Navigating change: IT strategy meets business model reinvention
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In an interconnected world, resilience means not just having the best tools but a comprehensive strategy that aligns technology with business goals.
This year has seen unprecedented innovation and adaptation, as organisations navigate the complexities of a dynamic market landscape, ensuring they stay ahead of the curve and continue to thrive.
As technology continues to disrupt industries, its impact reverberates across all facets of a business – reshaping customer expectations, redefining workforce roles and challenging legacy operational models.
Amid this pressure to reinvent, more CEOs will prioritise big moves to support business model reinvention. PwC’s 27th Annual Global CEO Survey underscores this urgency, with 45 per cent of CEOs expressing doubts about their company’s viability over the next decade if it continues on its current path.
Transformation is no longer a negotiable
Yet despite broad agreement on the need for transformation, leaders face complex challenges. CEOs expect more pressure from technological disruption, climate change, demographic shifts, social instability and nearly every other global megatrend. Businesses grapple with balancing high implementation costs, navigating data security risks and overcoming cultural resistance.
A lasting transformation therefore demands more than implementing new tools. It also requires a shift in mindset, operational restructuring and continuous skill-building to equip employees with new ways of working.
Winning companies focus holistically on their business, operating and technology models –and they do so continuously. These organisations see technology as a strategic tool that reshapes their entire value proposition while balancing climate considerations, corporate values and evolving stakeholder expectations.
Realising business potential with tech
Is generative AI still only hype? Whether you’re a sceptic, champion or realist, one thing is clear: emerging technologies are fundamentally reshaping business landscapes and resetting expectations.
Strategic adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the internet of things (IoT) and the cloud can redefine possibilities across industries, empowering companies to streamline operations, unlock new revenue streams and deliver unprecedented customer value. Research shows that companies investing strategically in AI and cloud are twice as likely to realise significant value compared to their peers.
Real-world transformations illustrate this potential. A leading pharmaceutical company, partnering with PwC post-merger, launched over 50 automation initiatives that reduced data entry errors by 95 per cent and generated $5 million in annual benefits. Similarly, a major hospitality brand enhanced customer engagement by deploying a digital platform that increased order values by up to 2 per cent through personalised experiences.
But technology alone isn’t sufficient. To achieve true transformation, companies must go beyond tech adoption and modernise their business processes. “Businesses that focus only on tech for tech’s sake often miss the mark,” says Ben Lingwood, Cloud and Data Engineering Lead and partner at PwC UK. “True transformation means modernising business processes to truly integrate new technologies.”
Purpose-driven tech adoption
Technology is a fundamental catalyst for business reinvention. However, successful transformation requires connecting the business ‘why’ with the technology ‘how’, a precise alignment between business needs and technological capabilities.
Many organisations rush to adopt emerging technologies such as generative AI (gen AI) without clearly defining the business problem they’re trying to solve. This approach often leads to increased complexity rather than enhanced value.
The key lies in developing comprehensive, tailor-made solutions that remove complexity while ensuring scalability and security – whether through cloud-native architectures that increase business agility, AI-powered data strategies that enhance decision-making or industry-specific solutions that deliver real-time impact.
Modern transformation demands decomposable/recomposable architectures that enable quick adaptation to changing market demands. For instance, many organisations initially approached cloud adoption as a technical migration rather than a catalyst for business transformation, missing opportunities for meaningful change.
Similarly, industry-specific solutions are crucial as each sector faces unique challenges and regulatory requirements. Generic implementations often fall short of delivering real value in particular market contexts.
Success lies in viewing technology as an enabler of business innovation rather than a standalone upgrade. Organisations that align their technological capabilities with clear business objectives – while maintaining flexibility for future adaptation – are better positioned to capture value in an evolving digital landscape.
Role of cultural transformation
Another key aspect of ensuring long-term and sustainable transformation is reskilling and cultural adaptability. Technology alone doesn’t change outcomes; it’s the people and processes behind it that determine success. Thus, organisations must prioritise building an agile, skilled workforce alongside implementing new tools.
“True transformation goes beyond technology. It’s about equipping people to succeed in a new environment,” says Sebastian Paas, EMEA Cloud Transformation Leader and partner, PwC Germany. “Reskilling isn’t a nice-to-have – it’s essential. Without the right skills, you’re gambling with data security, compliance and the efficiency of your entire operation,”
Employees, too, are increasingly prioritising skills growth and embracing modern technologies. As per PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2024, fewer than half (46 per cent) strongly or moderately agree that their employer provides adequate opportunities to learn new skills. This is particularly crucial for retention, as two-thirds (67 per cent) of workers considering a job switch say opportunities to learn new skills are a key factor in their decision-making.
Thus, rather than expecting employees to learn as they go, proactive investment in skill-building and agile operations is needed to ensure employees can handle new tools responsibly and confidently, especially in high-stakes areas where a lack of preparedness can lead to costly mistakes.
The focus should be on prioritising workforce agility through continuous learning programmes and operating model adaptations. This involves breaking down traditional hierarchies, fostering cross-functional collaboration and creating environments where teams can rapidly iterate and adapt to technological advancements.
By aligning workforce agility with technology investments, organisations can position themselves to navigate the complexities of digital transformation, ensuring that both tools and talent contribute to long-term resilience and success.
Responsible innovation
When future-proofing tech adoption, ethical and environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations cannot be afterthoughts. The complexities of today’s regulatory and geopolitical environment demand agile strategies that can adapt to diverse regional requirements while ensuring businesses remain compliant and resilient amid global changes.
Data integrity and traceability aren’t just technicalities. They’re ethical pillars in today’s digital landscape, enabling responsible AI applications and building stakeholder trust, especially in highly regulated sectors. Similarly, sustainability has become a driving force in tech strategy – from selecting green cloud providers to implementing energy-efficient systems.
“Organisations must view technology not just as a tool for immediate gains, but as a long-term investment that aligns with technical standards and evolves with future needs,” notes Henri Chabrier, Cloud Transformation partner, PwC France. “An ESG-aligned tech strategy positions your brand as a leader in responsible innovation, meeting the growing demands from customers and regulators for sustainable, trustworthy practices.”
Choosing the right digital transformation partner
Business leaders face enormous complexity in today’s market – industries are converging and traditional roles are shifting. This pace of change demands a technology infrastructure built for the future.
Moving forward in these turbulent times requires going beyond traditional responses to disruption, such as cost-cutting or operating model changes. Along the way, organisations must get comfortable with challenging long-held assumptions about how they monetise their operations, even – and perhaps especially – when these assumptions are what brought them success in the first place.
To win, leaders must consider a broader range of initiatives and apply them in combination – from technology adoption to business process alignment, cultural change and ethical considerations. Choosing a partner with the expertise to guide these efforts and the experience to anticipate challenges can make all the difference.
About PwC
PwC brings a deep understanding of industry-specific challenges to craft solutions that address unique operational and regulatory needs. By combining the strategic insights of a consultant with the technical prowess of a tech provider, PwC helps clients benefit from an all-encompassing approach that covers everything from M&A to AI-powered startups, ensuring that they have a trusted partner every step of the way.
PwC’s own internal transformation journey – modernising its services and building tech-driven startups within the firm – demonstrates its ability to “walk the talk”.
To discover how PwC’s human-led tech-powered solutions can help your business solve its most critical business issues and drive lasting change, click here.
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Contributors:
Sebastian Paas