Digital-first strategies harness the power of industrial ecosystems to integrate digital business and technology objectives.
Digital-first frameworks are essential to close any profit performance gaps, increase opportunities and accelerate ESG objectives. To further speed these goals industry leaders are making it a top priority that their sustainability values are aligned with those of their customers and partners.
An increasing number of businesses are turning to digital-first to stay ahead with the number of organisations becoming digital leaders growing by 30 per cent despite supply chain constraints and geopolitical and economic instabilities. And this digital growth is global, according to the latest Global Interconnection Index (GXI) 2023 industry report.
Interconnection bandwidth is forecast to continue growing at over 35 per cent CAGR in each region and major metro over the next five years, according to GXI data. To achieve leadership, you need a digital infrastructure that helps you leap ahead and solves for the combination of digital core, digital ecosystems and the digital edge, with an automated and flexible edge-to-cloud consumption model.
Digital leaders are moving beyond digitising business as usual with this approach. They’re designing for digital business revenue, identifying and investing in their core strengths and developing a flexible edge strategy leveraging a platform to extend digital infrastructure. These leaders have grown their digital infrastructure more in the last five quarters than in the past five years.
Digital Growth Is Global – Interconnection bandwidth is forecast to continue growing at over 35 per cent CAGR in each region and major metro over the next five years.
Enterprises Are Becoming Digital Providers – The forecast shows that, within two years, Enterprises will match Service Providers in growth rates and capacity deployed.
The Move to the Edge Is Accelerating – Both Enterprises and Service Providers are interconnecting edge infrastructure 20 per cent faster than the core.
Digital as a Path to Sustainability – All industries are tapping digital to accelerate ESG objectives even Energy & Utility, which is forecast to lead in digital growth rate for the next two years.
Ecosystem Density Is the Catalyst for Speed – Interconnected leaders have grown their digital infrastructure more in the last five quarters than in the past five years.
Recommendations
As part of any organisation’s digital transformation initiative, infrastructure must be designed to enable the business to operate in the digital economy to be a disruptor, and not one of the disrupted.
Develop a Flexible Edge Strategy – Utilize a platform to extend the organisation’s digital infrastructure. Don’t invest in the piecemeal infrastructure at the edge.
Design for Sustainability – Move to co-location and interconnect to ecosystem partners that share the organisation’s sustainability goals.
Rethink the Core – Evolve from rigid and centralised to being adaptable and distributed.
Invest in the organisation’s Strengths – Commoditise and leverage ecosystems for everything else.
Design for Digital – When it comes to business revenue, don’t just digitise business as usual.
According to the GXI report:
Digital transformation investment levels for 2022–2024 are expected to be $6.3 trillion and 55 per cent of all ICT investment by the end of 2024.
By 2023, 1 in 2 companies will generate more than 40 per cent of their revenues from digital products and services.
By 2028, the global infrastructure edge footprint will be 40 gigawatts, with 63 per cent supporting healthcare, manufacturing, energy, retail and transportation.
Ninety per cent of executives believe sustainability is important, but only 60 per cent of organisations have sustainability strategies.
