1、Nowhere to Hide: Embracing the Most Seismic Technological and Business Change in our Lifetime 400 Global 2000 executives share their views on protecting, adapting, and digitizing their businesses in the new reality Click here or press enter for the accessibility optimised version Introduction Click

2、here or press enter for the accessibility optimised version For years, the world of business technology has buzzed with excitement for connected global talent and the possibilities of processes and data running in the cloud. Each innovation helped organizations run the same processes with greater ef

3、ficiency, cost, and speed by exploiting greater access to global talent, aided by the internet and superior telecommunications. However, change has been perennially slowspanning decades, as Exhibit 1 shows: HFS Research, in partnership with Infosys, surveyed 400 Global 2000 executives to gauge the s

4、entiment of enterprises post the pandemic shock, call out the impact, and reveal recovery insights. Exhibit 1: We are hurtling towards the Hyperconnected Economy. Real change must happen now Source: HFS Research, 2020 Global talent and services, the onset of the private cloud, and the early wave of

5、digital services enabled organizations to respond to customer needs quickly and competitively. However, few organizations were motivated to make fundamental changes to their processes because they simply didnt have to. While the promise of emerging technologies has captured the C-suites attention, o

6、nly 30% of enterprises have scaled up cloud initiatives. Fewer than 20% have industrialized automation, analytics, and AI initiatives, and fewer than 10% have an enterprise-wide approach to using emerging technologies. We are trapped with legacy dragons and cultural silos. In recent years, it has be

7、come ever- clearer that organizations unable to anticipate changing customer needs and behaviors will eventually fall behind and fail. Before the pandemic punched the corporate world right between its eyes, there was no burning need to make the courageous leap to a fully hyperconnected digital organ

8、ization Many organizations had made efforts to understand the impact of automation, digital business models, and the hyperscale cloud, but they could not effect internal cultural change to fully exploit these technologies. These organizations didnt have a burning platform to change; they were domina

9、ted by executives compelled to resist change to survive. They could invest in all the technologies they wanted to, but without a plan to thrive in the Hyperconnected Economy, they would be perennially stuck in the old analogous world and submerged in process debt and legacy thinking. Overnight, COVI

10、D-19 flipped the endemic, decades-old corporate mindset of resisting change to one of advocating change What we now have is the emergence of dynamic digital organizations, where people are energized by technology and plug into business experiences that are progressing rapidly to places where the pos

11、sibilities are limitless. The future is unfolding before our eyes. What we have experiencedinside of a single yearis people coming together, confronting their fear of change, and facing the reality that without change, their organization will sinkand them with it. Executive Summary Click here or pre

12、ss enter for the accessibility optimised version The world changed overnight as COVID-19 created a state of upheaval and economic uncertainty unlike anything that weve seen in our lifetime. It has taken several months for enterprise leaders to take stock of the pandemics implications. HFS Research,

13、in partnership with Infosys, surveyed 400 Global 2000 executives to understand how businesses can survive and thrive in the pandemic economy and to develop an outlook for IT and business services in the current geopolitical environment. HFS segmented the research findings according to its four phase

14、s of pandemic shock response: crisis, stabilization, realization, and unleashing people (see Exhibit 2). Exhibit 2. The four phases of the pandemic shock Source: HFS Research, 2020 Key takeaways: Seventy percent (70%) of respondents believe that COVID-19 will have a bigger impact than the 2008 downt

15、urn. Budgets, supply chains, employee availability, and customer intimacy are the worst impacted areas in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19. Three top priorities emerge for enterprises to continue to run their businesses: employee safety, crisis management, and ensuring cash flow. A tale of two ci

16、ties is emerging by industry. As enterprises realize the true financial impact, we can see where companies are focusing and placing their bets to survive and thrive in the emerging new normal. “We will thrive.” The public sector, banking, insurance, healthcare and life sciences, and the high-tech in

17、dustry respondents are relatively confident. They see emerging opportunities as a result of this crisis, and they are making appropriate investments. “Our survival is on the line.” Manufacturing, travel and hospitality, telecom, energy and utilities, and retail and CPG are less confident about survi

