Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in2021 and Beyond

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Contents
2021: Welcome to the Sustainable Digital Economy ................................................................ 3
From Crisis to the Future Enterprise: The 3 Rs .......................................................................... 4
2020: When Transformation hits the "K" ................................................................................... 5
The Race to "New" Business Value ............................................................................................ 6
Baseline Prediction: The Accelerated Digital Destiny ............................................................... 7
An Example of this Rapid Acceleration: Volkswagen Group .................................................... 8
IDC Predictions: Next Actions to Become a Future Enterprise .............................................. 9
Key 2021 European Predictions ................................................................................................ 10
Future of Operations ........................................................................................................................ 11
Future of Work .................................................................................................................................. 14
Future of Intelligence ........................................................................................................................ 17
Future of Connectedness ................................................................................................................. 20
Future of Digital Infrastructure ....................................................................................................... 23
Future of Customers and Consumers ............................................................................................ 26
Future of Digital Innovation ............................................................................................................. 29
Future of Trust ................................................................................................................................... 32
Future of Industry Ecosystems ........................................................................................................ 35
European Organizations' 2021 Actions in a Nutshell ............................................................. 38
Contact Us/Information ............................................................................................................ 40

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

2021: Welcome to the Sustainable Digital Economy
In 2020, COVID-19 dramatically changed the business environment, forcing us to face
new challenges and new ways of operating under what is described as a volatile,
uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) economy. Despite the unfolding challenges,
technology has allowed us to achieve things we never thought were possible.
Thomas Meyer
Research Group VP
IDC EMEA

Philip Carter
Chief Analyst
IDC EMEA

European organizations have gone through or are still progressing along the five-stage
journey from crisis to recovery. To navigate the journey to the Future Enterprise,organizations have to set their strategy along three critical stages: respond to thecurrent crisis, be digitally resilient to be prepared for whatever shock is on the horizon,
and reignite to be sustainable, innovative, and future proof.

IDC's vision of the Future Enterprise is an organization that is completely digitallytransformed. Such an organization underpins business processes with technology,
is fueled by innovation, and is platform-enabled and ecosystem-centric.

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

From Crisis to the Future Enterprise: The 3 Rs
PANDEMICCRISISCOST
OPTIMIZATION

BUSINESSRESILIENCY

Response

FUTURE
ENTERPRISE

Reignition
Resilience

Source: IDC Research, 2020

TARGETEDINVESTMENTS

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Su
cc
es
s
to
te
2020

COVID-19

The key to being on the upslope of the curve is linked
to digital investment and particularly the extent towhich digital investment can deliver outcomes.

DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATIONINVESTMENTS

ra

Every company will have its own road to recovery.
However, irrespective of where companies are along
the road, when considering their digital transformation
investments plan, they will be in front of a K. We referto this as the K-Shaped recovery — where eachcompany will be at a crossroads, either accelerating tosuccess or fighting for survival.

2020: When Transformation Hits the "K"ele

So 2021 Will be a Race to Outcomesfrom Digital Investments

Acc

IDC eBook

Fi

gh

TIME

tf

or

Su
r

vi
v

al

Source: IDC Research, 2020

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

The Race to "New" Business Value
Ecosystem

Co-creation and co-opetition

Trust

The orchestratorof new business
value

PurposeEnvironmental
and Societal

Diversity

Tech =
Enabler

Cognitive,
gender,race, age, etc.

Financial

Revenue and profit

The race to digital outcomes will go beyond financial andtop-line growth. It will encompass a totally new set ofvalues for the Future Enterprise.

Source: IDC Research, 2020

In 2019, we talked about business value being redefined
to go beyond financials and include ecosystem andpurpose value — including the initial "green shoots" ofenvironmental and societal value entering the equation.
Now, enterprises are broadening their definitionsof value even further.
On top of financials, ecosystem, and purpose values,
CEOs have to deliver trust and diversity. There isincreasing scrutiny as the public takes a closer look at thebroader impact of the businesses they engage with.
Companies need to demonstrate that they can be trusted
in a holistic way that includes brand image, sustainability,
diversity, and ecosystem reputation. As organizations
won’t be uniquely measured on the bottom line, a newstyle of leadership — more human and empathic — isneeded.

