Swiss executives are optimistic and expect growth

According to the latest PwC CEO Surveywhich has just been presented in Davos, executives worldwide are optimistic about growth. Digitization remains a priority for Swiss executives. There is a growing understanding of digital transformation, what it means and how it can be used to transform their core business. This is especially true for the design of ERP systems, supply chains and customer journeys. Cybersecurity remains an important issue for Swiss SMEs.

In 2022, Swiss executives should focus on six points that are likely to prove to be success factors.

1) Leading investments in the cloud to real transformation.

According to Statista, in 2022 organizations worldwide will have around $1.78 trillion for cloud technology and other digital transformation initiatives spend. However, the question remains: are companies and governments investing in a true transformation or are they merely whitewashing business as usual? Critical to the answer is the shift to cloud computing, including autonomous technologies. In the private sector, almost every industry already has one or more cloud-centric "digital rebels" transforming it. Expect a whole range of unconventional digital partnerships to emerge across all sectors.

Certainly, those companies that see the cloud as liberation will reap the greatest rewards. In fact, Gartner calls the cloud a "force multiplier" - it's a scalable, resilient technology foundation for long-term innovation and growth. Best example: The Deutsche Bank uses Oracle Exadata Cloud@Customer with more than 40 petabytes of data in Oracle Databases, thus saving enormous costs. We are also hearing more and more frequently from customers that the cloud relieves their IT staff in the area of system and security updates and maintenance. The effect: they can concentrate more on developing profitable digital products and services.

Against this backdrop, as we enter 2022, boards of directors will demand more evidence from their leadership teams that their cloud investments are positioning the company for long-term competitive advantage.

2) ML and AI become core competencies of leading digital companies.

The data deluge continues to grow, and AI and ML algorithms are helping companies analyze and continuously learn from the data, make better decisions, and provide a range of information for next actions. However, most companies are still in the experimental phase when it comes to AI and ML. Part of the problem is developing the necessary skills.

Most companies and government agencies do not have the resources to assemble an army of PhD Data Scientists. An alternative would be to build smaller, more focused "MLOps" teams - similar to DevOps teams in application development. These teams would consist of Data Scientists, as well as developers and other IT staff, whose ongoing task would be to deploy, maintain, and continuously improve LI/ML models in production.

In addition, enterprises are recognizing the value of cloud infrastructure and applications with integrated AI and ML algorithms. Gartner predicts that by 2025. the ten percent of companies that have implemented AI/ML engineering best practices are at least three times as valuable from these practices than the 90 percent of companies that do not. Early adopters have a clear advantage here.

3) Customers and others increasingly evaluate companies in terms of sustainability

When buying goods and services, evaluating potential employers, and even investing in stocks, people of all ages are increasingly paying attention to companies' sustainability strategy and commitment.

By 2022, every company will be required to develop and implement a comprehensive sustainability strategy - a tall order that is already building momentum. Forrester reports that of the Fortune Global 200 companies, 81 percent in EMEA have already appointed a senior-level sustainability officer. A good start, but real action requires companies to make lasting changes to some of the fundamentals of their business.

4) New career and hiring plans are critical to attracting talent.

Swiss executives and companies are aware of the importance of a skilled workforce and talent as the most important growth factor. In 2020, 64 % of Swiss CEOs surveyed by PwC rated the availability of skilled labor as the seventh biggest threat to their company. But the big Resignation, triggered by the global pandemic, suggests that employers still have a lot of work to do. As businesses begin to reopen, organizations must be more proactive in developing a career plan for their most valuable employees and address their concerns about work-life balance and workplace flexibility. 

5) Supply chain disruptions - a new constant

Even the most sophisticated supply chain management technologies cannot fully predict the magnitude of market shocks like a global pandemic, but they can help companies determine the right balance of safety stocks. As purchasing behavior shifts from brick-and-mortar to online platforms, companies must recognize and respond to these changes, taking into account the impact in their factories, data centers and global supply chains.

A good example is Cohu, which, thanks to its transformation, has been able to establish a smaller and more agile IT team to maintain systems while supporting the company's growing activity and future acquisitions.

6) AI as a springboard for new financial managers

Business models change with customer expectations. There have never been so many mergers, acquisitions and divestments. All of these challenges are prompting a focus on the value of data: Cleaning up data, accelerating planning cycles, but also looking beyond the finance function. Companies are asking themselves what data they have, how it can best be structured and integrated across business units, and what benefits it offers. The leaders who fund these projects need to know how financial, supply chain, human resources, and other data sets combine.

An excellent example from Switzerland is Galdermawhich opted for further transformation and implemented integrated business planning, freeing up resources and combining what could not be fully automated and streamlined into shared services, enabling the launch of new services. The transformation has already stimulated an innovation boom in Galderma's business units responsible for prescription medicines, consumer products and aesthetics, enabling the company to hope for a global leadership position in dermatology.

When companies consider these key priorities in the context of business opportunities, challenges and impacts, they are automatically better positioned to increase their economic impact and improve their market position.

Source: Oracle