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1、14/03/2023INDEPENDEN T P U B L I C AT I O N BYR AC O N T EU R.NE TStop pretending.Live up to your true potential.Become a better leader at RDIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONDIGITAL DESIGN BRINGS UX TO THE FOREFRONT14THE PUBLIC SECTORS MODERNISATION WOES06HOW TO BUY TECH IN ASATURATED MARKET 20#0858R A C O N T

2、E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N0302Reports editorIan Deeringi-tech companies have been among the most enthusi-astic adopters of ultra-flat management models such as hol-acracy,whereby fluid teams decide what work must be done,who will do it and even how theyll be rewarded.The unde

3、rlying idea of this ap-proach is that a conventional hierar-chy would only stifle the output of highly educated tech workers,who have an intrinsic interest in their occupation and are perfectly able to self-manage.They arent doing menial work;theyve been hired for their creative problem-solving skil

4、ls.It would be impossible for a manage-ment team lacking their technical knowledge to understand every aspect of the complex work they do.Indeed,many such professionals would probably resent being subjec-ted to top-down management.But what happens to that intrinsic interest when automation requires

5、them to start designing away a sig-nificant proportion of their work?ChatGPT has hit the headlines be-cause its responses can seem sen-tient,for instance.The technology has learnt to perform some tasks that,until now,only people could do.But this quantum leap in artificial intelligence is not necess

6、arily the biggest star in the automation show.For instance,AI-assisted robots have made a breakthrough in what was previously a bottleneck skill that is,something machines couldnt do.The first few generations of robots,such as those on production lines,performed only programmed tasks in completely p

7、redictable environ-ments.But the latest ones can handle objects of varying dimensions in un-predictable orientations with ease.A study published by the OECD in December 2022 estimates that,on average,“occupations at highest risk of automation account for about 28%of employment”in its member nations.

8、Its research report states that“only”18%to 27%of the abilities required by high-skilled occupations are“highly automatable”.But this still suggests that a significant per-centage of what some highly skilled people currently do will one day be done by a machine.Could that create any tensions in firms

9、 that place a high value on self-management?And might they need to change their approach as the march of automation continues?The most innovative companies are unlikely to grab back the reins,according to Michael Y Lee,assistant professor of organisational behav-iour at the Insead business school.Th

10、ese firms typically seek out the most talented people and make the most of that talent,so a flat,decen-tralised approach will normally suit their requirements,he argues.“Research shows that the more hier archical a firm is,the less inno-vative it will be.Decentralised firms,by contrast,tend to miss

11、fewer of the good left-field ideas,”Lee says.A decentralised approach does have its risks,of course.Such organisa-tions tend to be harder to lead and,while they offer a conducive envir-onment for ideation,thats likely to produce more bad ideas than average as well as more good ones.“As tech firms au

12、tomate their pro-cesses,theres still a human element that needs steadfast management,”stresses Ralph Dangelmaier,global CEO of payments company BlueSnap.“Managers have a resp onsibility to educate their teams as to why this enhances,rather than replaces,peo-ples jobs.”The self-management model has t

13、he potential to benefit any business.For instance,a landmark 1949 study published by the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations revealed how a group of miners in Yorkshire had boosted the productivity of their col-liery by changing the way they worked.And,some 40 years later,US firm C&S Wholesale Gr

14、ocers also showed how letting a group work out how best to meet certain targets could greatly improve outcomes.“If you shift decision-making down,you get more responsiveness at the local level and the edges,”Lee says.“The flipside is that a self-organised firm may take longer to mobilise sup-port fo

15、r a major shift.”And a“major shift”is exactly what big tech firms are going through.But the huge number of redundancies across the sector in recent months may not be as damaging to morale within these companies as outsiders might imagine.“Decentralised organisations tend to have stronger cultures,”L

16、ee says.“Their people probably buy into the argument that only the strongest performers should be on board,so they may accept layoffs.”He points out that there are,in any case,two types of self-management.One is more libertarian,placing the greatest value on autonomy and free-dom.The other is more c

17、ohesive and community-based,valuing citizen-ship and reciprocity.And,while firms in the latter category tend to be more reluctant to cut jobs,its not true that a big round of layoffs will necessarily turn those remaining in the business against automation.Dangelmaier argues that automa-tion offers b

18、enefits that staff will embrace,especially where it removes arduous tasks.“In the accounts-receivable process,25%of employees have reported an increase in morale under a management style based on automation.Increasing automation does not necessarily conflict with team goals.Instead,it uplifts teams.

19、”Lee agrees:“The shift towards au-tomation could make self-manage-ment more compelling.It should remove low-knowledge work and leave high-level tasks to humans.That will raise the bar of what it takes to be employed.”This in turn would leave manage-ment teams having to deal with or-ganisations full

20、of experts.Such companies would move even further away from a hierarchy,according to Lee.He suggests that this will require business leaders to focus on getting people with specialised ex-pertise to cooperate effectively.“Its never just one person who cre-ates an innovative product.An effec-tive,col

21、laborative team is where the magic happens,”Lee says“How you design the team,choose the right people and create direction is what matters.The design part tends to be neglected in management training.”Warning that the natural place for all of us to be is in a hierarchy,he adds:“Self-management is a b

22、it like the road to enlightenment.There is no destination.Its a continuous process of gaining greater capacity,flexibility and skill.”How the rise of AI is putting flat management to the testDIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONWill hi-tech firms adopt more hierarchical,authoritarian structures to ensure that thei

23、r staff will keep working in the best interests of the business rather than protecting their jobs against automation?Distributed inOuida TaaffePublished in association withAlthough this publication is funded through advertising and sponsorship,all editorial is without bias and sponsored features are

24、 clearly labelled.For an upcoming schedule,partnership inquiries or feedback,please call+44(0)20 3877 3800 or email Raconteur is a leading publisher of special-interest content and research.Its publications and articles cover a wide range of topics,including business,finance,sustainability,healthcar

25、e,lifestyle and technology.Raconteur special reports are published exclusively in The Times and The Sunday Times as well as online at The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources the Proprietors believe to be correct.However,no legal liability can be accepted for any

26、errors.No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior consent of the Publisher.Raconteur MediaAmazon Web Services,2022O R G A N I S AT I O N A L B E H AV I O U RSimon BrookeA freelance journalist with 25 years experience of covering topics such as finance,marketing and communication

27、s for awide range of outlets.Georgina FullerA freelance journalist whose work has been published in The Times,The Guardian,The Telegraph and several business magazines.Andy JonesAn experienced journalist and broadcaster who has written for national newspapers and produced business packages for the B

28、BC and Channel 4.Rich McEachranA freelance journalist covering the intersection of business,technology and sustainability for publications including The Guardian and Wired.Rachel Muller-HeyndykA journalist specialising in technology.Her work has been published by TheIndependent,Wired and tech firm L

29、ogically.Ouida TaaffeThe editor of Financial World,the magazine of the London Institute ofBanking&Finance.She previously covered the telecoms market.Matthew ValentineA journalist who specialises in covering the creative industries.He has nearly 30 years experience of writing forspecialist titles.Jon

30、athan WeinbergA freelance writer,mediaconsultant and trainer specialising in technology,business andthe future ofwork and society.ContributorsHraconteurraconteur.storiesraconteur-media/digital-transformation-mar-EditorSarah VizardSub-editorsGerrard CowanChristina RyderChief sub-editorNeil ColeCommer

31、cial content editorsLaura BithellJoy PersaudDeputy reports editorJames SuttonDesign/production assistant Louis NassDesignKellie JerrardHarry Lewis-Irlam Colm McDermottSamuele Motta Sean Wyatt-LivesleyDesign directorTim WhitlockIllustrationCelina LuceyCampaign managerZoe Anastasia VeroutiHead of prod

32、uctionJustyna OConnellAssociate commercial editorPhoebe BorwellSeventyFour via iStockJOB SATISFACTION AND SECURITY AMONG DIGITAL WORKERSShare of digital workers worldwide reporting high satisfaction and security,by skill levelAdvanced skills0%20%40%60%80%High satisfaction High securityIntermediate s

33、killsBasic skills72%72%48%53%43%48%R A C O N T E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N0504The chatbots arrival has caused a stir in several sectors.But is it atrue technological breakthrough and is it coming for your job?Andrew Hall,chief commercial officer at digital outsourcing firm Qua

34、ntanite,believes that ChatGPTs greatest potential in business lies in its power as a conversational tool.“This alone has the ability to re-shape the future of work,”he argues.“The only question is how long it will take people to get used to the idea of generative systems.”In certain departments,such

35、 as contact centres,ChatGPT could be integrated with other applications and services,Hall suggests.“It will provide even more personalised and detailed answers without any delays and,ultimately,deliver far better customer service.”James Bore,a consultant special-ising in cybersecurity,reports that f

36、urther significant advances in this field are already being made.But he also stresses the fact that ChatGPT is primarily a language model that“doesnt perform any analysis,so there is no verification of data.It should therefore not be treated as a source of truth.”The fact that more than a third of t

37、he worlds population still dont have web access is also problematic,according to Holland.“AI can only work with the data thats available to it.For it to truly offer a more accurate and valued service,the internet itself must become more accessible,”he says.“If the data it holds doesnt embrace a wide

38、r representation of humanity,the system becomes biased,so any trust in it will be eroded quickly.”While ChatGPT may be able to per-form basic tasks,such as answering questions about company policy,it will be a while before it can handle more complex work,Holland adds.How concerned should people be t

39、hat ChatGPT or something like it could replace certain occupations?Jonathan Stewart,owner of the Simplicity Specialist consultancy,says that the technology has a long way to go before it has the power to put a large number of jobs at risk.“Ultimately,this is nothing more than a very clever computer

40、that employees,saving everybody time,”Holland reports.In a tweet in December,OpenAIs CEO,Sam Altman,offered a strong caveat:“ChatGPT is incre dibly lim-ited,but good enough at some things to create a misleading impression of greatness.Its a mistake to be relying on it for anything important right no

41、w.Its a preview of progress;we have lots of work to do on robust-ness and truthfulness.”Despite such clear warnings about its potential to generate inaccurate or unoriginal content,some profes-sional writers have embraced the tool with enthusiasm and are using it daily.One of them is Catherine Gladw

