Trends Identified
Big data and advanced analytics
Through the use of big data and advanced analytics, companies are now able to improve marketing, productivity, and other essential aspects of their existing operations, lower costs, and gain real-time insights into promising new approaches and opportunities. BCG estimates that big data and advanced analytics could unlock more than $1 trillion in value annually by 2020.
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Access to information and ideas
The ability to tap information and ideas from anyone, anywhere, is multiplying exponentially, both for individuals and for businesses. As the cost of technology—including both hardware and data—continues to fall and global internet penetration expands, recent advances in cloud computing and storage are lowering the cost of access and processing. The implications are wide-ranging: people can be continuously connected, access data from any location, work remotely with ease, and collaborate with their global colleagues in real time.
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Simplicity in complexity
Organizations tend to respond to new challenges by adding teams, functions, and departments. As organizations grow, their structure becomes increasingly complicated. New silos develop, the number of stakeholders involved in decision making increases, and interdependencies between functions multiply. The plethora of stakeholders, decision rights, processes, and policies slows down every decision and hinders collaboration across departments, reinforcing the silo effect. 74% of managers say that company complexity is hurting business performance
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Agility and innovation
A number of innovative approaches that began in software development are now being adapted by organizations for non-IT products and processes—including agile, scrum, kanban, design thinking, and other creative methodologies.
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
New customer strategies
Boundaries between companies and consumers are fading as people, informed and enabled by the internet, become more aware and demanding. They want personalized offerings and will collaborate with companies to help develop the products and services they desire.
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
A new demographic mix
The global population is aging. After rapid population increases during the 20th century, birth rates have stalled—and even reversed—in many regions. By 2035, one in five people worldwide will be 65 or older.
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Skill imbalances
The skills and capabilities businesses require are rapidly evolving. Even as automation may yield a surplus of unskilled and semiskilled labor, the digitalization of products and services is creating an enormous demand for skilled digital talent. By 2020, 30% of tech jobs will go unfilled because of talent shortages.
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Shifting geopolitical and economic power
Talent is more mobile than ever, with workers willing to cross borders and cultures to improve their career prospects. Yet a number of geographic, economic, and political developments are blocking the smooth flow of talent to areas of demand, thereby compounding the overall talent shortage.
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Diversity and inclusion
As values change across the business landscape, diversity and inclusion, often seen as “nice to have,” are increasingly becoming a necessity—and for good reason. The business case has never been stronger, as studies show that diverse teams are much more likely to foster employee engagement and improve business performance. Diverse teams are 13 times more likely to engage employees than nondiverse teams
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Individualism and entrepreneurship
Independence is becoming the dominant motivator for a large section of the population, particularly for millennials (born from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s) and Gen-Zers (born in the mid- to late 1990s and after). These younger people tend to get bored doing the same kind of work for long stretches, and they are especially interested in independent careers. Empowered by digital platforms and ecosystems, many are choosing entrepreneurship and self-employment over traditional corporate employment. By 2020, freelancers will constitute 50% of the workforce
2017
Twelve Forces That Will Radically Change How Organizations Work
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)