The Next Act of UK Business

The Next Act

of UK Business
Cisco UK & Ireland
November 2018
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The Next Act of UK Business

Contents

03

Foreword

04

A time of change

06

Creating chaos and wonder

08

The next act: taking action

10

Conclusion

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The Next Act of UK Business

Introduction
Doing good is good for business. In today’s rapidly changing environment,
technology can provide many answers guiding leaders in their next act.
Acknowledged as both a driver of and answer to change, technology has the
potential to catalyse the UK’s business environment, but only if business leaders
realise and anticipate the impact of what they do next on wider society. The link
between profit and purpose is apparent, and business leaders must recognise
this to thrive in the future.

Dear reader, So how are business leaders in the UK approaching this

challenge?
In the context of unprecedented change, business
leaders across the nation are expected to hold a steady For this report, we spoke to leaders across the nation
hand and to deliver effective action, whatever the responsible for delivering the UK’s next business act.
pressures around them. The pace of change and their plans are rapid and far-
reaching. 80% have set themselves a deadline of 2020
New, intelligent technologies are playing a key role to reshape their organisations and over half want to
in both shaping the highly competitive business wholly transform their businesses.
environment we see today, and in providing the
necessary tools to guide leaders as they define their Technology is driving what happens next, but it cannot
next step. succeed in a vacuum. It is fundamental that organisations
take a long-term view and embrace technology with a
The impact of these new technologies on ways of focus on people, purpose and partnerships - not least
working in the UK means that the traditional markers of because your partners, consumers and employees
profit or growth cannot be the only metrics of success expect it.
when it comes to business leaders’ next act. Collectively,
what we as UK business leaders do next has the
potential to effect livelihoods, spending power and Scot Gardner
national productivity. Chief Executive
Cisco UK & Ireland
This journey is about people. UK plc has a responsibility
to ensure that our nation is skilling and re-skilling
tomorrow’s workforce to support a thriving digital
economy. Rapid advances in technology and automation
are fundamentally changing how work is done. While
the role of the workforce alongside machines will bring
changes, there is one constant – the value of uniquely
human skills.

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The Next Act of UK Business

A time of change

Businesses rely on a stable environment to give them
the best platform possible for growth, innovation
and calculated risk taking. Unsurprisingly, at present,
business leaders describe the economic, political and
societal landscapes in the UK as challenging.
This challenging and turbulent environment requires
business leaders to think carefully about their next act.
In an era of rapid disruption where innovative ideas can
come from anywhere, business leaders recognise that
they do not have all the answers.

The pace of this change does not seem to be slowing. In They are looking for inspiration for beyond the c-suite.
our research two-thirds of business leaders highlight that Business leaders most frequently look to their own
running an organisation today is completely different to employees (44%) or customers (37%) for inspiration
how it was two years ago. and/or advice on their next step. It is a well-trodden
idiom that ‘people’ are a business’s most valuable asset,
The findings suggest that leaders see delivering an and here the additional value of staff to provide guidance
effective next step in this environment of vital importance. and direction for decision makers really shines.
Significant change calls for significant action. A surprising
number feel it will be necessary to make substantial However, what role do business leaders believe
changes: 58% believe they need to restructure their technology will play in predicting, guiding and enacting
business and 66% need to transform their business their next step?
model. Almost half (47%) are planning to invest over £1m
on their next step in the next 12 months. Accordingly, 7
in 10 are looking to launch new products or services to
keep pace in these turbulent times. The deadline, set by
80% of those surveyed, for delivering these initiatives to
reshape their business is 2020.

80% of UK business leaders have

set themselves a deadline of 2020
to deliver their next act;

40% to deploy technologies that

power automation, like AI, machine
learning and robotics before 2020,
and 25% have already done so.

