Page 135 - SAMENA Trends - June-August 2021

ARTICLE SAMENA TRENDS

ARTICLE

Digital Disruption

The digital revolution that we see evolve in front of our eyes,
has applications and systems that are collecting, distributing
and making available massive amounts of data to almost any
situation, which can be reproduced infinitely at virtually zero cost
and used for significant productivity gains. The impact of this
digital revolution will have on society and economies is likely to be
as dramatic, if not bigger than the previous industrial revolutions.
The World Economic Forum estimates point to more than US$10
trillion of value from digitization in five key global industries over
the next decade. In 2018, McKinsey Global Institute, estimated
1
that an additional $13 trillion could be added to global GDP by
2030 through digitization, automation, and Artificial Intelligence
(AI). 2

To transform the organization, requires a
break out from the old model, old people,
old metrics and old investment profiles.
Digital transformation is not just about
bringing cross-functional teams and IT

systems together, but also about bringing
cross-functional data together.

What’s new?
Digitization of businesses is not new, although it is taking on a new
Dr. Vagadia dimension as we see the convergence of emerging technologies
and innovative business and operating models emerge. Whilst there
has been much change and in a short period of time, this is only
the beginning. This so-called fourth machine age is just emerging
with further advances in digital technologies/computing and, more
importantly, their convergence, driven by Internet of Things (IOT),
Artificial Intelligence (AI), and high-speed ubiquitous connectivity
(5G). It would be wrong to assume that this new revolution is
only driven by data. Whilst data is a fundamental enabler for this
fourth revolution, it is disruption through engineering and physics
such as miniaturization, nanotechnologies, energy storage, etc.,
which cannot be overlooked. The most significant advancements

1 World Economic Forum. (2017). Digital transformation initiative telecommunications industry. The five key global industries are: E-commerce (US$3.1
trillion), Automotive (US$2.6 trillion), Logistics (US$2.1 trillion), Electricity (US$1.5 trillion), Media and Entertainment (US$0.7 trillion).
2 Assessing the economic impact of artificial intelligence. ITU Trends. Issue Paper No. 1. September 2018.

135 JUN-AUG 2021