Digitalization

Digitalization describes the increasing penetration of digital technologies (e.g. social media, mobile computing, big data analytics, cloud computing, Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and blockchain) in business and society and its corresponding changes between organizations and individuals. The resulting pressure for innovation and technology means that digital change is capturing a large part of society, the private sector, administration and especially the business world at an unprecedented speed and disruptive force. Digitalization is forcing companies to radically adapt their strategies, business models, processes, structure and culture in order to ensure sustainable value creation in the long term. Therefore, digitalization offers considerable opportunities for companies, but it also creates risks (e.g. through changes in established business models or investments in immature IT innovations). In particular, there is a massive pressure for companies to act, as new technologies and software-based innovations enter the market in shorter intervals and do not always establish themselves there. Companies that are too passive or too hesitant are in danger of losing out in the increasingly dynamic global competition. At the same time, economically unsound decisions on how to deal with new technologies entail the risk of considerable bad investments. For established companies, the main question is how to combine existing resources with new technologies to create viable business models.