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The Next Act of UK Business
Creating chaos
and wonder
The transformative benefits of technologies such as
machine learning and artificial intelligence are creating
disruption across multiple industries, shaking up
established giants, propelling niche players to market
dominance and increasing the threat landscape with
every new connection. These technologies are giving
businesses new opportunities with improvements to
productivity, stimulating innovation or helping attract the
best talent.
71% of business leaders believe these new technologies
are the driving force behind the changes they’re making
to their organisation. At the same time, 78% think
technology has a key role to play in guiding what they do
next. These leaders appreciate the industry-wide impact
of new technologies and are exploring how they can be
used to better customer experience (55%) and improve
efficiencies (44%).
Cloud computing and big data analytics are firmly
established technologies already, deployed by 55%
and 41% of businesses respectively. However, many
businesses are looking to get ahead by deploying
automated and innovative technologies such as intelligent
networking (46%) and AI or machine learning (40%)
before 2020, with 25% using these technologies today.
These are no longer viewed as bolt-on technologies,
siloed within specific business processes. Business
leaders are deploying these innovative technologies
throughout their organisations and using their output
to inform the direction of the business. Four fifths think
these new technologies will factor into business-critical
decisions in the future.
Almost three quarters (71%) of
business leaders believe they must
make changes to their business
because of new technologies.
Four-fifths view these new technologies
as factoring into business-critical
decisions in the future.
Importantly, the central role that computing now takes
across every aspect of business life means the threat
of cyber-attacks has increased considerably. Every
organisation is vulnerable to cyber threats in some
way, but the more crucial their systems are to ongoing
business operation the higher its value as a target.
Consequently, it is concerning that 40% of business
leaders think cyber threats will have no impact on what
their business does next. Unfortunately, no organisation
is immune to these threats.
New technologies are setting the scene and will continue
to guide business decision makers through times of
change. But the impact of UK business’ next act goes
farther, it affects every employee - the skills and job
roles they have or need – with broader implications on
society.
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The Next Act of UK Business
The next act:
taking action
With 80% of business leaders setting a deadline of 2020
to deliver their next act, any changes they plan on making
will almost certainly already be in motion. How business
leaders move to new ways of working and new products
and services, will fundamentally impact society. Their
decisions will affect UK jobs, spending power, national
productivity, and how businesses interact with society.
Technology has disrupted the business landscape
already, creating tech giants and industry leaders,
changing consumer expectations for good. Those same
tools can close the gap prompting further innovation and
competition, for the benefit of consumers.
Acknowledged as a driver and an enabler of change,
technology has the potential to catalyse the UK’s
business environment, but only if business leaders plan
their next act in the context of its impact on people, their
partnerships and with their broader purpose in mind:
1. People: Business leaders surveyed view employees
as a strategic asset. They are the most frequent source
of advice and guidance for management. However,
those same leaders aren’t convinced that the workforce
has the appropriate skills to meet the changing needs of
the business; 22% citing lack of available employee skills
as a key barrier to business transformation.
While most leaders (55%) agree on the need to change
their current employees’ job roles to keep up with
change, 48% also see an imminent need to displace
employees with technology. It’s somewhat alarming that
only two thirds plan on retraining those employees who
would lose their jobs to technology.
2. Partnerships: Whether it’s solving the world’s
biggest problems, becoming more productive or
helping businesses be more competitive in the face
of digital disruption, one thing is clear: nobody can do
it alone. Positively, 64% of business leaders identified
collaboration as a key success factor for their next
step. This can be with a wide group; after their own
employees, business leaders most frequently turn to
their customers for inspiration and advice (37%).
3. Purpose: 69% agree that it is important their next act
bring wider benefits to society. However, when the time
comes to implement their next act, only 15% are driven
by social good or impact beyond their businesses as a
priority. There is a disconnect between understanding
that organisations should operate with a bigger purpose
in mind, and actually implementing it. This equally applies
within the business itself; despite nearly all business
leaders turning to technology to drive their next act, 84%
do not consider ethical implications to be a substantial
barrier to business transformation.
Just as alarming is the fact that only 20% of business
leaders view responsibility as an important or necessary
leadership trait in today’s business environment. We
have entered into an era where balance needs to be
struck between doing well and doing good; after all,
doing good is proven to be good for business.
Having a strong vision for the business, and its impact on
society, is more important to employees and customers
than ever. Profit and purpose are increasingly linked.
56% of consumers agree that they are more likely to
buy from organisations that care about their impact
on society. Even more telling, 43% of employees think
working for an organisation that cares about its broader
impact on society and the environment is more important
than an increase in salary.
From the efficacy of its processes to the ethical
behaviours of its supply chain, a leader’s focus on their
people and their impact on the world are becoming a
defining part of their next act.
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Conclusion

The world is changing, without question. Technology 70% of consumers and 60%
provides a bridge to the possible. Whether that is the
possibility of saving lives, creating jobs or reimagining of employees say a focus
whole industries. However, if technology is to deliver in on broader impact is more
the way that we know it can, we have to embrace it for
good through people, partnerships and purpose. This
important than ever
makes business leaders’ next act crucially important for
their own success and the wider health of society.

Customers are well aware of the changes going on

around them. 70% agree that it is more important than
ever that organisations consider their broader impact
on society, the environment and people. Crucially, for
leaders, these customers are willing to back up this
belief with action. 56% agree they would be more likely
to buy from businesses that care about the wider impact
of their actions. Purpose also attracts, empowers and
inspires employees, with more and more prioritising this
even over salary.

With these financial and personnel imperatives, the link

between profit and purpose is increasingly apparent.

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