42、yn,an author who also spe-cialises in coaching women seeking to become virtual office assistants.She has been using ChatGPT to help her write blog updates,social media posts,press pitches and other mar-keting materials.“It has enabled me to grab peoples attention without having to learn a new skill,

43、”Gladwyn says.ardly a day goes by without ChatGPT hitting the head-lines.Most of the coverage has focused on the sheer power of this controversial new chatbot and its potential to change the world of work.Is all the hype justified?ChatGPT was released by OpenAI at the end of November 2022,but its al

44、ready making its presence felt in the workplace.Thats the view of David Holland,founder,CEO and chief strategist of Exela,a specialist in business process automation.He thinks that,although the techno-logy is far from fully developed,it isproving a transformative tool for certain businesses,especial

45、ly those in the customer service sector.“Its already enabling faster com-munication between customers and HGeorgina FullerShe adds that she was recently asked to add some“colour”to her copy for a website she was working with.“I asked ChatGPT to make the text less formal and it did.Ive also asked it

46、to write some copy aimed atcertain demographic groups.If it could read things Ive written before and emulate my tone of voice,that would be a total game-changer.”ChatGPT AI assistant or robotic replacement?The main concern will be aboutvalidity.How can a user ensure that the results produced by Chat

47、GPT,even from controlled data,are valid?A R T I F I C I A L I N T E L L I G E N C ETHE BUSINESS USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GLOBALLY HAS PLATEAUED AT ABOUT HALF OF COMPANIES IN RECENT YEARSShare of firms reporting the use of AI by at least one function or business unitMcKinsey,2022201720182019202

48、02021202220%47%58%50%56%50%The origins of artificial intelligence,like so many things,can be found in Greek mythology.The inventor Daedalus was said to be the first mortal to create living statues in bronze that could show emotion and speak.Although it was in 1950 that Alan Turing devised his famous

49、 imitation game to test a machines ability to display human-like intelligence,the term AI was coined by agroup of US computer scientists convened by mathematician John McCarthy in 1955.In 1961,prolific inventor George Devol created Unimate,the first industrial robot.Itsfirstjob was to transport andw

50、eld hot die-castings at a General Motors assembly line,relieving the workers of two dangerous tasks.The first chatbot was invented by Joseph Wiezenbaum in 1966in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratoryat the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Named Eliza,itprovided programmed

51、responses to users.The creation of the Artificial Linguistic Internet Computer Entity(Alice)by Richard Wallace in 1995 provided the next big breakthrough in this field.Alicewas strengthened by natural language processing,aprogram that applies algorithmic pattern-matching rules to conversations.The d

52、evelopment of intelligent workplace computers has gathered pace since then.In2014,a restaurant in Ningbo,China,replaced human waiters with robotic ones.The machines,which cost about 6,000 apiece,can take orders,move heavy items around and even talk to customers.In 2020,we were introduced to a revolu

53、tionary tool called generative pre-trained transformer 3(GPT-3)a linguistic model based on deep learning technology.But workforce chatbots werent justbecoming more intelligent;theywere also becoming more human.Last year,HomeServe USA Corporation,a provider of domestic repair services,introduced an A

54、I-powered virtual agent called Charlie a42-year-old biracial mother of two from Ohio who likes jazz.Charlie answers 11,400 calls a day and will even offer advice to her human colleagues.OpenAIs ChatGPT has caused a sensation since its release in November 2022 because of the seemingly high standard o

55、f its responses.This powerful chatbot,which has already been downloaded more than 100million times,has transformative potential.A brief history of artificial intelligencepredicts what to say next,”he says.“No matter how advanced it might get even if we can use it to enhance our ability to think crit

56、ically and develop ideas it wont replace us.”Michael Manoochehri is a former Google engineer and manager whos now CTO of Switchboard,a software developer that he co-founded in 2014.He also believes its unlikely that the rise of ChatGPT will lead to large-scale redundancies quite the reverse,in fact.

57、“I see no reason to believe that thiswill drastically affect the work-force,”Manoochehri says.“I foresee that ChatGPT,and tools like it,will end up creating more employment opportunities for people,even those in non-technical jobs.”Perhaps more worrying are the ethical considerations surrounding gen

58、erative AI,according to Stewart.“I am cautious about how this is going to be used and,potentially,abused by others,”he says.“A tool that follows our instructions with-out question could lead to the wider dissemination of misinformation or,even worse,disinformation.”Manoochehri agrees.“Concerns about

59、 ChatGPTs biases and use of intellectual property are real and require scrutiny.As for the many practical applications of the tech-nology with custom training data,the main concern will be about validity,”he says.“How can a user ensure that the results produced,even from controlled data,are valid?Ch

60、atGPT users will need to develop and practise a whole set of tech-niques to ensure that the results it provides are trustworthy.”So maybe we need to embrace this quantum leap in AI and treat it as a tool that will enhance,rather than replace,our own efforts.But thats not to say that we cant enjoy ex

61、per-imenting with ChatGPT while its still a novelty.Maybe I could even have used it to write this article.fizkes via iStockR A C O N T E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N0706Several problems are impeding the digital transformation of council services nationwide.Barriers to innovation

62、include legal constraints,skills shortages,fiscal limitations and deeply embedded legacy techcost-efficiencies that could accrue from doing so,he argues.Walther estimates that only 10%of local government organisations are being truly innovative in this re-spect.The software lock-in problem is stifli

63、ng creativity,which is forc-ing“services to be designed around legislation at best and archaic software provision at worst”.The pooling of resources across the sector could help to mitigate this and other problems.Its something that the Department for Levelling Up,Housing and Communities is attempti

64、ng to coordinate,according to Walther.“Were still duplicating the same processes 350 times for each council,whereas centralised digital teams working on behalf of the whole sec-tor could radically reduce cost and improve delivery,”he says.The transformation parameters are much the same for aspects s

65、uch as waste collection and the provi-sion of public leisure facilities,but they couldnt be more different when it comes to the council servic-es that cover highly sensitive areas including social care and housing,Walther observes.Investment and implementation here are subject to tighter regulatory

66、constraints,while the needs of vulnerable service users must take priority.“A common mistake is to view such people as customers,which implies choice on their part,”he says.“If you dont have the means to pay privately for social care,say,the council is your only option.You are therefore a user,not a

67、 customer.”This forces local authorities to pull in“contradictory directions”on digital transformation,argues Walther,who believes that their outsourcing of complex services to third parties“has mostly failed”.Looking ahead,Walther believes that local authorities should priori-tise providing“excelle

68、nt services that are online by default”.But he adds:“Were having to be more open and honest about finances and ser-vice delivery than ever before.”out.“With councils under increased fiscal pressure after central funding reductions,theyre being expected to do more with less.Value for money must be de

69、monstrated.”A key factor thats frustrating councils plans is that the digital skills they need are in great demand and therefore dont come cheap.While businesses are prepared to pay a premium for these,Shanker suggests that the public sector tends to hire people on temporary con-tracts for such work

70、,which often proves to be a false economy.Working in a newly created role,Shanker has already identified some quick wins,such as straight-forward ways to make certain sys-tems more user-friendly for staff.His medium-term plan is to mod-ernise the tech stack and,in the longer run,he envisages making

71、extensive use of the internet of things and digital twins.He acknowledges that there is much work to do to build a smarter Newham.Public-private partner-ships will be required in certain areas to achieve this outcome.“Unlike businesses,public sector organisations undertaking digital transformations

72、would benefit from an ROI horizon of five,10,or 15 years,which provides a more con-vincing impetus to invest up front,”Shanker says.Many people working on transfor-mation projects in the public sector agree that,while theres no shortage of ambition,they are often ham-pered by so-called software lock

73、-in.This is where the initial cost(and disruption)incurred by replacing embedded legacy technology would be so great as to be prohibitive,given the funding constraints that councils are working under.Despite this,there have been some success stories in recent years.TakeSwindon Borough Council,for ex

74、ample.The authoritys collabora-tion with cloud provider Amazon Web Services(AWS)in 2021 to har-ness the power of artificial intel-ligence has drastically improved its response to fly-tipping around the town.The average clear-up time has been reduced from more than 10 days to four.Anyone who comes ac

75、ross illeg-ally dumped refuse can pinpoint its location for the council using a map on its website,describe the contents and upload photos.The AI system analyses this report to determine n town and county halls across the land,local and regional leaders are grap-pling with a conundrum.Few of them do

76、ubt the power of digital technology to make council services more accessible and cost-efficient,but several limiting factors are com-bining to hinder progress.Amit Shanker is an expert in data analytics who has worked for blue-chip companies including HSBC,Microsoft and real-estate giant JLL.In Janu

77、ary,he joined the London Borough of Newham as deputy CEO and chief digital officer,having led abusiness transformation project at the Financial Conduct Authority.He points out that local authori-ties have a long list of stakeholders to keep happy,from their employees and the communities they serve t

78、o central government and the media.They must also satisfy a whole set of legal and procedural requirements.Businesses,meanwhile,can usually focus on satisfying their customers and shareholders.“Statutory obligations mandate that a public body continues to discharge its services even while redesignin

79、g these as part of a digital transformation,”Shanker points IJonathan Weinbergwhat kind of vehicle will be required to remove the load.It helps the council to manage its resources so that rubbish appearing to contain hazardous materials is prioritised.Quoted in an AWS blog post,Sarah Talbot,leader o

80、f the councils emerging technologies team,said she thought that the projects suc-cess had changed attitudes among the wider workforce.“They can see the value of the work and that our focus and drivers are around helping with real issues in tangible new ways,”Talbot explained.Nonetheless,the digital

81、trans-formation of the nations public ser-vices has generally been“patchy”to date.So says Simon McNair,head ofthe UK public sector business of Iron Mountain,an S&P 500 con-stituent specialising in enterprise information management systems.His company has been working withnumerous local authorities i

82、n England and Scotland,including Birmingham City Council and the City of Edinburgh Council.“Digital transformation in public bodies is often behind where it is in private organisations,”McNair says,although he adds that the gap is not always as wide as people might imagine.McNair believes that local

