My Favourite Tipples from a digital disruption tracker
Jinfo Blog

By Scott Brown

Abstract

My Favourite Tipples are shared by Scott Brown, senior cybrarian at Oracle, Inc. and owner of Social Information Group. He shares a few of his favourite online sources from the perspective of "digital disruption", a hot topic in the high-tech industry.

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In the high-tech industry, "digital disruption" and "digital transformation" are having an impact across industries. Amazon is a good example of a digital disruptor: because of the evolving technology available to it, Amazon has recently ventured into markets (such as financial services and healthcare) that would have been unthinkable for it to enter just five years ago. As all companies increasingly have access to more sophisticated business technologies, so new competitors, markets and products are emerging faster than ever before.

How do you separate out the hype and stay on top of developments in this space? There are many good resources out there; here are a few that help me quickly understand some of the key technologies and specific industry impacts:

• PwC Digital Services: While the term "digital disruption" has been popular lately, PwC has tracked the progress of "Digital IQ" across industries for a decade. Their 2017 Global Digital IQ Survey (PDF) looks back at how "digital" has transformed over the years. The main site navigation will point you to information on specific industries (from automotive to retail), and the Perspectives site give you access to some of PwC's key perspectives on digital disruption. 

• IMD: Publications & Latest Thinking: IMD is an independent business school with a focus on executive education. The publications on the site provide ongoing and readable perspectives on how businesses and industries are responding to digitisation, with an emphasis on organisational impact. Recently, they've published a report on digital patient engagement in the pharmaceutical industry, and a piece on what executives need to know about digital disruption and transformation. 

• Business Impact on MIT Technology Review: Approaching the topic from a more technical side, MIT Technology Review looks at how technology advances are changing the economy and opening up new opportunities across industries. Robotics, blockchain, automation and other technologies are considered in terms of business impact.    

• IEEE Future Directions Tech Blog: Continuing into deeper technology, the IEEE Future Directions blog looks at the leading edge of technology's impact. It covers not just autonomous vehicles and drones in agriculture, but also virtual reality, "neural dust" sensors for healthcare, and human-machine interactions in 2040. 

• EY's Digital category on their Building a Better Working World site: This provides a quick and informed view about how digital is affecting a variety of industries. It often reports on the impact of particular technologies on specific industries (blockchain in the energy sector, for example).

An article in Jinfo I found particularly interesting:

• I enjoyed reading "Where do information professionals still beat AI?" which summarised key points from the April Jinfo webinar on the unique role of information professionals in an AI age. Working in an industry where unique cognitive leaps and creativity are important to stay competitive, it's good to know that AI probably won't be completely taking over my role anytime soon!

Contribute your "My Favourite Tipples"

Would you like to share your "My Favourite Tipples" with the Jinfo audience? For contributor guidelines email catherine.dhanjal@jinfo.com or visit the Publish with Jinfo page.

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