The Era of Digital Use Cases
During the Eighties, technology moved forward considerably. However, as is the case at each technological break point, far reaching evolutions remained un-exploitable for a long time: They were elitist, expensive and didn’t have any real profitable usage. Technology was there but nobody really knew how to make it fully productive.
The same could be said from a user perspective: While digital technology was making it possible to change the way you work, skills were not yet at the right level, mindsets were not used to the new range of possibilities offered by technology, and resistance to change was often heavy. The digital revolution of the Eighties was only a true revolution for a minority of early adopters who managed to go beyond the dematerialisation of tools and processes.
Throughout 2015, and over the past few years, technology has outgrown and outpaced strategic vision creativity, and its business models. Depending on the amounts it is prepared to spend, technology can now enable the enterprise to achieve anything it would like. In parallel, digital use cases have completely infiltrated our day-to-day lives, and from there, are relentlessly making their way across into our professional activities. Digital usage has gone beyond the mere utilisation of hardware and software as means of production (e.g. the computer and its office automation or business usage). Today, connected devices and social media communities are part of the everyday life of most people in the street.
The digital revolution really started 30 years ago, but it is only today that the conjunction of those 2 factors – technological capabilities and social acceptance of use cases – enables the realisation of its full potential.
The Explosion of Use Cases
A number of indicators are shaping up the acceleration we are facing, and show that “digital” has already entered a new era in terms of connectivity
Internet Penetration
In 2015, 42% of the world population had access to Internet, up 35% compared to 2014. In western Europe, the figures are above 80% and close to 90% in North America. In some parts of the world, you may have Internet access, before you have access to running water.
Social Networks Penetration
Social networks have been part of everyday life for a number of years. In Europe, 387 million people are active on social media out of a population of 837 million; that’s close to 50% of the continent’s population and up 12% from 2014 to 2015. This explosion of social network usage contributes to the impressive increase in the volumes of data being exchanged. In 2015, every minute on social networks saw the following:
- 600 videos uploaded on YouTube
- 98,000 tweets exchanged
- 695,000 updates on Facebook
Volumes of Commercial Usage
Similar trends can be observed amongst consumers across all sectors:
- 7 million unique visitors per month for French rail travel website “voyages-sncf.com”, generating turnover in the region of EUR 4.2 billion in 2014
- 600 million online transactions overall in France in 2013 generating EUR 51 billion worth of business
- 675,000 unique visitors per day roaming the “digital aisles” of French retailer “fnac.com”
Looking further into digital usage and consumer behaviour, mobile buying is also going through the roof: +160% from 2012 to 2013, equivalent to an increase of EUR 2,6 billion in the volume of business generated.
Examples are plenty, and beyond their – often spectacular – nature, they all highlight a key factor: The explosion in use cases has come from the sphere of the private life. All of us – citizens, consumers – have decided to live a digital life. It is not conceivable that our professional practices could go a different way.
To find out more about our approach, please download our Guide to Digital Transformation.
Kevin Palop, Digital Transformation Consultant – ARSIA MONS
ARSIA MONS is a leading consulting firm based in Paris, France and specialising in the architecture and delivery of transformative IT solutions.
This article was originally published in French on the ARSIA MONS blog on 21st October 2015 – Copyright © 2016 Corix Partners for the English translation.
The opinions expressed by guest bloggers are their views and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Corix Partners.