83、 author-ities should focus their resources ondigital transformation where the cost-saving potential or the oppor-tunity to improve the user experi-ence is greatest.“The public sector is dogged by a combination of financial and cul-tural constraints,which have histor-ically frustrated ambitious digit

84、al transformation efforts,”he says.“These include the challenge of leg-acy paper,which is costly to review and then digitise or destroy.”Adam Walther is head of digital and transformation work at Woking Borough Council,which has been under“significant financial strain”.The fact that money is tight i

85、s even more reason for the authority to digitally transform itself,given the Mired in the shiresThe public sector is dogged by a combination of financial and cultural constraints,whichhave historically frustrated ambitious digital transformation effortsP U B L I C S E C T O RDIFFERENT AUTHORITIES AT

86、TRACT DIFFERENT LEVELS OF CENTRAL FUNDINGInflation-adjusted settlement funding in English local government(per capita)McKinsey,20220200400100300600500Metropolitan districts London boroughs Unitary authorities Shire counties and districts2015-162018-192016-172019-202021-222017-182020-212022-23phbcz v

87、ia iStockhe march of globalisation has made digital trans-formation a key strategic priority for many enterprises.It allows them to install the latest technology and adopt innovative,future-proof working methods.This not only enables them to carve out new business opportu-nities;it also boosts their

88、 engage-ment with customers and clients.Ultimately,the exercise is about creating a more reliable and pro-ductive working environment through improved connectivity and seamless workflows.But transforming an organisation introducing new tech,altering deeply embedded processes and challenging the norm

89、s of decision-making is difficult.It requires specialist skills that even multina-tional corporations sometimes lack.This is precisely why firms turn to external consultants for help.Although businesses may be able to afford big corporate consultan-cy fees,its an unfortunate reality that charities a

90、nd other not-for-profit organisations are priced out of this market,almost without exception.We at 180 Degrees Con-sulting bel ieve that cost should not prevent such enterprises from ac-cessing the skills and services they require to advance their causes.Our enterprise is the worlds lar-gest univers

91、ity-based consultancy firm that caters specifically to the needs of not-for-profit organisa-tions.We provide affordable high-quality consultancy services aimed at enabling socially conscious en-terprises to reach their full poten-tial and maximise their impact.Third sector organisations have become

92、increasingly interes ted in digitally transforming their opera-tions.Our firm has helped to make that possible for those that would not otherwise have had access to the requisite support.One success story is that of Seaside Scavenge,a not-for-profit organisa-tion that aims to clear up Australian wat

93、erways and promote education about environmental sustainability.With the assistance of 180 Degrees Consulting,the charity moved from paper-based operations to a fully digitalised model,working to inte-grate its databases in a new online format using a bot created by our consultants.As a result,Seasi

94、de Scavenge reduced the time spent on certain key tasks by more than 70%.This is an example of an organ-isation using new technology as a means for transformation.But its important to remember that skills are also a significant component of adigital transformation.For third sector organisations,many

95、 of which rely on volunteer workers,the lack of in-house transforma-tional skills is often magnified.We at 180 Degrees Consulting can help them fill those gaps.We recently assisted Teach for India(TFI),an organisation work-ing towards educational equity among the most disadvantaged children in India

96、.TFI had a fixed marketing strategy that focused mainly on YouTube and Facebook,targeting a certain demographic of users.We undertook a data-based assessment of the organisations strategy across its digital plat-forms and directed acomplete re-design to help it enhance its reach and cater to new aud

97、iences.We provided the expertise needed to overhaul TFIs social media pres-ence and expand it to platforms with a younger user base,such as TikTok and Instagram.Digital transformation can play a critical role in boosting the perfor-mance and impact of organisa-tions.Not-for-profit and socially consc

98、ious organisations must not be left behind in the quest for greater efficiency and cost should not stand in the way of theirtransformational aspirations.With the aid of consulting services such as ours,not-for-profit org-anisations and social enterprises can leave all else aside and focus on whats m

99、ost important:maxi-mising their impact and helping people in need.Socially conscious organisations must notbe left behindTI N S I G H TGrace BoylingGlobal PR specialist,180 Degrees ConsultingGrace Boyling explains how 180 Degrees Consulting is helping charities with limited resources to digitally tr

100、ansform themselvesCommercial featurehe government recognises the importance of digitally transforming public ser-vices.In the Transforming for a Digital Future strategy,for example,there is plenty of desire to deliver better citi-zen experiences and upskill civil serv-ants.But ambition is one thing;

101、results are another.The UN E-Government Development Index,which assesses the digital matu-rity of UN member states,found that between 2016 and 2022 the UK declined from first to 11th place.Yet since 2016,the UK has also ranked within the top five countries in the Global Innovation Index.In other wor

102、ds,there is a discon-nect between the wealth of innovation available in the UK and its impact within public services.PUBLIC exists to forge those con-nections,working with government to translate policy into product by improv-ing digital strategy,crowding-in startup innovation and building user-cent

103、red solutions.“Combining best practice digital delivery,alongside a culture of innovation that incorporates a wider array of suppliers,is critical if the gov-ernment is to take the next step toward better digital services,”says Ryan Shea,managing director at PUBLIC.Its an urgent task.According to a

104、survey conducted by the Global Government Forum,only 42%of civil servants believe that their department has the tools,resources and skills necessary to use technology to transform public services.As departments are asked to do more with less,adopting new tactics to scale digital initiatives offers t

105、he best way to secure value for money.The public sector needs to empower bottom-up innovation and engage with a wider range of suppliers to deliver on its digital ambitionEmpowering change agents across the organisationThe cultural status quo prevents trans-formative ideas and digital initiatives fr

106、om scaling to make a real impact on services.But change is possible.“Staff need to feel empowered to act in a more entrepreneurial way,”says Shea.“This is something leaders can support by creating work environments that encourage and reward creative problem solving,and providing good ideas with the

107、runway to develop into impactful solutions.”Some government departments have made significant progress toward this culture of innovation.The Ministry of Defence(MoD),for example,is embedding innovation skills in perfor-mance expectations and using a new skills framework to encourage bot-tom-up innov

108、ation.Last year,PUBLIC was commissioned to run an innovation and leadership programme called the Percy Hobart Fellowship.Participants from defence organisations learnt how to exploit new technologies,accelerate trans-formation around citizens needs and apply startup methodologies to create lasting i

109、mpact.The programme also included secondment into a digital startup to provide those taking part with hands-on experience.Participants developed their own digital concepts for improving key tasks in the military and have gone on to become leaders of large-scale dig-ital programmes.This has effective

110、ly saved the MOD money by reducing the amount it might otherwise have spent on contractors,while also demonstrating how it can cultivate its talent pool to sustain and improve public services.Leveraging an ecosystem to deliver valueAlong with an intrapreneurial culture inside government,a healthy su

111、pplier market is important for driving com-petition and cost efficiency in govern-ment supply chains.Shea believes the government should broaden the list of suppliers it works with,so that smaller firms can play a bigger role in delivering innovative technologies.“Government has begun to adopt agile

112、 working,but digital services are held back by linear procurement.Service owners and commercial teams that engage with the ecosystem of startups,innovators and businesses stand to learn more about where emerging technology can generate value within services,”he says.Shea advises commercial teams to

113、adopt agile and iterative procure-ment,replacing long and complex tender documentation with demos,prototyping and testing to make their procurement approaches more agile and user-driven.Challenge-based programmes are another underused commercial tool.“This is a very powerful model for engaging with

114、suppliers,”says Shea.“Rather than starting with the thing you want to buy,you start with the problem you want to solve and open that up to a much wider range of solutions.”Ultimately,by treating the wider innovation ecosystem as a strategic asset to support and draw upon,the government stands to imp

115、rove every aspect of public service delivery.For more information visit public.ioTHow innovation can transform public servicesR A C O N T E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N0908Commercial featurehere are some insights that cannot be discovered by studying sales spreadsheets and consum

116、er data.Sitting on the sofa of an elderly carer,TPXimpacts digital transformation team were getting familiar with how and when users logged on to the website of one of the UKs leading health support charities.The carer revealed that,because of a dependent partner with constant care needs,they could

117、only access the site to seek help late at night,sitting in the dark,so they didnt wake their loved ones.This point was reaffirmed by other users,who often found ele-ments of the site difficult to navigate quickly in the finite free time they had to gain advice.While designers on the project were cap

118、able of applying video,animation and interactive maps,this particular project required a minimalist,stream-lined approach.The criteria were simple but critical:the site must be easy to read and navigate,it mustnt incorporate large files that take time to load,and extensive questionnaires were off th

119、e table.In these scenarios,CMOs and CTOs must collaborate with each other and end users.Otherwise,they risk creat-ing shiny digital expositions that deliver on style but leave substance wanting-something that is wasteful and anti-value during a cost-of-living crisis,says Rebecca Hull,managing direct

120、or of digital experience at TPXimpact.A similar people-first approach bore fruit during a digital transforma-tion project for a global development charity,which was struggling to bring in donations during the economic crisis,Hull explains.“We needed to understand why users didnt donate more often.Th

121、ey said:you dont ask us.”The site did ask,but the donate button was obscured by an image on the home page.During a Christmas period where the choice between eating and heating became a stark reality for millions of Britons,charities felt the squeeze at what is usually a peak time for fundrais-ing.TP

122、Ximpact helped the charity increase their regular givers and exceed their fundraising targets with a clear,cost-effective strategy.The solu-tion was to make their digital assets work as hard as possible through incremental,rapid changes to combat the harsh economic downturn.“Not all clients have big

123、 budgets,yet a lot of our success happens by moving organisations with little digi-tal maturity onto the next stage through careful steps,”she says.“Very often,you cannot do that with a big bang approach.”Why reverse engineering works For organisations that serve varied user groups and attract milli

124、ons of online visitors each year,creating clear website design is especially important.Working together on a digital transfor-mation project,TPXimpact helped a major British film and television organ-isation distil its huge offering into three distinct user journeys:cinema fans eager to catch a show

125、 at the IMAX,film geeks keen to study the back catalogue of their favourite film icons,and direc-tors filling out funding applications in the hopes of creating the next Oscarwinner.They then worked to entirely re-configure their website,declut-tering content to leave a simpler and clearer interactio