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Baseline Prediction: The Accelerated Digital Destiny
The digital transformation of many organizations has accelerated, triggered bydifferent needs, including the need to close digital gaps, support new
requirements, or capture market share. As a result, the economy will further ramp
up its digital destiny.
This is why spending on digital initiatives will continue to grow at a double-digit rate
in Europe, outpacing the expected GDP growth by a factor of 3. Organizations
turning those digital investments into outcomes will ramp up quickly onto the
upslope of the K-shaped recovery.
Welcome to the world we envisaged for 2023 — now. Welcome to the digital era,
when technology is critical to respond, adapt, and capture new opportunities.
Giulia Carosella

European Digital Transformation
Practice Lead

Erica Spinoni

Research Analyst, European
Digital Transformation Practice"In 2021, growth indigital investments
in Europe will
outstrip GDP growth
by a factor of 3."

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

An Example of this Rapid Acceleration:
Volkswagen Group

Volkswagen Ramps Up Investments in
Tech Transformation

Despite revenue declines of 17% for the first 9 months of
2020, Herbert Diess announced in November that thecompany would be doubling digital investments to €27B
over the next five years. This is an example of how CEOs
are stepping on the gas to accelerate the digitalization of
products, services, and business models to future proof thebusiness.

Volkswagen doubles its digitaltransformation spend to $27B through to2025, as part of its Future Technologies
investment plan:

To internalize future shocks, CEOs have to build upon thelessons learnt in 2020:
1. Never waste a crisis. Develop a learning mindset inwhich a different leadership model will be required forthe better normal.
2. Treat 2021 as a race to sustainable businessoutcomes. Accelerate the journey to the digital destiny,
understanding that the outcomes go beyond financials
and the need to encompass new business values.
3. Empower technology leadership. Give a seat at theboard to technology leaders as technology plays a pivotal
role in every business area.

of investments in R&D
and tangible assets inthe planning period

Herbert Diess
CEO, Volkswagen
Group

~ 50%

~

~ € 73B
spending~ 10% morethan in the previous
planning period
Source: Volkswagen Group

B

5
€3

~ €11B~€

Electromobility

Hybridization

25B
Digitization

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

IDC Predictions: Next Actions to Become a
Future Enterprise
IDC's predictions are created to embrace both the 3Rs to the
future enterprise and the redefinition of business values toprovide clear best next actions to become a future
enterprise.
IDC’s predictions provide key action items for European
organizations’ agendas along nine "Future of X" items.
Armed with these nine agenda items, European
organizations can move forward towards a better normal,
leveraging technology to become the Future Enterprise.

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Key 2021 European Predictions

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

A Carbon Friendly Future
Future of Operations is the transformation of operations from an efficiency focus to being resiliencedriven to support the increasing market demand for customization and experiences.
SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, 90% of European COOs will incorporate cybersecurity investments into third-party risk
management programs to build more resilience and trust across the supply chain.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future ofOperations prediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Operations prediction drives
these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, 80% of European operations-intensive organizations will invest in IT-OT, supply chain
integration, and performance management technologies, helping reduce region-wide carbon emissions
by an additional 3%.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future ofOperations prediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Operations prediction drives
these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
European companies will increasingly use digital capabilities to improve the efficiency
and resilience of their supply chains and deliver high-quality products and services
despite any potential economic or environmental disruptions.
Technology connecting OT and IT processes with supply chains and markets will playa major role in carbon emissions reduction, but also in supply chain visibility, process
safety, and efficiency. More importantly, this will ultimately support Europe's
sustainable future and industrial excellence.
Up to 80% of organizations have suffered a data breach in the past 12 months due tocybersecurity weakness in their supply chain. For this reason, European companies
will increasingly adopt and integrate new technologies with secure supply chain
management software to create a more intelligent, risk-aware, and resilient "thinking"supply chain.

