Accenture_Technology_Vision_2014

INTRODUCTIONWhen boundaries blur8A huge shift is under way. Boundaries are blurring inmany dimensions—not just between IT leaders and theirbusiness colleagues, but between digital assets andphysical resources and between enterprises and theircustomers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. IT strategyand business strategy are no longer separate; they havebecome inseparable. It’s this kind of mindset that we seeacross the digital spectrum.In many ways, digital is unlocking a renaissance for largecompanies, allowing them to reconnect with what madethem industry leaders in the first place. There is a vastvariety of opportunity before them. Just as technologyleveled the field for the newcomers of the last decade, sothe incumbents can now leverage those same forces ofdigital democratization to charge back. Lower barriers toentry for one are lower barriers to entry for all. Many willuse their new digital prowess as a potent differentiator—resetting the bar for consumer interactions, for instance,or providing unprecedented levels of supply chaineffectiveness, or perhaps developing groundbreaking newpricing models.Hallmarks of tomorrow’sdigital disruptersThe concept of the “fast follower” is becoming obsolete.In a world of nonstop change, there is no time to catchup. Instead, we expect the emerging digital leaders tobe master orchestrators—uniquely able to strive forconvergence on a huge scale as they capitalize on a widearray of technology breakthroughs to rapidly advanceand innovate with their systems and strategies.In turn, this new pace will force corporate leaders tothink about new operating models that might yieldfurther advantage. Here too, many experiments are underway—from new cross-functional roles for data scientiststo chief digital officers whose influence extends beyondthe four walls of the enterprise.#techvision2014