Into the Digital Abyss - or The New "Vortex" of Business? Creating new companies that define new business models.

INTO THE DIGITAL ABYSS
THOMAS OOSTHUIZEN
9 SEPTEMBER 2015
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© 2015 ACCELERATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED© 2015 ACCELERATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
It has often been said that humans know more about the universe and other planets
than about the sea. Humanity has spent fortunes exploring space.
Yet, we still know little about what happens far below the surface of the sea. What
we now do know, is that it even re-defines the concept of life itself.
The same can today be said about what is happening in the “air” around us. We are
being shaped, every second of every day, by the forces that live in the spaces
between us. That is between humans, between humans and machines and between
machines. This complex web of interface, data, objects, subjects, life, is now more
defined by what happens in the spaces between them than what happens within.
Whilst we can’t see any of these, we experience the vast impact it has upon our lives
every minute of every day, whether we are conscious of it or not.
Within the digital realm, the once seemingly impossible is now not only possible, but
likely. The only constraint to all this, good or bad, is human imagination.
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IN 2015 UBER, THE WORLD’S LARGEST TAXI COMPANY OWNS NO
VEHICLES; FACEBOOK, THE WORLDS MOST POPULAR MEDIA
OWNER CREATES NO CONTENT; ALIBABA, THE MOST VALUABLE
RETAILER HAS NO INVENTORY AND AIRBNB THE WORLD’S
LARGEST ACCOMMODATION PROVIDER OWNS NO REAL ESTATE.
3

HEALTHCARE
Are we getting closer and closer to disease control
and enabling people to live much longer?
4© 2015 ACCELERATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

DATA
Becoming central in urban management, transport patterns, health,
disease control, urban planning, migration.
In fact, the ability of systems to manage huge amounts of data has
become a central new competence of the world – if it is able to use it
in the right areas.

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FLUIDITY
Change is accelerating by the day. This means the new constant is
change. For executives, it means decisions will increasingly become
intuitive, even if technology enables large amounts of data to be
available to reduce decision uncertainty. Nimblessness is therefore
mandatory, it is no longer the preserve of small, upstart companies. It
also means executives will live with ambiquity.

PERSONALISATION
It is the time of the individual. Empowered. Set-free. Enabled.
Unconstrained. Access to information, resources. Free to express. Free
to choose. Free to interface. Free to associate.

CONSUMER CENTRICITY
The consumer is at the centre of his/ her own universe. Whether by
design - or as a result of changes in technology - products &
services are now far more consumer centric than ever before.

HUMAN EXPRESSION
Never before did humans have the aptitude, opportunities,
freedom, channels, to express their individuality, preferences
and voice their grievances.

BRANDS
Another paradox in society, is the issue of brands.
In some markets, they are more important, in other markets, they are
less important. In developed markets it is about integrity – does the
brand work well and is it best-in- class; in some emerging markets it is
about status / recognition.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO? AND THEIR INDUSTRIES?
• Some global banks?
• Most newspapers?
• Some luxury brands?
• Commoditised businesses?
• Some retailers who have not adapted?
• Some fast moving consumer goods companies?
• Many media types?
• Telecommunications companies?
• Logistics companies?
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CONNECTED COMMUNITIES
Whilst on the one hand, the consumer is more empowered, on the other
hand, he/ she is more connected. This connection is less personal and
more technological. So it is more informative, less intuitive and less tactile.
Networks are wider rather than deeper.

Brands connect through people with issues & with communities;
content is mediated yet impact is magnified.

INCOME DISPARITY
With us for a long time to stay?

COLLABORATION
More business models and consumer value propositions rely
upon the collaboration and vertical integration of eco-systems.

ECOSYSTEMS
An inter-related web of owned platforms that collectively deliver
the consumer a superior service.

RELATED ECO-SYSTEMS
The very nature of new technology brands like apple, google,
xpedia, airbnb, ebay, amazon is that they are connected across a
range of vertically integrated eco-systems.

Uber is an integrated system of different products, services &
brands that offer the consumer a seamless brand experience. In
the process, it reduces the saliency of some brands (banks).

© 2015 ACCELERATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
VERTICALLY INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS
• Tesla, Uber offer consumers
solutions designed and
vertically integrated from the
centre (the consumer offer).
- No redundant systems.
- Not trying to bring complex
components together.
- No layered systems that
requires connection.
- Not trying to reconcile systems
from different companies.
• Designed as one integrated
whole. Experienced in a
seamless manner by
consumers.
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CONVENIENCE, SAVE TIME, CREATE PLEASURE
New technologies have made consumers used to simple
solutions to complex problems, easy and fast solutions to
mundane problems.

SEEMINGLY SMALL INNOVATION CAN REVOLUTIONIZE INDUSTRIES
WHEN WE LOOK FOR NEW SOLUTIONS TO OLD PROBLEMS.
Malcolm Gladwell
Keynote, #INBOUND 14 brought to you by Fractl

HUMAN-CENTRED DESIGN
Creating producs & services with the individual in the centre.

MIGRATION
When the global shell scenario planning project twenty years ago
said migration was one of the most serious issues facing the
west, many experts dismissed this. Has it now become one of the
key global challenges of today?

CONVERGENCE
Industry boundaries dissapear, others converge, consumer
needs are no longer solved within defined boundaries.

RETAIL CONVERGENCE
Offline and online behaviour and shopping patterns. Digital
technology and bricks & mortar. Making online more visual,
experiential & exploratory, making offline more interative &
impactful. Making the connection seamless.

EXPERIENCE RETAIL
Retail outlets where the brand experience is way beyond the
display of goods and services. It provides a brand emporium
where channels converge to enable a customised brand
experience for the individual.

PRICE VERSUS VALUE
The internet is exploding the price: value equation. Mundane,
everyday, commoditised products, brands and services are likely
to all move online, whilst experiential, customised, high-craft
and valuable items are likely to lead to far more visual and
experiential retail.

EMERGING MARKETS
Large. Diverse. Growing albeit less. Often turbulent. Varying
cultures, even within regions. Lacking infrastructure in many
areas. Informal trade. Complex logistics.

ECOLOGY
The future of the world, the preservation of nature, the search
for alternative sources of energy, food, transport, architecture…

WEARABLES, CONNECTED HOMES
The internet of things enables connectivity across humans,
devices, homes, products, services, utilities and retail.
Whatever can store data, can interact. Whatever can interact,
can connect.

ACCESS CAPACITY
One of the paradoxes of the current world – even as income disparity grows, is
how much access capacity there are in car utilisation, schools and hospitals in
some countries, rooms in homes…

CHANNEL EXPLOSION
Explosion. Proliferation. Created fast, may expire fast.

MARKETING COMPLEXITY
Marketers have more channels, greater budget proliferation, more
marketing suppliers, new staff roles, departmental complexity between
marketing and IT, than ever before. And more pressure to talk to the
market-of-one.

FLATTENING…
Whilst the world may not be flat, company hierarchies, structures,
governments, the ability to communicate and create content, the flattening
of national boundaries and markets… are becoming more flat.
This means humanity, as a whole, is becoming more democratised.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY TO MONITOR HUMAN WELL-
BEING & CONNECT THEM TO OTHER DIGITALLY
ENABLED ENTITIES

CONCLUSIONS: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?
• Decide what areas offer the best opportunities. Determine what it will take to
dominate those.
• Doing the basics right is only the starting point, it does not make you competitive.
• Creating markets are more important than just following trends.
• Be clear on your ability to effectively compete.
• Resource and focus once decided. Then stick to it.
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Into the Digital Abyss - or The New "Vortex" of Business? Creating new companies that define new business models.

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