126、n.But thats not just good website design,says Jen Byrne,TPXimpacts managing director of consulting:“In order to create and enable new digi-tal user journeys,you dont just reor-ganise a website;you start rewiring the whole organisation.You re-navi-gate that whole process to align those key customer j

127、ourneys and how ser-vices are offered.”Successful digital transformation isnt about dictating to front-line staff or dragging users along with change.Winning strategies mean proper time spent talking to and test-ing with users and understanding their preferences.Its also vital to allow digital staff

128、 to work alongside key workers.TPXimpact did just that when creating new digital visions for Essex County Council and the UK gov-ernments Department for Levelling Up,Housing and Communities.Critically,staff dont want to know they are on a digital maturity journey,and likewise,businesses dont want di

129、gital transformation teams to dis-appear for six weeks and come back with a shiny new product and web-site,says Byrne.“We believe in blended teams.Youd walk into a government building and not know who was from TPXimpact and who were civil servants.”She contin-ues:“Successful transformation is about

130、culture shift such as reversing waterfall management,where everything comes from the top and trickles down.You have to observe,listen and swap skills.”Embracing AI-enabled transformations TPXimpacts managing director of data and insights,Andy Ball,previously worked alongside Rotherham United footbal

131、l club.He saw how sharing data seamlessly when transferring targets could help them punch above their financial weight in a fiercely competi-tive Championship division.“Often,people are very protective of the data and think if they share it,they might lose power.But actually,sharing data is the powe

132、r.Youre creating a truly transparent bigger picture.You only find success when you share that same vision,one that all departments and users can buy into,”says Ball.Applied correctly,transparent,all-ac-cess data can transform a public entity,giving it a refreshed social pur-pose in a changing world.

133、When Durham County Council wanted to provide access to resources from across the organisation,including records from their library,historic pho-tographs and registry data,Balls team placed algorithms over the top of the materials to help organise the large bank of content,capturing the richness of t

134、he Northeast past and present.Historic documents could then be linked back to local records and notices,which could then be tied to future documents.Using an advanced cataloguing algorithm enabled the council to surface content that was previously hard to find and collect it in one place to create a

135、 more accessible and interactive journey of discovery.In this instance,AI and technology became a core component of a ser-vices entire purpose.But there is no use applying AI if you dont have the reporting systems to manage it,according to Ball.“Do you know where you are as a company at this place i

136、n time?How are staff performing,and who is able to use the new AI and who isnt?Without understanding the wider systems in your company,technology will never work successfully.When you can trust the data and the system,then you can start accelerating,”he says.During economic change,both public and pr

137、ivate sectors say users are at the heart of their digital transformations.Still,any changes must be reverse-en-gineered so the public stays with you.Hull concludes:“The whole world is speeding up,and the internet has amplified this massively.Organisations have realised that if they push as much onli

138、ne as possible,it speeds things up-but can those who are not so digitally literate stay with you?”For more information,visit Binning the bells and whistles:is 2023 the year of people-first digital transformation?When it comes to digital transformation strategies,businesses often get wrapped up in bi

139、g-budget initiatives.But getting it right can mean paring back and putting people firstTOrganisations have realised that if they push as much online as possible,it speeds things up-but can those who are not so digitally literate stay with you?should mean that any digital skills shortfalls are addres

140、sed cohesively.Drawing on the data from these stakeholders can help the business to work out how to close the gaps it has identified.But such collabora-tion in the auditing process should not only take place at a senior level.Involving employees at all levels should provide deeper insights into what

141、 is needed.Mazars,for instance,has been working on how to deliver training consistently across its various re-gional operations.The business is looking into offering subtitles and multiple language options,accord-ing to Bordbar.“Its exciting because it allows us to think about how we can remove barr

142、iers to digital upskilling,”she says.“By modernising our process,we can make it all more available.”The next thing a firm should do is identify and nominate so-called skills disseminators in the work-force.These are employees who can train and coach others in their teams.They dont necessarily have t

143、o be the most technically able,but they do require the right interper-sonal skills to act as mentors.Sheth points out that Gartner has found that its skills disseminators help to fulfil a few different needs within audits.When people on the front line deliver digital skills train-ing,theres a strong

144、er feeling of investment in that process.It also means that disseminators can alert the management team to areas in need of improvement.“It helps everyone in the work-force to see digital audits as some-thing motivational rather than an additional task,”he says.At this stage,it might be clear that a

145、uditing is an ongoing process.While it would make sense for a firm to formally assess its digital skills once a year,a workplace cul-ture that prizes consistent feedback and training is just as valuable.In that way,auditing the skills of your people by understanding exactly where they are now may pr

146、ove far more helpful than predicting what they need in an uncertain future.transformation,at Gartner.He rec-ommends that organisations prior-itise finding the skills gaps in their workforce.That starts with devel-oping a thorough understanding of the expertise they do have.“Organisations must start

147、identi-fying the skills they have and which ones are missing,”says Sheth,who adds that a few factors are making such action advisable.“The macro-economic changes that weve seen as the pandemic has progressed,along with problems in the supply chain and the high number of people leaving their jobs,hav

148、e all highlighted the need to find the right talent with the right skills to drive businesses forward.”Even in the most seemingly ad-vanced teams,a digital skills audit ts widely accepted that strong digital skills power successful digital transfor-mations.Although there have been countless reports

149、warning that businesses in the UK are struggling to recruit and retain such skills,itsalso becoming clear that many firms dont even know which ones they are most sorely lacking.A digital skills audit may be a sen-sible first step for any enterprise,regardless of its size or sector,in en-suring an ef

150、fective digital transfor-mation.Those that take it are more likely to avoid making costly mis-takes further down the line.The ex-ercise could also give them some valuable insights about themselves.Hiten Sheth is director of research and advisory,HR technology and Staff training meeting,Luis Alvarez

151、via GettyIRachel Muller-HeyndykWith such considerations in mind,Mazars has established a partnership with Microsofts Enter-prise Skills Initiative to enable up-skilling in Excel,PowerPoint and Outlook,as well as more advanced programs.This can be used in con-junction with the Skills Framework for th

152、e Information Age(SFIA),which provides a common global language for digital competency.As the technology and benchmarks for digital skills change continually,the framework is updated regularly by the SFIA Foundation.Its important to remember that digital skills wont and shouldnt look the same for ev

153、eryone.Its obvious that the combination of skills needed for marketing proba-bly wont be the same for finance,for instance.Gaining an under-standing of each profession and the specific digital skills it requires is therefore vital.A blanket approach to upskilling could prove wasteful,as Bordbar poin

154、ts out.“You could spend mil-lions of pounds giving everyone training in Python”,she says,“but how many people in your organisa-tion actually need to know Python?Traditionally,its been down to in-dividuals to assess the skills re-quirements of their teams.Sheth suggests that a more collaborative appr

155、oach can prompt a firm to think about skills in a more sustainable way.This should help to ensure that its transformation efforts align with the overall needs of the business.Bringing together senior specialists in corporate strategy,talent acquisi-tion,and diversity and inclusion While many firms k

156、now that they lack digital skills,they need to pinpoint where those deficits exist if theyre to solve the problemLEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT IN AID OF TRANSFORMATIONSFour popular training programmes worldwide,by the proportion of companies providing them for employees in 2022will help businesses to gai

157、n a full understanding of what theyre up against.If you dont have the essen-tial infrastructure in place,its all too easy to fall behind.Fay Bordbar,digital skills lead at accounting firm Mazars in the UK,stresses that audits are the key to working out how tuned in your em-ployees are to the fast-ch

158、anging world of digital tech.“People dont know that they dont know,”she says.“Technology is evolving so quickly.You might think that youve trained everyone on Excel,say,but it could turn out that Microsoft has added new func-tionality that no one knew about.Its key to develop a framework to plug the

159、 gaps and support the per-sonal development of your team.”You could spend millions of pounds giving everyone training in Python,but how many peoplein your organisation actually need to know Python?LinkedIn,2022Gap analysis:how to conduct a skills auditT R A I N I N GLeading through changeLarge-scale

160、 upskilling orreskillingDigital fluency or transformationData analysis42%41%30%25%Luis Alvarez via GettyR A C O N T E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N1110etween 2009 and 2019 the public cloud computing market grew into a multi-billion-dollar industry.Spending on public cloud infrastr

161、ucture services is on track to exceed 125bn world-wide,according to research consul-tancy Statista.But revenue growth in Amazon Web Services(AWS)has been on a downward trend in recent months,while growth in Microsofts Azure a star performer for the firm for many years fell to 35%in Q3 2022 from 50%a

162、 year earlier.The strategy of building cloud capacity and waiting for clients to buy it has been on the decline for some while,according to industry analyst Dean McCarron,president of Mercury Research.In October 2022,he told Reuters:“The build more happened in 2021 and weve been coasting down since

163、then.”But this deceleration has to be put into perspective.The cloud sectors growth has been phenomenal,with companies large and small benefit-ing from the lower cost and greater flexibility offered by its services.Research published by Eurostat indicates that 41%of all enterprises in the EU used th

164、e cloud in 2021,mostly for email and file storage.Pandemic-induced trends such as the proliferation of remote and hybrid working and the increased digitisation of retail and other services drove many companies towards greater cloud adoption.Its inevitable that such rapid growth should level off at s

165、ome point.Now that cloud adoption is maturing,business leaders are starting to un-derstand more about its benefits and its limitations based on their experience of the technology.has changed as the economic con-ditions have deteriorated.Some have also discovered that the cloud has its technical limi

166、t-ations,reports Jags Ramnarayan,chief product officer at cloud data-base firm MariaDB Corporation.He notes that common databases in the cloud,such as MySQL,are not built for horizontal scaling.They dont take advantage of a range of useful storage options either.“A new wave of distributed,cloud-nati

167、ve data management software is emerging to address these chal-lenges,”Ramnarayan says.“One example is the second-generation databases that run on multiple public clouds while also supporting on-premises workloads.”Like almost any maturing market,the cloud sector is becoming more competitive but also

168、 more diverse,specialised and sophisticated.The hyperscalers as cloud providers such as AWS,Microsoft and Google,among others,have become known are being challenged by niche pro-viders,according to Ramnarayan.“Another differentiating feature of these second-generation cloud data-bases is their abili

