The migration of key technological trends on the future time line is best explained on a timeline where the horizontal axis has the level of technological progress and breakthrough and the vertical axis with the level of technological adaptation. Level 1 is the time period (1994 to 2020), the past to current, with the introduction of the internet in 1994 that gave rise to the third industrial revolution. Level 2 around the 2000’s introduced cloud technology enabling the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Level 3, in and around 2020, is about exponential breakthrough within the current situation. Level 4, (2020 to 2025) requires risk taking and experimentation with future technologies. Level 5, (2025 onwards) is the futuristic endeavour with entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk, CEO and founder of Tesla and SpaceX, developing driverless automation in vehicles, space travel to Mars and drone deliveries amongst some of the futuristic technologies.
Published in Chapter:
Implications of Digital Transformation on the Strategy Development Process for Business Leaders
Theunis Gert Pelser (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa) and Garth Gaffley (University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
Copyright: © 2020
|Pages: 43
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-4882-0.ch001
Abstract
What the internet with its connectivity did to facilitate the third industrial revolution, cloud computing and artificial intelligence have done for the fourth industrial revolution. Technology is changing the world at an alarming rate, which includes products and services that require scale to manage the growing demands of an ever-changing and increasing population. Digital transformation is enabled through cloud technology where human comprehension cannot cope with the size and speed of data required to manage a business in the digital economy. Artificial intelligence and machine learning assist in activities to overcome human limitation, using algorithms to develop predictive and simulation models and scale to provide data for decision making. The technologies employed to run and execute these require skill and resource. The challenge for the modern-day CEO is that the use of technology and its demand in the digital economy of the Fourth Industrial Revolution is not fully understood by them due to their digital skill level and managing the generational skill sets in their structure.