NEW STUDY BY DELOITTE AND BPM FORUM FINDS TECH EXECUTIVES DISSATISFIED WITH CAPACITY TO ANTICIPATE AND RESPOND TO MAJOR MARKET CHANGES

Only 35 Percent of Technology Executives Say Their Companies Are Very Effective In Managing Market Altering Changes

PALO ALTO, CA. (June 26, 2023) – Technology companies, confronted with growing competition from adjacent and overseas markets, a dramatic shift in power toward the consumer, and the accelerating pace of various technology and web-based deployments, are being challenged to rethink their strategic planning processes and how they respond to market-altering change.  This is a key finding from a landmark study, “Competition at the Crossroads: Strategic Planning and Action in Disruptive Markets”, conducted by the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum and Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications (TMT) group. The study surveyed more than 180 technology industry executives, including qualitative interviews with senior executives involved in strategic planning. The full report is available for complimentary download at the BPM Forum and Deloitte websites (www.bpmforum.org/csr, www.deloitte.com.)

The report finds that companies are having difficulty anticipating market change and are limited in their capacity to make effective course-correcting action, in large part due to insufficient investment in strategic planning, getting the right information and having the required talent that can look beyond today’s sales, profitability, current products, customers and technologies.
 
“Tech executives feel their companies are doing a good job with strategies and execution against current competitors and product markets,” said John Ciacchella, a principal with Deloitte Consulting and leader of its technology industry group.  “But when it comes to developing winning strategies and taking effective actions to address disruptive market changes, whether it is introduction of a breakthrough technology, developing new business models or entry of a non-traditional competitor, they are not meeting the challenge and may not have the tools, talent and processes they require.”

Among the key findings:

• While most respondents say their companies are able to identify market-altering change, only 25 percent believe they can anticipate such changes.
• Executives also give their companies poor marks for their ability to take adequate action in the face of these changes.  Only 35 percent of respondents said the executives responsible for managing course-correcting actions were “very effective” in this role.
• The vast majority of respondents, 92 percent, believe competition is intensifying in their industry sector.
• Some 96 percent say their sources of competition have changed in just the past two years, including 44 percent who say their sources of competition have changed significantly.
• Respondents indicate that senior management is spending more of its time on the strategic planning process, but also that their companies’ investments in strategic planning processes, tools and talent have not increased as fast as revenues.

As one senior executive remarked, “All of a sudden our competitive set has widened dramatically.  It’s not just about ‘what are our traditional competitors doing?’ Now there are a whole bunch of other folks we’ve never looked at before.”

Still another spoke about the growing threat from “disruptive competitors from overseas…The potential for a disruptive attack from a low-end Taiwanese or Chinese company is now very, very prevalent.”

“Competition at the Crossroads raises serious questions about how technology companies can build their capacity to anticipate, prepare for and take action amidst rapid market changes,” said Dave Murray, BPM Forum program director.   “The BPM Forum and its Competitive Strategy Roundtable, in cooperation with Deloitte Consulting, looks forward to continued industry dialogue that can identify best practices and new approaches for strategic change in our industry.”

The “Competition at the Crossroads” study lays the groundwork for a series of future management dialogs that will be hosted by the BPM Forum and Deloitte Consulting to facilitate discussion among high tech strategy executives  trying to anticipate, plan and better address market altering changes.

About Deloitte
Deloitte & Touche USA’s TMT group helps companies in the technology, media & entertainment and telecommunications industries evaluate complex issues, develop fresh approaches to problems, and implement practical solutions. Clients include some of the world’s top software companies, computer manufacturers, wireless operators, satellite broadcasters, advertising agencies, and semiconductor foundries – as well as leaders in publishing, telecommunications, and peripheral equipment manufacturing.

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