169、ty to deliver inno-vation,due to expertise and focus,that hyperscaler clouds cannot,”he says.“Although the first-generation databases from the hyperscalers did meet core infrastructure needs,the second generation provide smarter solutions with optimised features that reduce overall costs.”The clouds

170、 benefits will ensure that it remains relevant to compa-nies of all types and sizes.But it appears that the vast majority are deciding against putting all their eggs in one basket,whether thats in the cloud or on the premises.According to Cisco Systems 2022 Global Hybrid Cloud Trends Report:“Hybrid

171、cloud models that incorp-orate both on-premises infrastruc-ture and cloud-based resources have become the enterprise norm.”The report also suggests that com-petition among cloud providers is increasing,with 92%of organisa-tions opting to use more than two public cloud providers.How should businesses

172、 choose between the cloud,an on-premises solution or a hybrid approach?Prashant Ketkar,chief technology and product officer at software de-veloper Alludo,offers the following advice:“For new applications,uti-lising public cloud hosting is typi-cally the best choice.On the other hand,if youre running

173、 a legacy application that has been in use for 15 or 20 years and is still function-ing properly,it may be best to leave it as is.What should you do if your application isnt modern or legacy?In such cases,companies should evaluate three key factors:cost,user experience and security.”Many companies w

174、ill keep cer-tain types of data on the premises for security reasons or concerns about latency that is,communica-tions delays between the cloud and other platforms.There are other advantages to adopting a hybrid approach,notes Simon Boreham,regional business lead for northern Europe and emerging mar

175、kets at Exasol,a spe-cialist in database management software.Retaining an on-premises presence means that,if the firm decides to move to the cloud,it can migrate at its own pace instead of risking a“big-bang approach,which so often results in outages and cost overruns,as well as un-happy clients and

176、 employees”,he says.“Theres also no guarantee that data sets are compatible with the new cloud system.A solution to this is to consciously adopt a hybrid strategy,planning a staged app-roach rather than abandoning old systems altogether.”Keeping data both on the premises and in the cloud means firms

177、 can be agile and react to shifts in demand,while freeing them to work with data in ways that best suit their specific needs Boreham adds.“A hybrid ap-proach can de-risk and save organ-isations time and money,because only data that would benefit from being in the cloud is moved there.”Greater compet

178、ition and a better-informed,more demanding user base means that the market for cloud services will evolve,diversify and mature over the next few years.In many ways that should be good news for customers.Simon BrookeFor new applications,utilising public cloud hosting is typically the best choice.But,

179、if youre running a legacy application that has been in use for 15 or 20 years and is still functioning properly,it may be best to leave itInternational Data Corporation,2022FIRMS ARE RETHINKING THEIR RELIANCE ON PUBLIC CLOUDSShare of companies giving the following responses when asked how they inten

180、d to organise their public-cloud-based workloads over the next two yearsthe savings are not as substantial and immediate as they had hoped.“Weve seen some companies tak-ing a U-turn on cloud after reaching significant scale,realising that the cost doesnt make sense once it hits a certain level of co

181、nsumption.”So says Matt Barker,president of cloud-native solutions at Venafi,a cybersecurity specialist.He adds:“At that point,which will vary for different companies,the economics start to break and theres a realisa-tion that they can save money by moving applications back.This is being made possib

182、le by having a team that can understand how cloud-native technology can be applied on premises.”Companies have generally been relaxed about cloud costs when the going has been good.But their view The cloud sectors explosive growth phase seems to be over at last.The markets increasing maturity could

183、well be good for customersSilver linings playbookC L O U D S T R AT E GYIn this period of economic uncer-tainty,they are also re-examining their spending on cloud services.“Just as we saw customers acceler-ate their digital spend during the pandemic,we are now seeing them optimise that spend,”said S

184、atya Nadella,Microsofts chairman and CEO,when the firm presented its December 2022 quarterly results.In 2022,Aptum,a provider of hy-brid multi-cloud managed services,surveyed 400 senior IT managers in the UK and North America about their cloud usage.It found that,while 60%of respondents on aver-age

185、hosted their applications in the cloud,23%were planning to move some of them back to a data centre in the future.Although the cloud is promoted as an opportunity for cost reduction,some users have discovered that BRoss Tomei via iStockFlexera,202232%The amount of cloud expenditure thats wasted,accor

186、ding to IT chiefs13%The average amount over budget spent on cloud servicesWill move into private cloudor non-cloud environmentWill continue to run fully in the public cloudWill run in a hybrid environment using public cloud and private cloud/non-cloud IT infrastructureDont know70.7%13.3%9.7%6.3%R A

187、C O N T E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N1312 GLOBAL DIGITAL COMPETITIVENESSDigital competitiveness ranking and index scores for the UK and the top five most digitally competitive nations worldwideCountryWorld rankingIndex score out of 100DenmarkUSSwedenSingaporeSwitzerlandUK1234516

188、10099.8199.8199.4898.2386.45While digitalisation is not a zero-sum game,countries that do it better are likely to be more innovative and productive than average,attracting more investment and talent too.Their success in thisrespect could ultimately make them better places to live and do business.Con

189、sidering the benefits of digital integration and preparedness,itsvaluable for nations to benchmark themselves to understand where they excel and where they may belagging the pack.Digging into the nuts and bolts of digital competitiveness,how does the UK rank against key comparators around the world?

190、HOW DIGITALLY COMPETITIVE IS THE UK?International Institute for Management Development,2022KnowledgeTechnologyFuture-readiness Talent Training and education Scientific concentration Regulatory framework Capital Technological framework Adaptive attitudes Business agility IT integration151015202530151

191、01520253020182018201820182019201920192019202020202020202020212021202120212022202220222022THE UK IS BECOMING LESS DIGITALLY COMPETITIVEThe UKs rankings out of 63 countries on its overall digital competitiveness and three key factors contributing to that total in 2018-22WHERE THE UK IS LEADING AND LAG

192、GING THE WORLD IN THE DIGITAL COMPETITIVENESS STAKESThe areas in which the UK is ranked highest and lowest out of 63 countries across all contributory sub-factorsREGIONAL DIGITAL COMPETITIVENESSDigital competitiveness ranking and index scores for the UK and the top five most digitally competitive na

193、tions in EMEACountryRegional rankingIndex score out of 100DenmarkR&D productivity by publicationAttitudes towards globalisationRobots in education and R&DPrivacy protection by law contentE-participationInvestment in telecomsSweden SwitzerlandNetherlandsFinlandUK12345910099.8198.2397.8596.6086.45 Kno

194、wledge Technology Overall competitiveness Future-readinessStrengthsWeaknessesRankingRankingSub-factorSub-factor445Net inflow of international studentsSmartphone possession645646650Internet retailingEntrepreneurial fear of failureAdaptive attitudesCapitalScientific concentrationIT integrationScientif

195、ic concentrationAdaptive attitudesTalentAdaptive attitudesAdaptive attitudesBusiness agility343International Institute for Management Development,2022International Institute for Management Development,2022International Institute for Management Development,2022151015202530151015202530The UKs rankings

196、 out of 63 countries on the three sub-factors contributing to its knowledge scoresThe UKs rankings out of 63 countries on the three sub-factors contributing to its technology scoresThe UKs rankings out of 63 countries on the three sub-factors contributing to its future-readiness scoresR A C O N T E

197、U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N1514Commercial featureSkys the limit:how the cloud can bring brighter daysIf leaders get their strategy right,cloud technology can help businesses achieve success,remain efficient and relevant,and continue to innovatennovation shouldnt be an occasional

198、 extravagance.Forward-thinking compa-nies continually seek ways to grow and evolve,eliminating or automating non-competitive work to free up time and people to do this.When implemented correctly,a solid cloud migration strategy can be a cru-cial piece in the transformation puzzle,especially when com

199、panies are facing a squeeze.In fact,the initial allure of the cloud for most leaders is financial.Running an in-house data centre requires significant upfront capital investment and this technology is often not even used to capacity.The alterna-tive of outsourcing computing needs to a co-located dat

200、a centre means being tied down by long-term licences.A study by IDC found that typical data centres are 45%underutilised.So why invest in a resource that wont be used half the time?In the cloud,businesses only pay for the computing power,data storage and services that they use.They can scale their t

201、echnology consumption up or down based on business and customer demands rather than according to some arbitrary licensing agreement.“You can do more,for less,more cost-effectively”,says Phil Le-Brun,director of enterprise strat-egy at Amazon Web Services(AWS),the worlds most broadly adopted cloud pr

202、ovider.The Covid-19 pandemic shone a light on the flexibility and affordability of the cloud,says Le-Brun.“Travel companies operating on AWS Cloud could quickly cut consumption and,therefore,costs,while supermarkets could ramp up their ability to handle a large number of customer calls.”However,the

203、benefits of the cloud go beyond cost.And as customer experience becomes a key differenti-ator for business success in the modern era,having access to the technology that enables excellence in customer service and fulfilment is becoming vital.The cloud enables businesses to focus on exceeding custome

204、r expecta-tions with new insights,products and services,rather than wasting time and money on running their own data cen-tres or managing complex,expensive licensing deals,says Le-Brun.The real power of the cloud is that it allows companies to innovate at speed.“In all,AWS Cloud enables busi-nesses

205、to experiment more,at a lower cost and,when they hit that winning idea,to scale it globally in minutes,not months or years,”says Le Brun.Offering a global infrastructure acces-sible to the newest startup through to the largest organisation,AWS allows more experiments to be run to find those magic id

206、eas that will wow cus-tomers.Unsuccessful experiments can be shut down and successful ones ushered quickly into customers hands.This capability to test,pivot or scale allows companies to rapidly turn ideas into action.“We believe this ability to be agile and fast are universal,sustainable competitiv

207、e advantages.And I say this from observing what a diverse range of customers such as Formula One,Dunelm,Sainsburys and Nationwide Building Society are able to do in the cloud,”he says.A good example of this fast innova-tion is the Amazon Just Walk Out tech-nology that many retailers are now using to

