Accenture_Technology_Vision_2014

TREND 2: FROM WORKFORCE TO CROWDSOURCEGiven that so much collaboration happens throughdigital channels, there is the potential for almost limitlesscollaboration with everyone else who is connected to theInternet—regardless of whether they are “our” employeeor not. Which raises a crucial question for business andIT leaders: “Are we missing out by not connecting to this‘expanded workforce,’ everywhere and in all directions?”The short answer is “yes.”Digital connectionplatformsMore and more digital platforms are available that makeit easier to connect to what Accenture calls the expandedworkforce. Kaggle is just one of these; others includeAmazon’s Mechanical Turk, along with services such asElance and oDesk. All of these can be considered onlinelabor markets. They help companies that have tasks thatneed to be accomplished connect with resources thathave the right experience, ability, and time.Although many organizations are experiencing thebenefits of digitally enabled forums such as innovationexchanges and crowdsourcing platforms, few executivesyet fully grasp the idea of being able to access a trulyliquid workforce—pools of premier talent gathered invirtual communities and coalescing around specificbusiness problems. This expanded workforce likely offersnot only expertise that is not immediately available inhousebut also real scale. It can be leveraged to solveproblems that may be too large or too expensive to solveinternally.Name almost any challenge—early detection of driverdrowsiness or the predictability of drug targets orelectric-only updates to hybrid cars—and there areoften already communities of experts that companiescan leverage to competently address it. The individualsinvolved may be around the corner or on the other sideof the world; what they have in common is not only theexperience and expertise to solve the problem but themotivation—in many cases the passion—to do so.The tasks involved may be as simple as data entry oras complex as industrial design. The individuals—theproblem solvers—may work on a project or just partof a project. They may be paid; they may compete forprizes. But whatever their incentives and their spheres ofinterest, the unifying feature is that their contributionsare made possible with digital tools.ACCENTURE TECHNOLOGY VISION 201431