To borrow a term from evolutionary biology, punctuated equilibrium is also affecting the business world. This punctuated equilibrium occurs in business when any industry is under a state of stasis, but is suddenly disrupted by evolutionary forces. Landline phone companies for example got disrupted by the rise of mobile phones, which in turn were rung out of their stasis since the launch of the first iPhone. In the past the Gutenberg printing press, automobile, urban electrification, the internet, the Jacquard Loom and microprocessor have all brought about evolutionary disruptions. The automobile industry is now facing challenges due to the rise of Uber, Tesla and self-driving car models. Since 2000 for example, about half the Fortune 500 companies have either filed for bankruptcy, been acquired or merged. Now newer models such as Big Data, artificial intelligence and the Internet-of-Things have altered the scenario further bringing in now-dominant players such as Amazon, Facebook, Zappos, We Work, Twilio, Box and Square. The level of information now available is gigantic and increasing exponentially every couple of years thanks to the enormous data warehousing capabilities. Changes being effected on value chains are across industries such as retail, healthcare, oil, government services and manufacturing. The one change now from all previous evolutions is the hands-on role now being played by the CEO in such transformations. While earlier, the top management was simply being apprised periodically and bothered about the economics of such transformations, now it is being directed by the CEOs.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/why-digital-transformation-is-now-on-the-ceos-shoulders

Uploaded Date:01 March 2018