In an ever-evolving corporate landscape, leaders must navigate through not just fleeting trends, but transformative megatrends that redefine the future of business. The Executive Magazine speaks with Simon Morris, Area Vice President at ServiceNow, for an exclusive delve into the four colossal megatrends set to shape the corporate world in 2024. From the relentless push of inflation to the rising tide of sustainability, the empowered consumer to the dynamic shifts in the workforce, we explore the profound implications for organisations and the strategic manoeuvres to turn these challenges into opportunities. Join us as we uncover the insights that will empower businesses to not just survive but thrive amid the tides of change.
What are the key trends at the forefront of the business agenda in 2024?
Every business will have its own bespoke set of day-to-day challenges, but ultimately, we’re all navigating the same big, overarching pressures.
Based on conversations with customers, partners, and internal executives, we’ve identified four key priority areas for the year ahead: the impact of inflation, climate change and sustainability, the rise of the empowered consumer, and the need to meet the demands of a changing workforce both now and in the future.
What exactly defines a megatrend? How is it different to a general business trend we might see throughout the year?
Typically, a trend implies something that business leaders can ‘opt out of’ if they so desire. Think about the fashionable offerings that might catch the eye of a few interested customers but aren’t likely to have a hugely detrimental impact on your business if you don’t jump on the bandwagon — augmented reality, subscription-based models, or (dare I say it), the four-day work week, to name a few.
On the flip side, megatrends cannot be ignored. We’re talking about large-scale challenges that impact everyone today, whether you like it or not — bigger, longer-term pressures that can have a long-lasting or even permanent impact on your business if you fail to adjust accordingly.
Do you think we can rank these megatrends in order of importance? Is any one of them more pressing/urgent for businesses than another?
It’s a tough question. Every organisation will have its priorities: it might be stakeholder pressure placing more importance on ESG reporting, for example, or customer targets that put customer experience at the forefront of the agenda.
As a result, it’s up to individual business leaders to work out what these priorities are — but I would say that it’s very difficult to address just one of these challenges in isolation.
Many see these challenges being intrinsically linked to one another; can you give your perspective on that?
Absolutely. Each of these trends overlaps and interlinks with another in some way. As inflationary pressures exert their influence on operating costs and resource allocations, organisations must demonstrate tangible and measurable benefits arising from their digital endeavours — all their digital endeavours. It doesn’t matter what area of business you’re investing in, or which priority is your focus, you’re working to a new set of standards because of today’s economic pressure.
Similarly, the ongoing digital skills shortage means a lot of organisations are struggling to recruit the talent they need to meet future demands. They can look to overhaul their recruitment strategy, but we know that Gen Z talent wants to work for companies with purpose. Attracting top-tier talent is extremely difficult for companies that don’t have a clear, demonstrable handle on their ESG strategy. In this way, each challenge comes hand in hand with another. It’s what we refer to as a polycrisis.
Given that each of these challenges is seemingly wrapped up in another, how can senior leadership practically approach resolving them? It seems that there is no clear starting point.
Terms like ‘polycrisis’ make the whole situation sound bleak, but getting to the bottom of these issues isn’t as difficult as you might think. Yes, these challenges all overlap — but so do the solutions.
It’s hard to address one priority without addressing them all. A company that makes ESG and sustainability reporting a priority, for example, will likely invest in solutions that increase visibility throughout all their end-to-end operations. This can drive a much higher level of flexibility and proactive problem-solving that allows for business resilience in the face of other issues like high inflation or the talent crisis.
My advice would be to work out where your biggest issues are right now. Do you have any obvious gaps in your processes? Do you suffer from lack of visibility in certain areas? If so, start there. Investing in one area will likely have a knock-on impact across the business, or at the very least, illuminate the path forward.
Where do you see organisations go wrong when it comes to trying to address multiple challenges at once? What is the takeaway for executives looking to avoid those pitfalls?
If you’re not making a proper case for business buy-in from day one, you’re going to struggle to effectively implement any change within your business. In the same vein, investing in new and innovative solutions can only be as successful as your change management strategy.
It’s about getting senior leadership on board first, and then working to bring the rest of the company along with you.
How can technology help organisations in the face of the megatrends? And what specific technology solution do you think is going to be most effective for businesses in 2024?
Operational processes created 10 or more years ago are likely to come up short against the pressures of today. To combat these new and complex challenges, we need to turn to new solutions; the good news is, we’re in the middle of a tech and innovation renaissance.
Take Gen AI, for example. The potential of this single technology far outstrips what we can perceive right now. Conversations about AI may seem ubiquitous, but for good reason: it does things we’ve never done before. It works in ways our brains simply can’t, it does things thousands of times faster than we can, and it finds the commonalities we are blind to — and which we desperately need to identify to resolve the issues we face today.
You mention the benefits of generative AI, is this something you’re seeing a lot of customers adopt? Or should we consider the possibility that it’s simply going through a short-lived hype cycle right now?
Any transformative technology follows the same hype cycle: anticipation, early adoption, a cautious middle ground, and then eventually the rest of the organisations catch up. Generative AI is still sitting in the very early stages of that cycle. It’s a challenge because we know this is a worthwhile long-term investment, but we’re working with a limited amount of case studies or demonstrable ROI.
The only real way to resolve this issue and move through the cycle when it comes to generative AI is to allow it to happen naturally. As it stands, this type of technology has a huge role to play in helping organisations navigate the megatrends by reducing the number of resources needed to work efficiently — through idea generation, data summaries, and content creation/self-service capability. Early adopters are already reaping these benefits, so it’s now a case of waiting for other organisations to catch up.
What would you say to executives who want to prioritise improvements with the megatrends in mind, but don’t have the time or resources to make significant digital investments?
Inflation isn’t going anywhere. Businesses must find a way to cope with reality, and doing the same as usual is not an option. It’s clichéd to say we need to spend more to save more, but in today’s inflationary pressure cooker, it’s also good advice.
Prioritising today’s key business challenges doesn’t necessarily mean sinking huge amounts of budget into a complete system overhaul. Investing in generative AI or other new and innovative technologies can be hugely beneficial if you have the resources, but for companies that want — or need — to start small, there’s just as much value to be gained by making small improvements to inefficient processes.
It’s entirely possible to streamline your operations in a way that doesn’t cost a huge sum of money or cause any significant disruption to business. If you’re not sure where to start, speak to your technology provider, be clear about your budget and your expectations, and look to prioritise the areas that can save you money in the long run before you get to the big-ticket items.
If you could only give one piece of advice to senior leadership teams looking to thrive in 2024, what would it be?
Do everything you can to better understand the landscape and the technology that will help you navigate it. The onus is on us to use the information we have available to our advantage. We must address problems pragmatically and use technology smartly — both to achieve tactical wins and build long-term strategy.
We recently launched a podcast dedicated to exactly this topic. Listen to it, learn from the breadth of expertise we’ve gathered, both from internal experts and customers living this reality. Their experiences and insights offer a foundation for reflection as we enter a pivotal year.
Can you tell us more about the overall benefits of organisations and senior leaders researching megatrends and adopting your solutions?
There’s a real opportunity for organisations to use technology to excel in all areas — each of the megatrends and beyond. By driving efficiency to combat inflation, boosting business resilience in the face of ongoing ESG pressures, and improving both the employee and customer experience, it’s possible to make real headway against the polycrisis while simultaneously strengthening your position against other, unknown challenges that may hit over the next few years.
To find out more about the key megatrends and what they mean for your organisation in 2024, download the dedicated ServiceNow eBook here.
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