Market and technology: Factors to affect business

CEBU, Philippines - Market and technology factors are seen as the two major important external forces to affect enterprises in the future, this according to decision makers of member companies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).      

In a study conducted by IBM dubbed “The Customer-activated Enterprise,” through the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV), it found out that unlike their global counterparts, ASEAN business leaders foresee major changes in the next three to five years.

According to the study the chief operating officers (CEOs) in the ASEAN region are more likely to adopt a more open approach to running their organizations than the rest of  the world with 78 percent seeing a bigger partner network.

IBM based on the results from face-to-face conversations with more than 4,000 CEOs, CMOs, CFOs, and CIOs and other leaders from 70 countries and 20 industries worldwide including 75 CEOs from ASEAN, representing a wide range of public and private-sector organizations, covering over 12 industries.

Participating CEOs from all over the world have different views about which external pressures are most significant. However, all agree that technology is one of the top three pressures. Digitization has given customers far more clout and has significantly transformed their expectations. In 2014, the digitally active customer is expected to move to the top of the C-Suite agenda.

The IBM report uncovered a key correlation between the companies that succeed and their levels of external collaboration. Outperforming companies are 54 percent more likely to open themselves up to customer influence and collaborate extensively with customers.

ASEAN CEOs who were interviewed recognized that knowing the customer well and how to serve them better, in a way tailored to their needs and preferences, is the key to an enduring and meaningful client relationship.  By better understanding what the customer wants and by creating an end-to-end and consistent experience across all channels, enterprises will be better placed to respond to changing customer needs.

Forty-six percent of ASEAN CEOs agree that customers today exert considerable influence on enterprises, and they see the need to rebalance priorities to better suit the changing expectations of their customers.

Globally, the report reveals that 54 percent of  the CEOs interviewed hold the same view.

In ASEAN, this does not translate into deeper collaboration with only 36 percent agreeing that they do collaborate with their customers, compared with the 46 percent from their global counterparts. Deep collaboration is nonetheless a shared goal with 91 percent of  ASEAN CEOs expecting to better engage their customer in three to five years time.

A new era of connectivity, massively available user generated information and the mandate for open, ongoing communication are demanding new levels of transparency across the organization.

Business leaders recognize that customers are already influencing their organization, and they are breaking down internal and external barriers to open up new paths of collaboration, innovation and growth.

Recognizing the impact that technology continues to have on how enterprises operate and engage with their customers, companies are activating their customers by pioneering new digital-physical innovations. By blending their digital and physical strategies, companies can deliver an integrated approach to meeting the needs of their technology empowered customers.

The study findings indicate that ASEAN organizations (45 percent compared to 36 percent globally) are slightly ahead in terms of developing an integrated digital-physical strategy than the rest of the world.

Globally, the biggest challenge for 63 percent of those interviewed, is the lack of a cohesive social media plan when implementing a digital strategy. In ASEAN, the barriers are a little more specific, with legal and security concerns playing a much bigger role in limiting digital initiatives within ASEAN enterprises than they do worldwide (54 percent compared to 38 percent globally). (FREEMAN)