Jan Burian

Bo Lykkegaard

Head of IDC
Manufacturing Insights

Associate Vice President

Stefanie Naujoks

Jean-François
Segalotto

Research Director

Associate Research
Director

Romain Fouchereau

Stefano Perini

Research Manager

Senior Research Analyst

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Maersk Drilling Carbon Capture ProjectWith the fall in oil prices last year, Maersk Drilling saw a drop in demand for oil welldrilling. It decided to join a consortium led by the Danish government, which is focusing
on reusing discontinued offshore oil and gas fields for permanent CO2 storage. Maersk
Drilling has entered an agreement to invest $1 million in the California-based company
Clean Energy Systems to help develop a new technology called Carbon-Negative Energy.

Technology Helping the Shift
Towards Carbon-Neutral
Drilling in the Resource Industry

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Resilient Workforce: From HR to HX
Future of Work is a fundamental change to the concept of work that transforms worker behaviors andskills and organizational culture, supports a dynamic work environment not bounded by time of day or
physical space, empowers teams and a diverse workforce, and fosters human-machine collaboration.
SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, two-thirds of European companies will invest in human experience (HX) technologies,
transforming their HR functions to attract and retain top talent.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future of Workprediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Work prediction drives thesebusiness values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, 70% of European companies will use technology to enable equivalence in a borderless
workplace.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future of Workprediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Work prediction drives thesebusiness values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
HX will guide HR evolution along the development of a resilient workforce, fromtalent recruitment and scouting to coaching, performance management, andemployee rewards.

Angela Salmeron

Jan Alexa

Associate Research
Director

Research Manager

Mick Heys

Alexandros Stratis

Vice President

Research Manager

Technologies such as analytics/AI and workflow management will allow companies toautomate and augment multiple HR functions with new capabilities such as talent
scouting, onboarding, training, and retention, and create a nourishing work culture ina hybrid working environment.
Companies will use technology to reduce inequalities between those who can andcannot attend offices and increase diversity by removing physical and financial
barriers to the employment of the disadvantaged. Removing physical barriers allows
the recruitment of the best talent irrespective of location. It provides a better
employee experience by providing more flexibility and improves financial outcomesby increasing company resilience.

Andrea Minonne
Senior Research Analyst

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Winning the "New" Talent War: Game Changing Employee Experiences
Multi-Channel
Onboarding
Talent Scouting& Recruitment

Work Anywhere

Workflows

Employee
Advocacy

Analytics

AI/ML

Coaching,
Mentoring,
Succession

Intelligent Process
Automation

Outcome-driven
Performance
Management

Source: IDC Research, 2020

Well-being,
Benefits,
Rewards
Real-time Skills
Assessment
Allocation

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

AI-Driven Resilient Operations for the VUCA Economy
Future of Intelligence is an organization's capacity to learn combined with its ability to synthesize theinformation it needs in order to learn and to apply the resulting insights at scale to gain a sustainable
competitive advantage or an ability to fulfill the organizational mission.
SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, 40% of European enterprises will combine AI and ML with automation at scale to drive
resilience in delivering omni-channel customer experiences — improving customer advocacy andretention rates.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future ofIntelligence prediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Intelligence prediction drives
these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, given VUCA business environments, 20% of enterprises will invest in adaptive operations
leveraging AI to improve resilience.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future ofIntelligence prediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Intelligence prediction drives
these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
Organizations across industries will increasingly invest in automation, powered by AI
and ML, to scale customer-facing operations more dynamically and to make precious
human labor and expertise as effective as it can be.
In 2020, over 50% of European organizations relying on analytics models for decisionmaking struggled under the conditions posed by the VUCA economy. For this reason,organizations’ response must be more than technology; it should also be based on
an outside-in perspective, culture, and skills development.
The U.K. construction trade retailer Travis Perkins reinvented its BI function in thecloud starting from grassroots engagement with business teams, through a series of
hackathons. Travis Perkins' benefits spanned from a wide appreciation of tools to thedevelopment of skills and confidence among and within business teams.

