The essential attributes of the brands of tomorrow - and their leaders - will be determined by their proficiency with technology, data and software
- Global business leaders predict tech proficiency will dominate the knowledge required to run a successful company in 10 years’ time
- Tomorrow’s leader brands will be those that best exploit new technology to adapt and transform say half of business leaders
According to a survey of global business leaders, a third of the knowledge that will be required to run a successful company in 10 years’ time will relate to new technology and data. This is four times greater than any other area of knowledge that might be required.
This is the latest finding from a new report by global software consultancy, Thoughtworks, Inc. The survey of nearly 1,000 C-Suite decision makers across 12 different countries asked respondents to give a weighting, in percentage terms, for the different areas of knowledge that would be needed for a business leader in 10 years’ time.
After new technology and data (31%), the next most valued areas of knowledge included finance (eight percent), marketing (seven percent), and product development (six percent).
By sector, financial services leaders were most likely to value tech knowledge (36%), followed by those in the transport and automotive sector (34%). Among newer businesses (less than five years old) the weighting was 34%, higher than businesses that had been trading for more than 10 years (29%).
The results showed that the leaders that gave the lowest weighting to technology were, by their own admission, behind the competition when it came to tech proficiency and were struggling to keep up with new developments (23%).
Technology before branding and profits
Asking about the essential attributes of leader brands in the next 10 years, the top two attributes were technology-related.
Around half of respondents (46%) believed leader brands would be the ones capable of exploiting new technology’s potential to transform their business. Similarly, 44% believed they would be the enterprises that put technology at the heart of their business thinking.
Interestingly, this was double the proportion that believed the leader brands of tomorrow would be large global brands (25%), those making the biggest profits (25%), or having a clear brand personality (23%).
Notes to editors
The research surveyed over 969 C-Suite decision makers, comprising of CEOs, CIOs and CTOs across 12 countries, all markets where Thoughtworks has a significant market presence and can provide market commentary (USA, UK, Germany, China, Australia, India, Brazil, Singapore, Italy, Romania, Finland and Netherlands) and across seven sectors. The research was carried out online by Maru/Blue in February 2021.