18、ving the pandemic economy. They are hunkering down and planning cost-saving measures and other contingencies. Protect, adapt, and digitize your business to survive. Insulating businesses from volatility, changing the product and service portfolio to drive greater customer value, and digital transfor

19、mation are the top three strategic initiatives for surviving the current economy. Invest in creating a virtual, secure, and cloud-enabled IT environment to compete. We identified three critical IT investment themes. First, companies are investing in technologies that enable remote working at scale (

20、virtualization, collaboration, security). They are accelerating investments in cloud and cybersecurity, and, last, companies are modernizing core IT apps and infrastructure. Enterprises expect to increase their spending the most for business and digital consulting, followed by IT infrastructure serv

21、ices (including cloud). We expect demand for IT and business process services to pick up to serve the dual purpose of driving digital while saving cash. Unleash your people to thrive. Nearly 90% of organizations realize they need to reposition to unleash people in the new reality. Post-COVID working

22、 arrangements will change dramatically. Only 37% prefer a return to an office-based environment. The work culture will evolve from siloed working to interdisciplinary collaboration. Smart and emerging technology will ubiquitously penetrate our workplaces. The urgency to develop new skills in-house t

23、hrough training has increased significantly as businesses realize that creativity, problem-solving, and communication skills are the most sought-after people skills. Phase 1 of the Pandemic Shock A crisis like no other crisisbudgets, supply chains, employee availability, and customer intimacy impact

24、ed severely across the globe Click here or press enter for the accessibility optimised version Almost 70% of respondents believe that COVID-19 will have a bigger impact than the 2008 downturn. Budgets, supply chains, employee availability, and customer intimacy were impacted the most in the immediat

25、e aftermath of COVID-19 (see Exhibit 3). Exhibit 3. Budgets, supply chains, employee availability, and customer intimacy are the worst impacted in the immediate aftermath of COVID-19 COVID-19 impacted significant parts of industry value chains. Capital markets, mortgage and lending, and payment card

26、 businesses felt the biggest impact in the banking industry. Actuarial work and new business took a hit for insurance companies. Energy companies felt the double whammy of not just COVID-19 but also extreme price volatility impacting both downstream retail business and challenges in upstream transpo

27、rtation and logistics. The healthcare providers are at the center of the storm with no visibility into future revenues, especially as elective procedures were temporarily impossible and the unavailability of healthcare practitioners raised internal costs. Telecom providers and ISVs experienced a hug

28、e surge in demand, which impacted network services. The retail sector had to suddenly figure out how to handle the sudden drop in brick-and-mortar operations while managing the surge in online operations. But the biggest sufferers were the travel and hospitality and manufacturing industries. Disrupt

29、ions in manufacturers supply chains impacted both production and sales. The travel and hospitality sector simultaneously dealt with a sudden grinding halt in reservations and a surge of refund claims. Practically every big or small business around the globe and across all industries had to figure ou

30、t how to protect employees, deal with the crisis, and ensure cash flow all at the same time. This was a crisis like no other; it was not going to go away. COVID-19 changed the worldforever! “The pandemic exposed harsh realities for many industries, including financial services. Social distancing is

31、fueling the digital economy. During the pandemic, its become critical to predict complex risk scenarios in near real time. If they hadnt realized that before, COVID-19 wouldve done it. We need to be relevant in daily digital lives of our customers.” Data and Analytics lead, large European financial

32、institution “We operate in a legal framework where perception of risk can be calculated. Its hard to think what the new normal will be and how new risk will translate. How do we insure for pandemic? We know how to insure for business interruptions (fire and shops burn down), but here we couldnt oper

33、ate, yet there is no physical impact. How do we insure this space?” Lead transformation officer, Diversified Global Insurer Phase 2 Stabilization of “things that we can do”protect employees, deal with the crisis, and ensure cash flow Click here or press enter for the accessibility optimised version