208、 rethink the retail experience.Customers can pick up items in-store and leave without the inconvenience of queueing to pay,with the bill coming through their Amazon account.“It was an initiative started with a clear cus-tomer need in mind,although the how to achieve it wasnt initially clear,”says Le

209、-Brun.“Fast experimen-tation close to the customer,using the plethora of technology available in the cloud,enabled the team to find a path to achieving this goal.”In a previous role,Le-Brun worked at a fast food chain,where he was corpo-rate vice president for global technol-ogy development.Here,he

210、saw first-hand the business advantages of working with AWS Cloud.His company gained the ability to build and scale what became a multi-billion-dollar home delivery business in months.This was facilitated through its cloud infrastructure,though it was achieved by focusing on its business needs,not th

211、e underlying technology or negotiat-ing a multitude of licenses.A move to the cloud can also help inspire,attract and retain staff.Employees want to work with modern technology that allows them to deliver value faster.Le-Brun points to the dynamic team structures that AWS enables in organisations.“W

212、ithin AWS,we organise around what we call two-pizza teams:teams of six to 10 people small enough to be fed with two pizzas,thereby enabling agil-ity.These teams are responsible for delivering not just technology,but an actual business outcome.Its an approach we help our customers adopt,speeding up d

213、ecision-making,giving talented employees access to the latest cloud-based technology,and allowing them to deliver real,purpose-ful change to businesses rather than feeling like a small cog in a large machine,”he says.The chances are these employees also expect their employers to recog-nise their obl

214、igation to operate sus-tainably.Increasingly,forward-looking organisations understand that there is both a moral imperative and business upside to considering the environment in their operations.A 2021 report from 451 Research found that simply moving to the cloud typically brings a five-fold improv

215、ement in energy efficiency in EMEA,and 2019 research by the same company found that operating in the cloud can result in up to an 88%smaller carbon footprint.And that is when a company is using the same processing in the cloud as in a regular data centre.The flexibility in the cloud enables organisa

216、tions to continue to optimise for performance,cost and environmen-tal impact.AWS,for example,has a carbon footprint tool designed to deliver this level of insight and actionability.The environmental crisis is just one of the confluence of critical events facing the world in this era of“polycri-sis”a

217、cross the economy,politics,society and climate.And customer preference and fickleness continue to keep businesses on their toes.Leaders need to be multi-dexterous and navi-gate the worlds increasing complex-ity.They need to simultaneously become more resilient,more effec-tive in using their resource

218、s and more focused on growth.These are still early days for cloud adoption according to AWS CEO Adam Selipsky,in 2021 only between 5%and 15%of possible applications resided in the cloud.With so much potential already being realised,there is still a huge opportunity to reinvent every industry.As Le-B

219、run says:“The cloud is liber-ating.It offers employees an opportu-nity to deliver value and organisations the ability to cost-effectively innovate in previously unimaginable ways.The cloud offers a way for all of us to oper-ate in a more secure,resilient and sus-tainable way.”To find out more,visit

220、IThe cloud offers a way for all of us to operate in a more secure,resilient and sustainable way5xMoving to the cloud typically brings a five-fold improvement in energy efficiency in EMEA451 Research,2021Anarchy in the UX and how to prevent itn March last year,high-end clothing brands including Dolce

221、&Gabbana,Etro and Tommy Hilfiger placed themselves squarely on the digital front row of the first ever fashion week held in the metaverse.Elsewhere in this immersive 3D realm,JP Morgan opened a banking lounge.Users were able to create avatars of them-selves to wander the space,where they could admir

222、e a portrait of CEO Jamie Dimon on the wall,along with a list of the firms achievements.Visitors couldnt do anything as practical as speaking to staff in what was clearly an experimental facility,although they could at least interact with its resident virtual tiger.Several big businesses invested he

223、avily in digital real estate in 2022,but few people were interested enough to visit their shiny new metaverse properties and see what these had to offer them.By the end of the year,only 9%of Metas creator-built worlds had ever attracted more than 50 users and the company for-merly known as Facebook,

224、which had engineered much of the metaverse,had lost$30bn(25bn).Too many companies rushed head first into Web3 ventures such as themetaverse without even having mastered Web2.Thats the view of Shama Hyder,founder-CEO of mar-keting and PR agency Zen Media and the author of Momentum:how to propel your

225、marketing and trans-form your brand in the digital age.She compares the hype that sur-rounded the metaverse initially to quantitative research too,mainly with analytics tools.”Such regular contact with the de-signer serves to give the user the smoothest possible experience,says Hyder.She adds that t

226、his is some-thing that consumers are coming to expect whether theyre engaging with a brand online or on the high street especially at a time when the line between the digital and physical UXs is blurring.“Take purchasing cosmetics as an example,”Hyder says.“Customers want to walk into a store and bu

227、y what they need there,but also go online and have a similar experi-ence,with digital lipstick try-outs and all their preferences saved on the site for next time.”After Nexer Digital(whose other clients include AstraZeneca and the Department for Education),finished its work,Mind saw a growth in user

228、 engagement with its campaigns and an increase of more than 70%in average monthly donations.To work out exactly how people are using apps and websites,design researchers require a wide range of skills.First and foremost,they need to be excellent communicators,says Christa Simon,user experience re-se

229、archer at Figma,a cloud-based collaborative design platform.“As a design researcher,you must be able to ask the right questions,actively listen to the answers and then present your findings clearly and concisely to the rest of the team,”she says.“That means you need to be good at building relation-s

230、hips youre not only researching your users;youre researching stakeholders to ensure that you are all aligned.”Hyder argues that an effective dig-ital researcher will come up with a clear strategic plan as to where a company should engage with the public and how,taking its target market as the starti

231、ng point.She stresses that its“customers will simply look elsewhere if they expe-rience too much friction”.Digital design researchers often have a background in psychology,anthropology or human-computer interaction,notes Simon,who adds:“Most crucially,they need to be curious,creative,and empathetic.

232、They must be able to put themselves in the users shoes,be willing to experiment with new research tech-niques and think creatively to solve complex problems.”To meet the demands of a var-ied customer base,the design team should ideally contain members whose backgrounds reflect those of the users,ac-

233、cording to Wissink.“People of different ages,eth-nicities,genders,abilities,classes and education levels will interact with something in different ways,”he says.“Including them allin the design and testing stages will en-sure that their experiences inform the end product.”Some companies,intheir eage

234、rness toadopt the Next BigTechnology,risk losing sight of their customers needs.This is where digital design researchers come into their ownthe buzz generated by mobile apps during the period when“every firm under the Sun created an app but few actually needed one.Many of them offered very poor webs

235、ite ex-periences yet they still wanted to build an app.After the novelty wore off,most apps were abandoned,because users simply didnt want to download one more app.”Ashton Snook,senior design and research manager at Vodafone,be-lieves that too many firms became so dazzled by the potential of the met

236、averse that they lost focus on their customers needs and even abandoned sound research.“It is easy for some brands to find themselves disconnected from their end users,given the lines of code,pixels and glass between them,”he says.“Understanding your audi-ences desires,activities and ambi-tions is p

237、aramount.You need to retain their voice as you balance brand personality against techno-logy to produce something of merit.”When Mental health charity Mind decided that it had to revamp its digital platforms,it called on the services of design researchers to inform the process.To give the or-ganisat

238、ion a better understanding of its users access needs,they con-ducted a range of usability tests.Some of these took place in peoples homes and others in a mobile lab.An important factor for Mind was that the participants should use their own devices wherever possible TAKE A TIP FROM ONLINE MARKETPLAC

239、ESDigital purchasing channels providing the best customer experience,according to UK consumersIt is easy for some brands to find themselves disconnected from their end users,given thelines of code,pixels and glass between themAndy JonesWunderman Thompson,2022D I G I TA L D E S I G NIwhen using its s

240、ite.The researchers also invited people with a wide range of access needs and varying levels of confidence in using digital tech to participate in the study.Where necessary,they allowed for the use of assistive software and hardware,such as screen readers,magnification tools,special glasses,gloves a

241、nd even simulators.While all these processes offered valuable insights,the keys to the success of this study were having regular face-to-face contact with users and keeping an open mind,stresses Simon Wissink,account director at Nexer Digital,the design and development agency that col-laborated with

242、 Mind.“Typically,we run these sessions on weekly for different clients,”he says.“The research is augmented with surveys,in-depth interviews and diary studies to capture user input over a longer period.These are all qualitative methods,but we use RetailersIndividual brandsVoice commerceAggregators an

243、d delivery appsSocial networksMessaging platformsNone of these18%50%1%2%3%4%7%15%Online marketplacesAlexandr Dubynin via GettyR A C O N T E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N1716Commercial featureCommercial featureData centres and IT infrastructure strategy are key to digital transform

244、ationIT infrastructure matters more now than at any point in history.If businesses are to fully implement a digital transformation strategy,they fi rst need to rethink the physicality of dataata centres,the power-houses that sit at the heart of the worlds boundless computing needs,are often over-loo

245、ked.Yet they are the unsung heroes of our digital world.As 5G networks,the metaverse,cloud computing,the Internet of Things and remote working are embedded in society,theres an increasing disconnect with the actual physical infrastructure needed to serve these applications.As businesses transform an

246、d become more data-led,their IT infrastructure needs will grow and the nature of their data centre requirements will change as a result.The challenge therefore is deliv-ering IT infrastructure to meet these needs,both in terms of capacity and connectivity.Corporations may have a digital transformati

247、on strategy;few have a data centre strategy.This needs to change if theyre to remain competitive.“Every business is a digital business,and as they roll out new innovations,new apps or products,which they want to scale-up and industrialise,then they will encounter bottlenecks in terms of performance

248、and cost unless they really think about the data infrastruc-ture that serves them.Corporations must question the underlying archi-tecture fi rst,”says Patrick Lastennet,director for enterprise at Digital Realty,the global provider of cloud-and carri-er-neutral data centre,colocation and interconnect

249、ion solutions.He adds:“Whats changed now is that the computing power must grav-itate towards where the data is being generated not the other way around.Thats because the volume of data is so large and is growing at such a rate that it needs to be processed as close to where it originates as possible

250、.”Data cannot be ignoredThe term data gravity is increasingly used to describe this concept.Data has the greatest gravitational pull where it has the largest mass.This tends to be where humans congregate in offi ces and homes and where they consume,as well as generate business,places like mega-citie

251、s.Therefore,the locations where data is handled matters.It means where data centres and their connections are located is also mission critical.Businesses wont be able to transform digitally unless they are processing data in the right place,at the right time,especially as corporations become more da

252、ta-led and digital fi rst,auto-mating processes and plugging into more data from their supply chains and business ecosystems.“CIOs and decision-makers need to think hard about where the majority of their data is being produced,how much is going to be generated now and in the future,and where it need

253、s to be processed and stored.Many enter-prises are at the start of their digital transformation journey.It is important that this conversation is had right now,”says Lastennet.Data infrastructure spending is under reviewCost management is also a big issue.Cloud computing may provide more computing p

254、ower and a more inno-vative space for development teams to operate from,but it can be more costly.However,not every IT workload needs to operate in this space.There is a fi ne balance to be had.“Right now,we are in a very volatile,economic environment,with a great deal of uncertainty;thats why the c

255、ost of data-centres is in the crosshairs.Businesses are starting to look at this with a more granular perspective.IT needs traditional data centres for the day-to-day running of an organisa-tion,but it also needs cloud capacity to deliver new applications and digital transformations,”Lastennet says.

