Cindy Rose: Decoding Digital Transformation

keyboard, data

By Cindy Rose

The 2016 edition of Future Decoded comes as we are at the dawn of what many believe is the fourth industrial revolution.

As with the first revolution in the 18th century, which witnessed the rise of industrial scale manufacturing; the second, the harnessing of electrical power for mass production in the 19th century; and the third, the rise of the digital age in the latter part of the 20th century, questions naturally arise in the face of widespread disruption to traditional industries and businesses. So, as we gear up for the fourth industrial revolution, our focus at this year’s Future Decoded will be on the search for answers to these questions to help us navigate the myriad challenges and opportunities ahead for individuals, businesses, organisations as well as our society as a whole.

Building on its digital age foundation, the fourth industrial revolution is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological worlds in ways we are only beginning to imagine. For many of us, this digital transformation has become a key way in which we now view the future of our businesses and organisations. Along these lines, Microsoft commissioned YouGov to help us understand what UK businesses and organisations think about disruption and their own digital transformation journeys.

cindy rose, microsoft

Cindy Rose, Microsoft UK CEO

The report entitled, Digital Transformation: The Age of Innocence, Inertia or Innovation?, reveals some interesting insights:

  1. Disruption is happening quickly – half of all organisations (50%) think that their industry will be disrupted within the next two years.
  2. Disruption is real – nearly half of all business leaders (44%) think their existing business models will cease to exist within the next five years.
  3. Taking action is the only option – almost half (46%) of business decision makers think their senior leadership are unwilling to disrupt their existing businesses in order to grow and compete more in the future.

We are hosting Future Decoded at a moment when disruption is increasingly evident in many parts part of UK society and economy. According to Tech Nation – a Government-backed data project that highlights the growth of digital businesses – the UK’s digital tech industries are growing 32% faster than the rest of the UK economy. The digital sector is of huge strategic value to the economy and, over the next two days, attendees can look forward to rich and engaging discussions with experts in change and digital transformation.

With more than 10,000 attendees and 400 sessions, this year’s event looks better than ever.  We have a number of fantastic speakers who will share their perspectives and stories about the nature of change and transformation, whether they are a digital transformation pioneer, a resilient Paralympian or tech sector innovator.

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A chart from Microsoft’s report on digital transformation

For those who can’t be with us in person, please keep an eye on the Microsoft UK News Centre at news.microsoft.com/en-gb for real-time updates and all the latest from the two-day event.

I look forward to welcoming you all at Future Decoded 2016.

Cindy Rose is Microsoft UK CEO

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