As market dynamics, government regulations, and consumer behavior become increasingly complex, executive leaders face mounting pressure to remain relevant, innovative, and competitive. Enterprises must evolve to stay ahead of market trends and develop strategies to adapt to this unpredictable environment. Additionally, the need for speed, agility, and scale means critical decisions on technology investments must be made quickly across large enterprises. Investing in technology and establishing a decision-making framework is one of the most important ways to manage risk, enable long-term agility, and catalyze organisational transformation.
Digital transformation is not new among enterprises. However, the maturity and reality of digital transformation readiness were tested during the pandemic as companies witnessed innovation speed increase overnight. But why does it continue to permeate headlines and garner the attention of enterprise leaders worldwide?
Several key factors continue to drive this trend. Consumer expectations are changing. They want personalized experiences, seamless integrations, and instant results. More than half want to buy from brands that align with their beliefs and values. Competition is more intense than ever before. New tech players across industries are challenging established leaders. They are also creating adjacent categories of technology that disrupt the mission-critical solutions that drive existing business operations.
Five Predictions for Technology Investments
As companies turn to technology, we are witnessing digital transformation realized in multiple forms. Fellow industry experts from Icertis share five predictions for future technology investments that will further enterprise transformation.
1. Amid a potential economic downturn, businesses will continue to digitize operations.
As enterprise leaders look for ways to tighten their belts, streamlining current operations is to be expected. For example, we’re already seeing this in banks and financial institutions – with many banks announcing restructurings and job cuts. In today’s digital age, companies must move away from manual processes, such as handling and storing paper documents, in an effort to respond to cost reductions.
“In 2023, banking institutions – and organizations across all industries – will invest heavily in digital transformation as a business imperative. Companies seeking to remain competitive and emerge stronger as the economy recovers will lean into AI-powered contract lifecycle management to improve the customer experience and drive operational efficiency within their business,” said Jim Burnick, Senior Director Banking & Financial Services & Insurance at Icertis.
2. The need for transparency, reduced costs, and advanced interoperability will accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies.
Several industries, including healthcare, have historically lagged in automated technology, platform integrations, and leveraging insights. The adoption of technology and siloed business processes have exacerbated interoperability challenges – but these industries are changing their approach.
“We’ll see industries like healthcare shift focus towards digitizing administrative functions like contract lifecycle management to structure and connect data, automate workflows, and ensure the full intent and value of agreements are realized. Digital transformation supported by smart interoperability strategies will ensure that healthcare providers have the needed medical supplies, equipment, and staff to deliver quality patient care,” said Jennifer Conner, Senior Director, Pharma and Healthcare.
3. Consolidation through mergers and acquisitions will drive recovery.
As companies adapt to tougher market conditions, the volume of mergers and acquisitions, which slowed substantially in 2022, will begin to pick up as technology revolutionizes the market with new products. For example, 60% of global CEOs are not planning to delay M&A deals in 2023. Digitally transforming contracts to create insight into large volumes of data regarding customers, vendors, and suppliers will help the buyer make more informed decisions during the M&A process.
“Despite inflation and supply chain disruptions continuing to impact the economy, we’ll see more mergers and acquisitions in specific industries, particularly in the retail and CPG space. Look for companies acquiring to build out their portfolio as they seek to achieve more operational resources, greater scale, more ability to compete, and additional consumer data provided by other companies. Retailers will need to rely heavily on the data found in contracts to support their M&A decisions and mitigate the unknown risks,” said Phil Barry, Senior Director, Retail Industry Solutions.
4. With inflation and market uncertainty in the hot seat, legal teams can’t put ESG on the back burner.
Companies are grappling with the shifting regulatory environment. However, they must not forget that ESG initiatives are strategic imperatives for businesses looking to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace, build brand loyalty, and attract and retain talent.
“2023 will be a year of operational transformation, and firms that adopt technology, automation tactic and AI-powered tools to meet their environmental, social, and governance commitments will come out on top,” said Bernadette Bulacan, Chief Evangelist.
5. CFOs will fixate on revenue leakage and oversee every enterprise dollar.
In a complex and rapidly evolving environment, CFOs must quickly understand their company’s contractual obligations to uncover hidden insights that help to increase revenue and reduce costs. Technology is key to these efforts.
“With 2023 set to be another year of economic headwinds, CFOs will desire ultimate transparency and want to oversee every dollar in and out of the company to mitigate risk. With contracts at the foundation of commerce, governing every dollar in and out of the enterprise, CFOs will look to technology that structures contract data and turns it into meaningful insight,” said Rajat Bahri, CFO, Icertis
Conclusion
Today, our world of accelerated disruption means business leaders need governance, data, and digital tools to successfully transform their businesses.
Establishing governance standards that facilitate decision-making processes is necessary to enable a structured and efficient approach to large-scale change, such as implementing new technologies. In today’s macro environment, where rapid decision-making is imperative yet complex, business leaders require a framework that promotes transparency, ethics, and accountability. This will help drive speedy decisions, reinforce compliance, and enhance business agility, positioning the company to continue disrupting its industry with innovations and new ways of working.
By embracing new technology that drives digital transformation and incorporating governance standards, companies can create new sources of value and enable the most impactful business outcomes. These include increased revenue, reduced costs, improved compliance, and mitigated risk. They can also differentiate themselves from competitors and ensure long-term success in an increasingly competitive and digital world.
With unmatched technology and category-defining innovation, Icertis pushes the boundaries of what’s possible with contract lifecycle management (CLM). The AI-powered, analyst-validated Icertis Contract Intelligence (ICI) platform turns contracts from static documents into strategic advantage by structuring and connecting the critical contract information that defines how an organization runs. Today, the world’s most iconic brands and disruptive innovators trust Icertis to fully realize the intent of their combined 10 million+ contracts worth more than $1 trillion, in 40+ languages and 90+ countries.
