Digital Transformation: 2018-22 progress

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Digital Transformation: 2018-22 progress is low in Europe. No R&D evolution, high taxation, and lack of capital, along the old-minded education system. In other words, we are “killing” our future Talent!

Digital Transformation: 2018-22 progress

European companies are increasingly adopting digital technologies, but there are still big disparities between EU countries with regard to digital transformation performance. These are compelling results presented in the Digital Transformation Scoreboard 2018 (get here the .pdf)

The results are alarming, to say the least: R&D expenditure isn’t great. Instead of working towards positive growth paths, European countries create a gap in the states’ commonwealth, sustainability, and future talent exploitation. Check Cyprus and Greece. Their national economies might have decided to be service-oriented, but with no R&D investment, they will become dependent on others, and they will not create own growth future-looking models.

Who can work with so many taxes?

The second barrier in Europe, delaying Digital progress and related investments, is Taxation. Europe is suppressing growth enablers (people, systems, partnerships, exports) under a severe regime of high taxation. The continent seems to have made a political decision: continue financing the high-operating expenses of state services and governments and the overpriced social welfare of an ageing population.

How? By attacking the private sector’s produced outcomes. With taxation levels on 70 and 100, no real growth can occur; no real talent development can happen; no labour market will ‘survive’. Only price and salaries will decrease the expense of productivity and ‘survival’. Only unhappy employees can be the result.

Who will invest?

Countries with such negative (business, investment, digital transformation) profiling are no opportunity markets for investment houses, funds and their managers. See the E.U Venture capital availability:

If all the above are true, then why do we ‘preach’ to youth that they should become IT-competent, learn how to code etc? Why don’t we officially and apologetically say the truth to them: guys we’re not creating the market for your skills …we are troubled with survival! See? We don’t produce any patents, that can be sold globally and build real ecosystems, company partnerships, and future-Talent of high value around those innovations?

Then who becomes an inventor in EU?

In a previous article (Help the laggards make their digital transition) we explained the barriers and delays company sectors face, having a slower pace towards their digital evolution.

If Europe stays behind than the pace of USA and China how can we find the most talented individuals? In practice, not everybody can become an innovator: whether one becomes an innovator or not is likely to depend upon the social environment (e.g., parental resources and education) and upon ability. But having a market that creates obstacles to any creative thoughts of disrupting and experimenting…it is awful.

Europe is losing currently the innovative potential of its economy.

No big change in Education as well

Education is, of course, a key area where social (perceived) position, income, and IQ interact. Completing a Master’s or PhD in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM) has a stronger effect and more (theoretical) opportunities to invent things. If then, academic tech studies are combined with Social sciences, you might be the perfect fit for the future.

Do we have fit-for-purpose educational institutions? Do we evolve our economies, so these talented young people can find a job? ….To find a job where? To sectors that are shrinking and restructuring? To the old-minded industries and national economies competing on parity services, and ‘me-too’ products of origin? It is very sad, that today we are “killing” Talent!

The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.

Albert Einstein

Europe is delayed to exploit and scale the Innovation opportunities

Technology is moving at an incredible pace. We live in an amazing era where things like autonomous cars, personalized medicine and quantum computing are becoming reality; Artificial Intelligence, crypto-currencies, advanced automation, deep learning and concepts like Universal Basic Income are about to reshape our world!

We are not having a wide and deep agenda on how to tackle the disruptions and turn the violent speed of change in a systematic and predicted plan of ours. Currently there a lot of smaller and bigger companies creating (new) Value, but its scarce or autonomous, or not affecting industries.

The tech-fueled Fourth Industrial Revolution -or Industry 4.0- is underway, but senior business execs and government leaders from around the world say they are lacking confidence in their organizations’ readiness to influence and harness the opportunities, according to the research report by Deloitte Global, The Fourth Industrial Revolution is Here—Are You Ready?

Main Growth & Innovation paths for companies (no matter the industry)

The main trends for companies, so they can maintain and increase their competitiveness, are:

1) Big data for new services, and growth. Data is something that all companies have. Big data was created to analyze and manage the huge amount of digitally-available information, whose primary objective is to make smarter decisions and more accurate predictions for companies while creating new services and operational effectiveness.

2) Automated (machine) learning. Vast amounts of data already exist. It is imperative to know how to use them, group them in clusters and create projective learning models by developing algorithms that make the interpretation and benefit from the available information possible. Hospitals, Banking, State services. You name it!

3) A.I as the key to business breakthrough. AI will emulate the ability to make decisions, learn, comprehend, develop language and communicate interpersonally. The future use-cases for businesses are many (read the article here). The International Data Corporation (ICD) predicts that 50% of development teams will incorporate AI in their applications in 2018.

4) The increasing use of blockchain. Suddenly the business world realizes that Blockchain is a “network” of collaborating entities for the same issue (banking transactions, civilians’ data, serving customers) with increased security abilities. It’s all about creating easily distributed, public, and resistant databases.

5) Edge computing, the new cloud. IT experts seek to create the most diverse and advanced artificial intelligence capacities in a platform environment on the open cloud. Edge computing refers to the power of data processing around a network, instead of handling it in a cloud or central data repository.

6) The Internet of things will continue to lead. Devices will communicate with each other for sure. Already your watch is connected to the Internet, exchanges data with external servers and responds to the information from sensors and servers.

7) Cybersecurity, first and foremost. It will be the future profession, as one of the fastest growing areas in the Information Technology Sector. Incorporates a set of tools and tech solutions dedicated to protecting information assets in a digital format.

8) Robotics. Regardless of the particular class — humanoids, nano-robots, military, industrial etc. — the progress is impressive. On one hand it is the advances in terms of hardware, sensors and operating software; on the other hand, it is the progress of Artificial Intelligence which makes possible to integrate cognitive services and dramatically increase Robot’s capabilities for real-time.

Are we doing what’s needed?

Technology innovation can take many forms — for instance, novel software implementing new algorithms and data processing models; or new hardware components (sensors, processors, components); or improved user interfaces offering seamless experiences; it can also happen at a higher level, in the form of new processes, business models, monetization engines etc.

But are we ready as a society? Are we doing what’s needed? Will Europe take on a wider, more planned effort to help our economies and societies rise-up again? Will we give priority to the future, instead of the past (and ‘survival’)?

We should be worrying about this…