Neil Ward-Dutton

Philip Carnelley

Vice President

Associate Vice President

John O’Brien

Adriana Allocato

Research Director

Research Manager

Jack Vernon
Senior Research Analyst

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

The AI-Driven Operations Control Center at Vodafone
Vodafone's chief executive wanted to know how much was being spent with one supplier.
How much is being spent with supplier X?

Do you want that for this week, last month, lastquarter, last year, last three years….what do you want?

What will be the impact of extending
payment terms from 30 days to 60 days?

We can also look at thatfor 15 days if you need…
This year has highlighted the value of greater transparency down the supply
chain and having the flexibility to respond to changing circumstances: Don't
have a digital-first strategy, have a digital-only strategy.

Nick ReadCEO of Vodafone

Ninian Wilson
Global Supply Chain Director &CEO, Vodafone Procurement

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Private 5G Networks to Win the Millisecond Latency War
Future of Connectedness enables organizations and individuals to connect seamlessly, regardless of
their location, situation, or context.
SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, 1 in 5 European manufacturers and logistics operators will begin private 5G network
deployments to better connect operations.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future ofConnectedness prediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Connectedness prediction
drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, only 15% of European enterprises will deliver new revenue streams from 5G investments.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future ofConnectedness prediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Connectedness prediction
drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
Enterprises across Europe will turn to private mobile networks to reduce costs, boost
productivity, and improve security as well as availability by replacing outdated andinefficient network equipment.
A variety of organizations will turn to private 5G networks to fulfil multiple goals.
Hospitals will enable remote triage in connected ambulances, energy companies will
mitigate employee risk by surveying remote facilities in hazardous environments withthe help of mobile robots, and manufacturers will reduce downtime by improving
network availability. For example, Worcester Bosch has already found that private 5G
has enabled productivity improvement by 2% for some applications, double what
was first expected.
The benefits of 5G depend on the value that enterprises can inject in evolving
business value creation chains, as well as participation in relevant 5G industry
ecosystems — comprising technology innovation partners, cloud platform providers(ex hyperscalers), and telcos.

Francisco Jeronimo

Martina Kurth

Associate Vice President

Associate Vice President

Kevin Restivo

Jan Hein Bakkers

Research Manager

Research Director

Rosalind Craven

James EibischResearch Manager

Research Director

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

5G is also the Trigger for a New Form of Infrastructure: The Hybrid Edge

Private 5G network
Co-location

Industrial
Equipment

Local Datacenters
RobotsSmart
Helmets
HighDefinition
CamerasTelco
antennaLight Edge
(On Asset)

Heavy Edge Device(On Industrial Site)
Local management
Local compute(insights and actions)
Local Inferencing

Tool

<10ms

LATENCY
Distributed Intelligent Core

Source: IDC Research, 2020

Management andcontrol System(External public cloud)Management
Centralized
intelligence andinsights
Analytics
ML training (heavy
lifting)

10ms - 50 ms

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

The Hybrid Edge: The New Distributed Infrastructure
Future of Digital Infrastructure will underpin the delivery of agile, flexible, and reliable IT services in aseamless cloud-like manner, from on-premises through to public cloud services.

SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, close to 20% of European on-premises enterprise infrastructure deployments will be financed
by consumption-based models or leasing, representing $2.6 billion in investment.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future of
Digital Infrastructure prediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Digital Infrastructure
prediction drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, European hybrid edge infrastructure spending will almost double to nearly $14B to support
zero-latency use-cases.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future of Digital
Infrastructure prediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Digital Infrastructure
prediction drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
The shift towards OPEX consumption models will accelerate, helping companies intheir strategic infrastructure transformations and tackling workloads that require
extreme agility and flexibility, while lightening their balance sheet.
A brand-new set of latency-sensitive use cases from zero-touch factories inmanufacturing to smart mobility ecosystems, is leading to a "millisecond war" with
the need for real-time decision making on a mix of structured and unstructured data.
Buyers will need to place the right workloads in the right hybrid edge environment
across core, heavy, light, and telco edge to drive competitive advantage. This will leadto higher requirements in terms of infrastructure management, handling, andorchestration.

