Launching TechMarketView 2020 Research Theme: Digital Chaos

‘Digital Chaos’ is TechMarketView’s research theme for 2020. To be clear, we are not advocating digital chaos. It is a term we are using to characterise the current state of affairs in a large number of public and private sector organisations. The message for ICT suppliers is this: in the year ahead, and beyond, you need to make sure you are positioned to help your clients and prospects tame the chaos.

In the race to digitally transform, anarchy has often been encouraged, resulting in unruly digital development far-and-wide across organisations. With this behaviour lasting many years, we have witnessed a proliferation of digital point solutions, benefiting from limited integration. And a frustration that this digital approach has failed to achieve the full potential offered by deep complex digital transformation. 

Now, organisations are faced with the prospect of dealing with the emergent complexity.  It’s ironic that in the early phase of digital development that we refer to as ‘simple digital’, the result has been an often-disorganised ICT estate that requires a degree of order to be restored. The struggle to know where to start in moving beyond the early stages of digital is evidenced by a loss of momentum and a slow-growing UK software and IT services market.

Across the UK’s industry sectors, there are varying degrees of Digital Chaos evident. Indeed, there are huge variations across organisations within those subsectors. But across all sectors, we will witness organisations investing time and money trying to create some stability within the chaos – a necessity before they can contemplate a move to ‘complex digital’.

End user organisations will spend the next year attempting to get a grip on some of the more challenging aspects required for truly revolutionary digital progress, such as deep transformation of business processes, the elimination organisational silos, and cross-boundary data sharing.  With one eye on a digital nirvana that would bring the biggest value to organisations, the aim will be to avoid simply adding another level of complexity.

For suppliers, one of the clearest symptoms of this market shift has been the increasing requirement for expert advice as organisations grapple with their next move. Demand for front-end based consultancy services is fast-growing as organisations accept the scale of their change management challenges; we see this trend continuing into 2020.

The most successful suppliers will see Digital Chaos as an opportunity and will ensure they have the skills and capabilities in place to support clients (and prospects) looking to turn chaos into order.

We foresee the larger SITS companies grasping the nettle and promoting their deep knowledge of legacy or ‘heritage’ systems, years of experience of complex integration, and ability to support complex business transformation. But they will also seek to differentiate from their peers by adding expertise in target verticals (to demonstrate narrow and deep understanding), in operational technology and engineering (to demonstrate an ability to support transformation beyond traditional system silos), and in accelerative IP (to demonstrate speed and agility). Small and medium-sized companies, that may have previously focused on isolated digital development projects, with clear boundaries, will seek to take their offerings to the next level by investing in more advanced development capability; partnerships will also take on a new importance.

Only those that enable their clients to trust them and give their clients confidence in their ability to support major strategic programmes with minimal business disruption will take market share.

Over the next couple of weeks, TechMarketView analysts will be sharing their thoughts on their Predictions for the coming year. Tomorrow we launch our Top Ten Predictions for 2020 in UKHotViews; what will be the most significant trends to impact both the market and suppliers? Next week, our experts in Public Sector and Financial Services will present their Predictions for how Digital Chaos will impact these sectors - we will of course know the result of the General Election by then. TechMarketView subscribers will be able to download the Predictions in full once live (please contact Deb Seth to find out more).

Posted by Georgina O'Toole at '09:00' - Tagged: predictions   digitalchaos