34、2. Crisis management. While business continuity and disaster recovery (BCP/DR) plans were not flawless, fewer than 10% of enterprises in our research reported major disruptions. The global nature of the pandemic, which resulted in enforced lockdowns simultaneously across multiple locations, meant th

35、at the inability to use alternate BCP locations was the single biggest challenge to manage the crisis at hand. Challenges with network access and procuring home computing equipment were other practical hurdles that organizations had to deal with, especially in developing economies. 3. Ensuring cash

36、flow. More than 30% of enterprises have frozen capital expenditure and discretionary spending, while 50% are considering doing so. Nearly 60% of organizations have reduced staff, implemented salary reductions, or furloughed staff. Similarly, payment delays, technology spending, and invoking force ma

37、jeure are on the table for over 80% of enterprises. For the most part, enterprises around the globe reacted admirably to the crisis. Three top priorities emerged for enterprises to continue to run their businesses: 1. Employee safety. Enterprises immediate focusrightly sois on protecting their peopl

38、e. Nearly 85% of organizations have about 50% of their employees work-from-home (WFH) enabled because of COVID-19. Around 40% of organizations are at 90% or greater WFH levels. WFH, travel bans, and canceling conferences and in-person meetings were the top three immediate actions that organizations

39、took. Current measures primarily focus on enforcing social distancing at work, continuing a ban on in-person meetings, staggering working hours, and providing healthcare benefits. The emerging focus will be on enabling work-from-anywhere, providing greater healthcare benefits, and liaising with the

40、government for support. “The one thing thats stood out is the way in which Company responded to its employees, giving support to people who need it. Plus, the whole remote-by-video drives you to interact with colleagues on a personal/relatable level. It makes people more loyal, and engagement and pr

41、oductivity have gone up. If we can harness it and make it the new normal, then well have the motivated workforce we need.” Head of innovation and productivity, Financial Services Multinational “Counterbalancing speed and a need for transformation with the cost. Now in recessionary environment, we ar

42、e squeezed to hand back money to central budgets. But it doesnt change the fact that we need to transform. Now we need innovative ways to do more with less.” Head of innovation and productivity, Financial Services Multinational Phase 3 Realization that adapting, protecting, and digitizing businesses

43、 while entering a recessionary economy requires a laser-sharp focus on mission-critical “have-to-have” investment areas Click here or press enter for the accessibility optimised version As the true financial impact on clients and customers emerges, the impact of COVID-19 is a tale of two cities when

44、 we look at it through an industry lens (see Exhibit 4). “We will thrive.” The public sector, banking, insurance, healthcare and life sciences, and the high-tech industry respondents are relatively confident. They see emerging opportunities as a result of this crisis, and they are making appropriate

45、 investments. “Our survival is on the line.” Manufacturing, travel and hospitality, telecom, energy and utilities, and retail and CPG are less confident about surviving the pandemic economy. They are hunkering down and planning cost-saving measures and other contingencies. Exhibit 4. A tale of two c

46、ities is emerging by industry Reactions vary by industry. While some are hunkering down to save costs, others are finding opportunities in the crisis. However, across industries, 34% of organizations still think its business as usual, and 13% are still unsure and unclear. As enterprises realize the

47、true financial impact, we see where companies are focusing and placing their bets to survive and thrive in the emerging new normal. Adapt, protect, and digitize are the top three strategic initiatives that enterprises feel will help them survive and succeed in the post COVID era: 1. Adapt. Over 70%

48、of respondents plan to change their product and service portfolio to drive greater customer value. 2. Protect. At least 65% of respondents are insulating their business from volatility by building diverse customer pools and investing in an agile business model. 3. Digitize. Over 60% of respondents p

49、lan to accelerate their digital transformation initiatives. “Digital transformation is no longer a choice. Customer touchpoints and expectations are completely changing. Product choices have definitely changed. Its a tough time, but days are going to be brighter when this ends.” Director of automati

50、on, American independent investment management company Adapting, protecting, and digitizing businesses while entering a recessionary economy requires businesses to focus on mission-critical “have-to-have” investment areas that make business sense and drive a clear ROI with a fast payback time (see E