Tech architecture as a decisive factor for business success

Today, the reality of our economy is already sustainably influenced by technology at all levels, and executives are thus empowered to actively shape change and the future of their industry. These are the findings of "Technology Vision 2021" by the consulting firm Accenture. The study surveyed more than 6,200 business and technology executives worldwide.

Build a new Digital Core

According to the study titled "Trailblazers Wanted: How masters of change are seizing the moment," leading companies have begun to accelerate their decade-spanning transformation plans and shorten them to two to three years. The prerequisite for this is the establishment of a New Digital Core. This not only enables companies to adapt to new developments and innovate at record speed. It also equips companies for challenges such as the COVID 19 pandemic. Technology leaders today are growing revenue five times faster than laggards. Between 2015 and 2018, their growth was only twice as fast. As a result, numerous companies are vying to reinvent themselves and shape their current situation through technological innovation.

The right tech architecture fosters change

"Business and technology strategies are inextricably linked. 77% of Swiss decision makers know that tech architecture is increasingly important for business success. Tech Vision 2021 examines which technology choices are driving transformation and maintaining competitiveness" says Marc Zollinger, Co-Lead Technology, Accenture Switzerland. "Ninety-two percent of respondents said innovation is top of mind for their business this year. In addition, 91 percent of global executives believe their company must help shape tomorrow's market if it wants to conquer it. To do this, companies must become "masters of change" and keep three points in mind:

1. Leadership and technology belong together. In a time of permanent change, those who place the use of technology at the center of their business strategy will succeed.
2. Managers can no longer wait for circumstances to change. They must create them themselves by radically changing their approach and mindset.
3. Leaders must become aware of their responsibilities. Technologies must be designed and applied in a way that has a positive impact on a more sustainable and inclusive world.

Five key trends

The study identifies five key trends for the next three years:

• A New Digital Core for a Better Future - Companies are increasingly competing for their technology architectures. Building the most competitive infrastructure requires a new perspective. That's because business and technology strategies are inextricably linked - and even indistinguishable. 89 percent of executives (73 percent in Switzerland) believe that their company's ability to generate business value increasingly depends on the limits and capabilities of the tech architecture they use.
• Mirrored world - Leading companies are creating intelligent, digital twins to map virtually living models of factories, supply chains and product lifecycles. The fusion of data and intelligence is opening up new opportunities for operations, collaboration and innovation. 65 percent of executives surveyed globally (but only 55 percent from Switzerland) expect their company's investment in intelligent digital twins to increase over the next three years.
• I, the technologist - All employees can innovate, optimize their work and solve problems. By doing so, employees themselves ensure that their company keeps pace with new and changing demands. 88 percent of executives believe that democratizing technology is critical to driving innovation in their organization.
• Anytime, anywhere - Bring Your Own Environment has led to unprecedented flexibility in many organizations. Employees have the freedom to work seamlessly from anywhere - whether at home, in the office, or at the airport. Within this model, executives can rethink the purpose of working in any location and seize the opportunity to shape their business in this new present. 81 percent of decision makers (as many as 87 percent in Switzerland) agree that leading companies in their industry are moving from a "Bring Your Own Device" to a "Bring Your Own Environment" approach in the future.
• From Me to We - The need for contact traceability, frictionless payment transactions, and new ways of building trust have highlighted what is missing from existing enterprise ecosystems. Through multi-party systems, companies can gain greater resilience and adaptability, tap into new markets and set forward-looking benchmarks for their industry. 90 percent of executives surveyed said that multi-party systems will make their ecosystems more resilient and adaptable in the future and help partners create new value.

How a customized tech architecture can save the restaurant industry

The results of the study make it clear that prioritizing technological innovations has never been more important than in these disruptive times. Take the restaurant industry, for example: 60 percent of restaurants listed as "temporarily closed" in July 2020 had to permanently cease operations by September. Starbucks, on the other hand, was able to emerge as an industry leader thanks to its use of technology. By August, the Starbucks app recorded three million new users. 90 percent of sales have shifted to mobile ordering and drive-thru pickup. Due to increasing demand, the company has introduced an integrated ticket management system. This combines orders from the Uber Eats app with those from drive-thru customers into a single workflow for baristas. Starbucks also introduced a new espresso machine with sensors to track how much coffee employees are pouring. This allowed necessary maintenance to be predicted. The example shows how technology is at the core of a company's agile, resilient and successful response to change.

Source: www.accenture.ch

Editor's note: This study can be read as a complement to another study that another technology company published in the summer of 2020 has.