“Uberization” trend dominant concern of the C-suite: IBM study

The trend of “uberization” – or industry disruption caused by an unlikely competitor – has become a dominant concern of the C-suite, finds a new IBM study released this week.

The study, titled Redefining Boundaries: Insights from the Global C-suite Study, is based on findings from more than 5,200 “CxOs”: CEOs, chief marketing officers, chief financial officers, chief information officers, chief operating officers and other C-suite leaders across 21 industries in more than 70 countries (including more than 1,000 CxOs in North America). The respondents – most of whom participated in face-to-face interviews – represent a wide range of public and private enterprises. [click image below to enlarge]

Conducted by IBM’s Institute for Business Value (IBV), the report reveals that CxOs now expect industry convergence to be the primary force impacting their business in the next three to five years and that the highest-performing enterprises place greater priority on cognitive capabilities than market-followers. In addition, in just two years, the percentage of C-suite leaders who expect to contend with competition from outside their industry increased from 43% in 2013 to 54% today.

“When it comes to the competition, C-suite leaders clearly have a new threat to consider – one that is often invisible until it is too late,” said Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services, in a press release. “At the same time, the highest performers see advances in areas like cognitive computing and systems that can sense and learn as the key to dealing with disruptive events, showing a path forward for all executives.” The study found that C-suite leaders from the highest-performing companies are 24% more likely to be focused on cognitive computing. [click image below to enlarge]

CEOs put technology at the top of the list of external forces buffeting their organizations for the past three IBV C-suite studies, the release noted. Now, for the first time, all C-suite executives – regardless of role – identify technology as the most important external force impacting their enterprise. CxOs believe cloud computing, mobile solutions, the Internet of Things and cognitive computing are the technologies most likely to revolutionize their business. When it comes to risks, two years ago IT security ranked low on the list of concerns. Now, 68% of respondents rank IT security as the number one enterprise risk.

Most CxOs anticipate changing the way their organizations engage with customers, the report added. Sixty-six percent of CxOs expect to focus on customers as individuals – up 22% from 2013 – and 81% plan to drive more digital interaction, a 19% increase from two years ago.