A few years ago, you could see the competition coming. Not anymore. Digital invaders can come from anywhere, anytime.

Competitors now look and feel so much different. No industries are immune to digital disruption. It’s starting to change the way entire industries are thinking about things. If you focus only on the thing that you know, you will miss the thing that’s coming at you from the left or the right. You have to be willing to be disruptive. Learn fast, scale rapidly. You have to make big strategic bets.

Via PR Newswire, Armonk, N.Y. – 03 Nov 2015:
The trend of “uberization” or industry disruption caused by an unlikely competitor has become a dominant concern of the C-suite, finds a new IBM (NYSE: IBM) study. In just two years, the percentage of C-suite leaders who expect to contend with competition from outside their industry increased by more than a quarter — rising from 43 percent in 2013 to 54 percent today.

The IBM study, “Redefining Boundaries: Insights from the Global C-suite Study,” is based on findings from more than 5,200 CEOs, CMOs, CFOs, CIOs and other C-suite leaders across 21 industries in more than 70 countries. The respondents — most of whom participated in face-to-face interviews — represent a wide range of public and private enterprises.

Conducted by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, the report reveals that CxOs now expect industry convergence to be the primary force impacting their business in the next three to five years and that the highest-performing enterprises place greater priority on cognitive capabilities than market-followers.

“When it comes to the competition, C-suite leaders clearly have a new threat to consider — one that is often invisible until it is too late,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. “At the same time, the highest performers see advances in areas like cognitive computing and systems that can sense and learn as the key to dealing with disruptive events, showing a path forward for all executives.”

Access the full C-suite Study

For more information about how Flagship can prepare you for unlikely competitors, contact us at (561) 208-FYI1 (3941).

Stay connected online:

FacebookTwitterLinkedInInstagram