256、“A data-centric architecture approach is crucial,one that is built around data fl ows and understanding the cost and performance attached to each work-load and whether it can work in the cloud or outside it.”Data mapping is essential where businesses map out their data needs fi rst,how and where it

257、is stored,and what their data footprint is likely to be in the future.Then,businesses can engage data centre rationalisa-tion,in which they realign and refi ne their IT resources and networks to meet their needs both operationally and strategically.If businesses want the best perfor-mance at the rig

258、ht cost,they have to question how the underlying physical data infrastructure is going to be deliv-ered.Right now,many multinational companies and larger enterprises are rewiring how they conduct business around the globe,whether it is near-or friend-shoring,diversifying produc-tion lines or rerouti

259、ng logistics and supply chains post Covid-19.Businesses are also shifting to where there are greener sources of energy.Legislation and regulation increasingly determine data locations.Enterprises now favour running data centres within jurisdictions where there is geo-polit-ical and economic stabilit

260、y,as well as accountability.All of these issues,have huge implications for IT infrastructure and data fl ows.Lastennet says:“if you take the long view of fi ve,10 or 15 years time a lot is going to change in terms of where your data will originate and how your global data platform should be confi gu

261、red.No business can leave this to chance.”For more,please visit digitalrealty.co.ukCIOs and decision-makers need to think hard about where the majority of their data is being produced,how much is going to be generated now and in the future,and where it needs to be processed and storedDHow is digital

262、 transformation driving change?Businesses are becoming more digital and data-led,it means that IT infrastructures are evolving from being cost centres to revenue generators.The demands on the CIO are therefore huge and complex,since IT must increasingly deliver,because its critical to business growt

263、h.IT also needs to be resilient yet agile at the same time,deploying everyday work-loads,and new applications at scale.This is no easy task.Increasingly the cloud has been used to drive new applications,since it offers the fi repower that businesses need.However,as the cost of cloud solutions start

264、to eat into revenues,some companies have repatriated workloads into on premise data cen-tres.It is why a hybrid IT approach is increasingly deployed,which marries the best of the cloud with traditional on-site data capabilities.Yet this approach needs signifi cant network-ing capacity,since data mus

265、t move effortlessly between workloads.It is also more complex in its architec-ture,this is why when we build new colocation data centres,we start with networking capabilities involving a plethora of telecom,subsea cable and Internet providers.A connectivity hub is now vital for implementing hybrid I

266、T.What strategy should businesses take?If businesses are to capitalise on the hallmarks of digital transfor-mation,including data analytics,arti-fi cial intelligence and machine learn-ing,as well as tackle cybersecurity,they need to seriously rethink how their IT infrastructure is confi gured.Many C

267、IOs know what they need to achieve strategy wise,they just dont know the best way to implement it.Businesses now need to work with an ecosystem of partners in order to deal with this level of complexity.Its why we are increasingly a conduit for cor-porations,trying to navigate the issues and develop

268、 cost effective solutions.Were seeing a lot of businesses come to us,they know that having their own data centre in the basement of their offi ce is not the future.Its not the answer from a sustainability perspec-tive.They would like to move it into the cloud,but that isnt the whole solution either.

269、They cannot just shift their IT infrastructure to a coloca-tion data centre with a network fabric overnight.Whats the right way?This is where corporations need trusted partners to implement change.What advice would you give to transforming businesses?Digital transformation involves a series of trans

270、itions and its a multi-year journey,its not even a destination.Its a process thats managed over time.Businesses also need the agility to be able to pivot during that journey.These days the best way to do that involves deploy-ing IT infrastructure in a highly net-worked,highly connected colocation da

271、ta centre.This gives corporations the fl exibility to access the public cloud,migrate it or repatriate it into data-centres across multiple loca-tions and urban centres,globally.Future-proofi ng your IT infrastruc-ture is also vital as businesses trans-form.This is diffi cult for CIOs to do on their

272、 own cost effectively.At Digital Realty we are also on a journey to build competence and agility,as well as evolve over time.Businesses need to align themselves with ecosystem play-ers that are on a journey to improve.What other issues are businesses dealing with?As businesses transform one of the b

273、iggest challenges is dealing with the net-zero agenda and reduc-ing carbon emissions.Everyone now wants to know about the sustainabil-ity agenda of their suppliers.These days,data centre service providers must have a strong sustainability strat-egy with results.Through power pur-chasing agreements o

274、r PPAs,we can purchase many megawatts of renew-able energy to power our data cen-tres;this underwrites fresh capacity,such as new wind farms.Were now anchor buyers of renewable energy across Europe.Power usage effi ciency in data centres is also important.If you run your own data centre on prem-ise

275、it is impossible to run it effi ciently,because you cannot utilise it enough.Colocation data centres are better in this regards,since they are optimally confi gured across many clients.Digital transformation needs to refl ect data reality Q&ASamus Dunne,managing director for UK and Ireland at Digita

276、l Realty,discusses how digital and business transformation is demanding more from data and IT architecture If businesses are to capitalise on the hallmarks of digital transformation,they need to seriously rethink how their IT infrastructure is confi guredCORPORATE DATA STRATEGIES ARE EVOLVING TO SUP

277、PORT DATA GRAVITYCOLOCATION OF COMPANY DATA IS INCREASING FORMAL DATA STRATEGIES ARE BEING DEVELOPED TO SUPPORT THIS GROWTH IN DATA 62%97%93%71%21%of companies with over$1bn in revenue have more than 50 locations or colocation siteshave at least 21 locationswill add new business points of presence b

278、y 2024 will add at least six points of presencewill add more than 10 business points of presenceof companies with revenues over$1bn keep their data in decentralised locationsof organisations will have multiple data hubs to support data analytics,sharing and governance by 2024Digital Realty,2022Gartn

279、er,2020have a formal data strategy in early adoption stagehave a formal data strategy in the planning stageshave no formal plans or data strategyhave a formal data strategy that is actively executedDigital Reality,2022Digital Reality,202244%70%31%44%15%10%transformation needs to refl ect R A C O N T

280、 E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N1918Commercial featureHow can businesses get the most value from AI?As various high-profile fiascos have demonstrated,getting your data house in order,building guardrails and winning trust are key to effective artificial intelligence deploymentshen

281、top OpenAI investor Microsoft unleashed a ChatGPT-infused Bing search on the world,it wasnt long before it ran haywire,comparing journalists to Hitler and gaslighting its users.Of course,these deranged tirades were not really an AI going rogue or anything of that sci-fi ilk;the tool is a probabilis-

282、tic program that,having scraped the internet and all the junk on it as its source,returns answers that it thinks are likely to be correct.The whole epi-sode did,however,highlight the need for a considered approach to AI deployments,especially when theyre public-facing.Above all,it demon-strated that

283、 AI needs precise use cases informed by good,up-to-date data,and guardrails to ensure its on the right track.“Microsoft,Bing,OpenAI and ChatGPT have done the world a favour,”comments EMEA field CTO at Databricks,Dael Williamson,“because on the one hand,theyve shown us the art of the possible but the

284、yve also shown us the respect we have to give to training data.”As amusing as the headline-grabbing antics of abusive chatbots might be,what will really be front of mind for most businesses as they seek to lever-age artificial intelligence is how it can help them work smarter and more efficiently.Fo

285、r example,Williamson saw the power of AI in his previous career in proteomics,with simulations for drug discovery that used to take 25 days now taking just a few hours.And across all kinds of industries,busi-nesses are using AI in ways that might not make headlines but are helping them provide bette

286、r solutions and services.Whether were aware of it or not,many of us interact with AI on a daily basis from the navigation tools that plot courses for Uber to Amazons recommendation engines.“It all starts with data,”says Williamson.“Before businesses can create AI models that actually deliver value,t

287、hey need to ensure the source data theyre building from is accurate,complete,timely and fair.”While the transformational potential of AI really is enormous,and may change the world in unforeseen ways,most businesses will be seeking to use AI to improve their business processes.Decision-makers have c

288、ertainly noted the potential.In a recent MIT and Databricks technology review survey,CIOs estimated that AI spending over the next three years will increase in security by 101%,data governance by 85%and new data and AI platforms by 69%.To ensure that its AI driving the efficiencies rather than a tai

289、l wagging the dog situation where the technology is in search of a problem,businesses will need to first identify the use cases that would actually benefit from these rollouts and,crucially,ensure their data is in order.Artificial intelligence is only as good as the data that feeds it.Unfortunately

290、for weary data scientists,who spend an astonishing 80%of their time search-ing for the stuff,most organisations are sitting on incredible treasure troves of data,but its scattered and hard to find.This is unsurprisingly a barrier to using it effectively,let alone for build-ing effective AI models.If

291、 not hidden down the proverbial sofa,this data is siloed,disconnected and sorted in different databases and formats.In short,staff in department A may not know about the data in depart-ment B,and even if they do,theyd struggle to connect it.To get around this,businesses need to unify their data envi