Andrew Buss

Chris Barnard

Research Director

Vice President

Pavel Roland

Silvia Cosso

Research Director

Associate Research
Director

Gabriele Roberti

Eckhardt Fischer

Research Manager

Senior Research Analyst

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Approximately how much of your total infrastructure spending was split
between the following environments in 2019?
100%

19

80%

20

X2 fromlast year

19

16

18

21

20

19

18

18

32

39

2019 - Total

2019 - Digital
Follower

20

22

Public Cloud— PaaS

19

Public Cloud— IaaS

19

Edge
environments

19

19

30

28

2019 - Digital
Mainstream

2019 - Digital
Leader20%0%Note: Numbers refer to shares and they sum up to 100%

Source: IDC European Infrastructure and Multicloud Survey, 2020

SecondarydatacentersCore
datacenters

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Resilient CX = Top Line "Defense"
Future of Customers and Consumers is an empathic relationship between customers and brands
built on what the customer wants and how they want to be treated through the technology lens ofawareness, engagement, learning, and measurement.
SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, European enterprises will invest in enhanced customer services and digital engagement
technologies at nearly three times the growth rate of the overall software market to drive customer
loyalty and revenue growth.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future of
Customers and Consumers prediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Customers and Consumers
prediction drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, 2 in 5 large B2C enterprises in Europe will invest in technology that intensifies emotional
engagement and drives long-term customer loyalty.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future of
Customers and Consumers prediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Customers and Consumers
prediction drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
Being resilient in terms of customer and consumer relationships will be critical tobuild the top line defense on two levels:
1. Protect revenue by providing game-changing customer support.
2. Identify critical pockets of revenue growth as and when they emerge.
The commerce landscape is rapidly moving from ecommerce to a Q-commerceframework (where the Q stands for Quick), where speed matters more than
discounts and <1hour delivery will be the mantra. To get there, European enterprises
will first have to fill commerce-related digital gaps, investing in customer service
technologies such as optimized chatbots, automated responses, and self-service
portals. At the same time, enterprises must attract new customers via digitalchannels, such as websites, apps, email, and social media – all woven together with
software powering seamless and frictionless commerce.
Experience is another key growth accelerator. B2C players must ramp up experiencesand emotional engagements to stay competitive. One approach is to inspire deep
interactions, like La Redoute, a fashion and linens retailer, did with its hashtag
challenge, in which tens of thousands of customers sent in more than 110 thousandhomemade videos. Another is to use "empathy advisors" that detect emotions in realtime, like contact center agents at Zurich use to help them change how they interact
with customers during a call.

Gerry Brown

Mark Yates

Research Director

Research Manager

Melissa FremeijerHoltz

Filippo Battaini

Research Manager

Ornella Urso
Senior Research Analyst

Head of IDC RetailInsights

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

The Q-Commerce Revolution
1ST GENERATIONCOMMERCE

2ND GENERATION
E-COMMERCE

3RD GENERATION
Q-COMMERCE

Self Service

Delivery 2-3 Days

<1 Hour Delivery

All Products Available

Main Products Available

Small Selection Available

Privately Owned Car

Delivery Truck

2 Wheeled Vehicle

Super Store

Mega Warehouses

Local Store Or Warehouses

Three To Four People Households

Often Single Person Households

Discount Matters

Speed Matters

Source: DeliveryHero, 2020

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Compressed Innovation Tactics: Task Apps and the Core
Future of Digital Innovation becomes a game changer as organizations reevaluate the role ofsoftware and, to a large extent, software innovation, and this has profound implications for technology
organizations.
SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, software-led European organizations implementing compressed innovation tactics will takedigital ideas to production 4 times faster than the market average.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future of
Digital Innovation prediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Digital Innovation prediction
drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, 30% of large European organizations will implement culture as a platform to successfully
operate digital innovation value chains.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future of Digital
Innovation prediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Digital Innovation prediction
drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
Current business disruption only accelerates the focus on hyper-speed, responsiveness, and -development. New digital products and services need to beramped up dramatically to fill gaps in digital value chains, and this really accelerated
the shift to modular apps and more specifically "task apps" which perform orcomplete one aspect of a business process. This means that organizations mastering
digital innovation and putting compressed innovation tactics to work will dramaticallyincrease their competitiveness.
In 2020, organizations with a high degree of software development and delivery
maturity could push digital ideas to production in just 17 days. One example isAirbus, which maximized data across its delivery process to deliver a minimum of two
aircraft a day and a million spare parts in a few hours against a year, thereby
minimizing the time the aircraft is not flyable.
Excellence in digital innovation requires the alignment of human and technology
resources, but most importantly it requires that organizations think about culture asa platform. Culture as a platform provides organizations with a framework aroundwhich cultural transformation can be planned, supported, and measured.

