Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an IT services, consulting, and business solutions company published its study titled ‘Where, How and What Leaders Will Compete in the New Decade’.
The TCS 2021 Global Leadership Study based on a survey of 1,200 CEOs and executives.
The study reveals a sharp divide in the digital strategies of better performing companies (Leaders) versus the laggards (Followers), including unexpected insights such as: 80% of Leaders are more willing to collaborate with competitors compared to Followers (23%).
Brought out by the TCS Thought Leadership Institute which conducts primary research to help organisations transform for long-term, sustainable growth, the study examines how large global companies have recalibrated their strategies through 2025, following the pandemic.
It explores how executives globally are balancing between innovation and optimisation in four areas, Digital strategies, offerings, ways of conducting business and leadership approaches.
“Senior executives are always challenged to lead their organisations forward to be more competitive, and increasing digitisation only accelerates that momentum,” said Krishnan Ramanujam, Head of Business & Technology Services, Tata Consultancy Services.
“This study captures global executives and their belief that digital opportunities abound in the next 5 years and company culture must embrace an innovation mindset.”
“At TCS we use our 3-Horizon Purpose-Led Transformation framework to help organisations embrace innovation in a way that helps them compete more effectively.”
Key findings of the Tata Consultancy Services’ study
Innovation was the most important aspect of company culture, followed by Diversity, Inclusion and Equal Opportunity (#2), Quality Orientation (#3), and Customer-Centricity (#4).
Leaders ranked Customer-Centricity as the top cultural priority, above Shareholder Value.
On the other hand, Followers ranked Customer-Centricity as number 6, indicating that higher-performing companies embed a ‘customer first’ mindset across the organisation.
By 2025, respondents believe 41% of their revenue will come from new offerings. Within that, Leaders expect 44% revenue from new offerings, while Followers expect 40%.
The respondents projected that by 2025, 46% of their revenue will come from purely digital products or services. Leaders expect it to be even higher – 56%.
When the research asked where the executives need to more effectively use data, respondents ranked Digital Marketing Campaigns first, followed by Sales Initiatives and Customer Service.
This response from the study is suggesting therefore that companies need to improve the way customer data is used to create demand and improve the customer service experience.
The report also offers data-based recommendations to help shape the strategy of forward-thinking executives on how to take their organisations to higher performance.
Tata Consultancy Services’ study findings for ANZ
Specifically, in Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) the survey revealed the following trends.
There’s an opportunity for organisations to boost revenue with subscription models. Only 18% of ANZ revenues come from subscriptions, compared to 25% for all surveys.
Senior leaders are confident in their offerings and optimistic in their industries.
ANZ respondents expect 62% of future revenues to come from industries or ecosystems in which they currently operate, compared to 55% among all surveys.
Senior leaders are increasingly aware of growing competition from outside their category.
Although Australian and New Zealand firms tend to assess threats only from within their industry, 69% of respondents believe their biggest competitor will come from elsewhere.
Sustainability was ranked at the most important aspect of company culture for executives. ANZ respondents agree that innovation and being quality driven are vital cultural attributes.
“This survey shows that while innovation remains a key priority for Australian and New Zealand senior business leaders, there is a tendency to look internally for innovation opportunities.”
“The rapid shifts witnessed across industries and sectors, create opportunities for executives to leverage the approach other markets are taking by engaging in partnerships, collaborations and cross-industry ecosystems,” said Vikram Singh, ANZ Country Head at TCS.
“ANZ executives need to look broadly at leveraging the available technologies to drive organisational strategies and better service the needs of their employees and their customers.”
TCS’ 2021 Global Leadership Study surveyed more than 1,200 CEOs and executives from a range of industries like retail, manufacturing, insurance, banking, financial and healthcare.
Respondents were from four regions across the globe,
- North America (US, Canada);
- UK, Europe (Germany, Netherlands, France);
- APAC (India, Singapore, China, Australia, New Zealand, Japan); and
- LATAM (Colombia, Brazil, Mexico).
Respondent companies’ annual revenues are over $1bn, with an average revenue of $14bn.
