Own the Future: 50 Ways to Win from The Boston Consulting Group

Part III

Connected

It has been nearly 50 years since the song “It's a Small World After All” was unveiled at the 1964 World's Fair in New York, a year after the founding of BCG. Since then, the Internet has emerged as a force to bring the globe together. In the next few years, nearly half the world's population will likely be online, with the majority of those users living in emerging markets.

This connectivity is radically changing the business landscape and the traditional bases of competitive advantage. The Internet has disrupted many industries, including recorded music, newspapers, and travel; altered the dynamics of many other sectors; and enabled new online businesses.

As discussed in Chapter 11, “The Digital Manifesto,” digital technology and social media offer companies new ways to connect with customers, suppliers, and partners. In many cases, this ubiquitous connectivity makes it possible to create new business models, such as Tesco's virtual stores in subway stations in Seoul: a commuter can order products on her phone and have them delivered to her home that day.

With this connectivity comes an unprecedented volume of potentially valuable data that companies can translate into precious information and insight. As Walter Wriston, the legendary leader of Citibank, said in the 1980s, “Information about money has become almost as important as money itself.” Chapter 12, “Data to Die For,” gives companies a way to think about the implications of big data for their business. ...