Driving and enabling the shift to digital Digital technologies do not respect tradition. They up-end hierarchies, Digital technology is only just getting started: trample over sector boundaries, democratize information and ask hard questions of large, traditional businesses. Few business leaders will have CFOs and CEOs need to develop a strategic witnessed a more dramatic change to their industries than those being driven response and consider pre-emptive changes by digital technology. And it’s only just getting started. According to Cisco’s Chief Technology Officer, In the next three years: 2 “Only 1% of what could be connected in the world is actually connected.” The speed of change is extraordinary. For example, the most disruptive, viral only 50% CFOs only 49% CFOs technologies can now reach 50 million users in less than 35 days.3 50% consider digital 49% consider they will CFOs and CEOs must plot a response that reacts to external risks and a high or very make a high or very opportunities, and disrupts their own organization’s business and operating high priority high contribution models. They need to understand how digital can create new sources of value. Surprisingly, only 50% of the 652 CFOs we surveyed consider the shift to a % “Only 1% of what could be connected digital business model to be a high or very high priority for their organization 1 in the world is actually connected.” in the next three years (see Chart 4). Cisco’s Chief Technology Officer Chart 4: Over the next three years, how much of a priority will the shift to a digital business model be for your organization? Very high priority 18 Why digital • Creates new business models High priority 32 needs to be a Transforms startups into high CFO priority • market leaders, and market Medium priority 34 leaders into irrelevance • Accelerates pace of change Low priority 13 • Rewrites the rules of competition Very low priority 4 • Blurs boundaries between sectors % 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 2. Murray Jennex, “Knowledge Discovery, Transfer, and Management in the Information Age,” Murray Jennex, IGI Global, 2014. 3. “Reaching 50 million users,” Visually website, accessed 16 February 2015. Partnering for performance Part 5: the CFO and the chief executive officer 11