292、ronment.“We call it the lake-house concept think of it as the pro-duction and distribution of data and models,”says Williamson of this open architecture proposal,“where it covers all the value units youd typically want to have your data go through.”By unifying all of your business data and applying

293、governance to it,the data becomes much more observable,making it easier to maintain and manage data integrity.With this data organised,accessible and standard-ised,businesses can pick and choose which data sets are the most appropri-ate for the model theyre building,whether thats large language mode

294、ls,computational models,deep or machine learning,and then build the applications on top of that.“Thats the technology,but the hard bit is change management and trust,”says Williamson.No wonder;those aforementioned fearful headlines often frame artificial intelligence as a uniquely disruptive force t

295、hats set to play havoc with society as we know it,shredding the social contract and dis-carding its hapless victims.Thats not the case at all most businesses will simply be attempting to drive efficien-cies,using automation to sluice away the most dreary manual tasks,which often dont scale without a

296、 little tech-nological assistance.Take the humble elevator,for exam-ple,notes Williamson.For many years,lifts were staffed by an attendant,greeting users and pulling the levers.It took a long while before people trusted these newfangled automated contrap-tions enough to press a button,but now its as

297、 intuitive as crossing the road.Change can take time,and thats why its so vital organisations manage it carefully,rolling out AI deployments with openness and transparency.At the very least,they should work with technology that operates a sort of glass box model as opposed to an opaque black box wit

298、h all the inner workings hidden away so that users understand exactly what is going on and why.“If you translate it to people,process and technology,technology needs to be simplified and made uncompli-cated,while process is the real unlock to create efficiency,build trust and transparency through th

299、at,”says Williamson.Today,its really only the dawn of the AI era,but soon enough itll become evident that people will largely interact with machines as co-pilots,much the same as other transformative technol-ogies like the printing press and the internet.Communicating this to users is key:“We need t

300、ransparency,open data and trust,”Williamson says,with projects that demonstrate their value to staff outside of data science func-tions.“The few enable the many thats the bottom-up way of thinking about it.There also has to be a top-down commitment from the C-suite and all business leaders to work t

301、ogether;a partnership between those two groups,where everyone is rowing in the same direction.”To find out more,visit PERCENTAGE LEADERS EXPECT TO INCREASE THEIR AI AND MACHINE LEARNING SPENDING BETWEEN 2022 AND 2025 MIT and Databricks,2022Wincrease in AI security spendingincrease in data governance

302、 spendingincrease in spending on new data and AI platforms101%85%69%Before businesses can create AI models that actually deliver value,they need to ensure the source data theyre building from is accurate,complete,timely and fairFor the transition to EVs to work,fleet managers need IoT-enabled data t

303、o manage their vehicles andplan their operationsMany fleet managers remain doubtful about electric vehicles sustainability credentials and the lack of charging infrastructure.Butthe sheer amount of data these products can provide may yet win them round“The data that we monitor has changed from preve

304、ntive mainte-nance predictions to proactive per-formance optimisations,such as integrating next weeks weather forecast with our route planning to maximise battery performance in cold conditions,”says Veolias CIO in northern Europe,Stuart Stock.“This is crucial to making electri-fication a viable lon

305、g-term decar-bonisation solution by achieving significant efficiency savings.The data revolution also affects our people,who are learning new skills to make the transition to EVs as smooth as possible for customers.”Research by Statista indicates that the global EV markets revenue will grow at an av

306、erage annual rate of 17%between 2023 and 2027,by which time the industry will be worth about 720bn.Its likely that the market for tech that can extract and analyse data from EVs will boom alongside it.Greg Hanson is a vice-president at Informatica,a specialist in cloud data management,where he leads

307、 sales teams in EMEA and Latin America.He says that,in the future,“data from the thousands of sensors on the outside of an EV could be used to predict its battery life and range more accurately,accounting for factors such as the temperature and wind speed.They could also collect information about we

308、ather patterns.So,for instance,a car-hire firm with thousands of cars in act-ion nationwide would have valuable real-time meteorological data and could share this aggregated infor-mation with interested parties.”Concerns about the lack of charg-ing points and the cost(both finan-cial and ecological)

309、of EVs will continue as the technology devel-ops and the infrastructure is rolled out.Nonetheless,the wealth of actionable information that these vehicles have to offer which could help firms to achieve crucial cost-efficiencies in tough times may give sceptical fleet managers the reassurance they r

310、equire to join the electric revolution.One aspect of the EV revolution thats tended to go under the radar is the access it offers fleet managers to large volumes of accurate,timely data on vehicle usage and driver behaviour.Employers with big fleets have a chance to use this wealth of information to

311、 make improvements in areas such as cost-efficiency,sus-tainability and customer service.“Data is of critical importance to any fleet manager,”says John Randerson,chief technology officer at WNVTech,a manufacturer of zero-emission buses.“In the case of diesel-and petrol-powered vehi-cles,this could

312、be provided only by overlaying software on to each ts been a fast but bumpy ride for electric vehicles(EVs)so far.Governments have introduced regulations and tax incentives to encourage their use,while Tesla has made them at-tractive to aspirational consumers.About 10.5 million new EVs(both plug-in

313、hybrid and fully battery powered)were delivered worldwide last year,55%up on 2021s total,according to the EV-Volumes data-base.But the industry has yet to provide satisfactory responses to those concerned about the environ-mental impact of the manufactur-ing process and the continuing lack of chargi

314、ng infrastructure.Simon Brookestations to be recharged will be nothing compared with the sight of whole fleets left stranded because theyve run out of charge”.Van der Wilt points out that fleet managers need such data to plot the most efficient delivery routes based on the range of each vehicle,acco

315、unting for variables such as the load its carrying and the weather its likely to encounter.“They need to be able to make in-telligent choices about where and when recharging stops should be made preferably at booked sta-tions during the drivers scheduled breaks so that they can get moving again as s

316、oon as possible,”he says.Aidan McClean,CEO of all-electric car rental service UFODrive,uses ananalogy likening a conventional vehicle to an old analogue telephone and an EV to a smartphone.“The analogue telephone remains very good at a few things,but the smartphone is the platform to build on,”he ex

317、plains.“Traditional tele-matics and data enable you to agg-regate and track specific data points.Engaging directly with those data points takes a lot of work,but the result is that it helps you to build automated operations and real-time management processes.”For example,a fleet manager can use the

318、cameras on an EV to provide identity verification that allows the driver to access the vehicle,saving time and administration costs,McClean adds.While the EV is being driven,data from the vehicle can be analysed to provide a continually updated prediction of its range.Platforms such as the one run b

319、y UFODrive can identify the most cost-efficient charging option en route and automatically book a slot for the vehicle.Waste management specialist Veolia operates about 200 electric street-cleaning and refuse-collection vehicles.It is integrating different data sets with operational systems such as

320、battery,vehicle and charg-ing infrastructure to make decisions aimed at optimising routes and pro-longing its EVs working lives.Kings of the (super)highwayvehicle.By contrast,the ability to provide data is an integral part of modern EVs,meaning that more of it is available from them.”He continues:“E

321、very fleet mana-ger will have their own specific data requirements,depending on the size of their fleet,its sector and the environment in which it operates.When creating EVs,manufacturers can work with software architects to produce a vehicle that provides data to suit each managers needs.”An EV can

322、 offer a host of informa-tion,ranging from the topography of the route its taking to how smoothly its being driven.Certainly,this telematics data could solve some of the problems that electrification has been causing many fleet managers.Philip van der Wilt is a senior vice-president at Samsara,a sof

323、t-ware developer specialising in the internet of things(IoT).He stresses that,“for the transition to EVs to work,fleet managers need IoT-enabled data to manage their vehi-cles and plan their operations”.Without such data,“the scenes over Christmas of cars queuing for hoursat supermarkets and service

324、 THE FORECAST GROWTH OF CONNECTED VEHICLESThe size of the connected car fleet in selected markets in 2021 and projections for 2025-35(millions of units)Strategy&,PwC,Statista,2021F L E E T M A N A G E M E N TI2021202520302035US EU China Japan847668815015188142172321692730526125244t:3alexd via iStock

325、R A C O N T E U R.N E TD I G I TA L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N2120hile multinational corpo-rations with deep pockets can afford to throw money at a major project if things arent going to plan,most firms dont have that luxury.They must be smart with their limited funds,which means that its crucial to

326、 get the technological choices right first time in a digital transformation.But business leaders are often un-sure about where to spend their IT budgets.When the Boston Consult-ing Group(BCG)surveyed nearly 2,700 senior decision-makers in 13 countries last year,it found that 96%were planning to eith

327、er main-tain or increase investments in digital transformation in 2023,yet 93%admitted that their companies were“struggling to navigate the rapidly growing landscape of dis-ruptive new technologies”.James Lupton is chief technology officer at IT consultancy Cynozure.He believes that“the technology l

328、andscape has never been more sat-urated.It offers everything,from exceptionally niche vendors right through to platforms that promise to do it all.Any company embark-ing on a digital transformation is going to be spoilt for choice.”With such a huge array of options on offer,its no wonder that busine

329、ss leaders are struggling to pick out the right ones for their firms.While it may be tempting for them to choose experience,“businesses will often implement a new tool without having defined outcomes;without considering how it will align people and processes;and without having effective ways to meas

330、ure the ret-urn on investment”.Lupton stresses the importance of gaining a full understanding of the businesss requirements before pro-ceeding any further with a trans-formation,adding:“Establishing a clear set of selection criteria by which potential tech will be judged should ensure that any decis

331、ions are informed and rational.”Conducting an audit of all the IT in use by your company is a good starting point.This exercise should assess the effectiveness of each tool and determine which ones are bec-oming unfit for purpose.“Youre likely to find a lot of man-ual processes and tech that hasnt b

332、een stacked,as well as technology thats no longer serving the busi-ness,”Russo says.“After uncover-ing what your current state really looks like,then you can start hav-ing that conversation about what you need and dont need.”Once the tech stack has been mapped out,the next logical step is to get a h

333、andle on data integration,integrity and governance.Your companys ability to manage the various types of operational data its generating will have a direct bearing on the success of its digital transformation strategy,according to Connolly.Companies must ensure that theres a steady flow of data across their departments and consider how trustworthy that material is.They can use it to monitor the hea