ADAPT OR BE ADAPTED, YOUR CHOICE IN THE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION – OPTUS BUSINESS

Research reveals gaps of Australian businesses’ readiness for changes ahead

Optus Business today released Enterprise 4.0 - The Blueprint for Success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, its white paper which provides insights for Australian enterprises seeking to leverage emerging technologies and to unlock economic value.

The largest study of its kind in Australia to date, Enterprise 4.0 investigates how ready Australian industries, enterprises and executives are for Industry 4.0 and how their business’ digital transformations are progressing. Conducted by Optus Business, the study provides insights into:

• Which issues and technologies are expected to have the biggest impact;
• Enterprises’ current strategic priorities and how advanced they are in their digital transformations, and;
• What enterprises must do to succeed in Industry 4.0.

John Paitaridis, Optus Business Managing Director, explains that Australian enterprises must transform their business models to adapt to a world of accelerated change.

“We have entered an exciting era for the global economy with the fusion of technologies between the physical, digital and biological spheres, what is known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. We are seeing exponential growth in data analytics, artificial intelligence, IOT and cyber which are changing the landscape within which organisations need to operate as they deliver employee and customer experiences.

As Industry 4.0 lowers geographical and customer acquisition barriers, Australian enterprises need to be ready for the disruption of agile, fast-adapting overseas competitors. Our research shows that Australian enterprises are not prioritising speed to market, new business models or the impact of new technology, and risk being left behind.”

“Organisations and their workforces must be more connected, predictive and self-learning to thrive in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Businesses must leverage the emerging technologies, form the right partnerships, harness their human talent and be prepared to adapt and step outside of the traditional organisational model. Businesses have a choice: adapt or be adapted.”

Findings reveal Australian enterprises see the emergence of new delivery models and changing regulator environments as having the biggest business impact over the next five years, further heightening the urgency with which Australian enterprises need to respond to remain globally competitive.

According to the white paper’s author, Rocky Scopelliti, Optus Business Director for Industry 4.0,

“There’s a digital discord among Australian enterprises. They aren’t aligning their focus with what they believe will impact their organisations. Australian businesses are underestimating the speed, scale and impact of the next industrial revolution – but their global counterparts aren’t. Competition in this new era will be terrestrial.”

The white paper illustrates an Enterprise 4.0 blueprint to capture emerging technology breakthroughs with potentially highly disruptive effects in the areas of artificial intelligence, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, and blockchain enabled over 5G mobile networks.

About the research
Over 285 Australian enterprises participated in a study conducted by Optus over several months in 2018. All respondents were from a range of C-Level roles and a wide range of industries from enterprises operating in Australia.

Enterprises were analysed according to their level of exponential performance. The Singularity University defines an exponential organisation as one whose impact (or output) is disproportionately large – at least 10 times larger – compared to its peers because of the use of new organisational techniques that leverage accelerating technologies.

Enterprise 4.0 - The Blueprint for Success in the Fourth Industrial Revolution has been authored by futurist Rocky Scopelliti, Optus Business Director for Industry 4.0.

More information about the report can be found at https://www.optus.com.au/enterprise/industry-4-0

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Optus Corporate Affairs
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