the machines and have to be nudged around! This is the key difference between man and machine, and a lesson in learning about emerging technologies.
The Need for Emerging Technology
When the QWERTY keyboard was introduced to reduce our typing speeds to prevent keyboard-jams, but the future generations would not even need to type. They would simply talk and the computer would do the typing for them. Emerging technology is about new possibilities, new products, and eventually new businesses. Every organization would capitalize on the data they create to turn it into revenue streams. This monetization of data has the power to change lives like never before.
One company decided to move their accounting function from one city to another. 93% of the incumbents left, and the company recreated the function in the new city with 50% headcount, plus they closed their accounting books on time. Such a humongous business change is simply not possible with traditional technologies. This is a fundamental change in business which needs to leverage a generation shift in computing so as to respond and accelerate change the right way.
These are simple stories of how innovative thinking can change lives. The impact and cost savings are phenomenal, thanks to emerging technology. The right combination of technology, people and ideas is a must-have to stay competitive.
Overcoming the Challenges
With the rate of change of technology, come many challenges as follows:
- Security issues: One of the challenges that organizations must overcome is that of security concerns. 85% of the cyber-attacks have a patch available in more than one year. 75% of businesses are taking three months to implement a patch and 75% of the recent cyber incidents were caused by a failure to patch an attack. Businesses must tackle security issues on priority.
- Integration: Deploying AI across multiple business functions is essential, and this cannot be done piecemeal. Emerging technology should be an omni-channel initiative, businesses must start doing it. For this, they must embrace an overhaul of infrastructure, processes, systems etc.
- Change management: Adopting emerging technologies is a huge change, and the whole organization has to be taught to embrace this change.
- Skills upgrade: In a new world of emerging technology, how do you train people to perform with the technology in place? What are the skills required? How do different employee groups (such as different generations) fit in this skill outlook for the new-tech age? These are the questions organizations must ask themselves if they were to get ahead on the emerging technology bandwagon. For example, with AI, recruiting is subject to change, how can companies use technology as a talent magnet for better employer branding?
Most importantly, the focus in an emerging-tech age needs to be on innovation. Cultivating an innovation-mindset is core to ensuring adoption of technology, and to deriving the advantages that emerging technologies offer. Most companies are starting to explore these areas of MI, but it won’t be long before AI disrupts the very ways of people and organizational management.
This article is based on a session by Steve Cox, Group Vice President, Oracle ERP and EPM Product Marketing at the Oracle Impact Conference.