Jen Thomson

George Mironescu

Senior Research Director

Senior Research
Manager

Carla Arend

Archana
Venkatraman

Senior Program Director

Associate Research
Director

Filippo Vanara
Research Analyst

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

The Need for Speed: The Rise of the Task App
Internally vs. Externally Facing

Contactless
Payments

Supplier
Scorecard
Analysis

Real-time CashManagement

UX

MICROSERVICES& APISMICROSERVICES& APIS

Order
Tracking

UX

Click andCollect

Employee Safety& Wellbeing

a
tern

In

ing

ac
lly F

Source: IDC Research, 2020

ppl

A

s

ion
icat

Ext

ern

ally

Fac

ing

App

Curb Side
Pick-up

lica

tion

s

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

The Future CEO: Trust as a Priority
Future of Trust is an up-leveling of the security conversation to include attributes such as risk,
compliance, privacy, and even business ethics as digital transformation has magnified the organization
threat vector.

SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, 40% of European CEOs will introduce trust metrics to comply with emerging ethical, diversity,and sustainable business practices.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future of Trust
prediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Trust prediction drives thesebusiness values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, trust concerns will drive 65% of large European enterprises to add regional alternatives to theircloud infrastructure estate.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future of Trust
prediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Trust prediction drives thesebusiness values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
Trust is the glue that binds digital transformation efforts. However, the concept oftrust is changing. Companies need to demonstrate that they can be trusted,
expanding from security, privacy, and compliance to a holistic definition that includes
brand image and ecosystem reputation. That's why CEOs need to work in hand inhand with the CISO, morphing into a Chief Trust Officer role, and the full c-suite
developing new trust metrics that go beyond privacy and security covering customer
experience (CX), employee experience (EX), sustainability, and diversity.
With trust being a key differentiator by 2023, big global tech companies will struggle
to provide evidence of trust in a European context. Global cloud providers will be at
the forefront of this challenge in a B2B context, but the issue will also be relevant in a
consumer-facing world.
Many players will either fail to produce the metrics demanded by the market or will
have to build trusted cloud partnerships with local providers. As a result, European
enterprises will begin to add regional alternatives to global cloud service providers aspart of their multicloud strategy. The Gaia-X federated approach to cloud could becentral to this development.

Duncan Brown
Vice President

Marta Muñoz
Méndez-Villamil
Senior Research Director

Vladimir Kroa

Mark Child

Associate Vice President

Research Manager

Ralf Helkenberg

Claudio Stahnke

Research Manager

Senior Research Analyst

Radoslav Dragov

Galina Spasova

Senior Research Analyst

Senior Research Analyst

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

The New Trust Metrics
Value Balancing Alliance, European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI), andTransform to Net Zero are all well-funded and backed metrics initiatives.
Privacy & Ethics

GDPR
Code of Conduct
ISO27701
Ethical Use of
Data & AI

Ecosystem Experience
Net Promoter Score (NPS)
European Customer
Satisfaction Index (ECSI)Partner & Supplier
Advocacy

Sustainability
ESG Goals
Dow Jones
Sustainability Index
FTSE4Good

Source: IDC Research, 2020

Security

Value-at-risk
Cyber risk analytics(e.g. X-Analytics)
Mean time todetection (MDDT)

Employee Experience

Employees Net
Promoter Score (eNPS)
European Customer
Satisfaction Index (ECSI)Diversity
Gender Pay Gap
Board member
diversity
Management and
Employee Diversity

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Sustainable Digital Economy: Digital Ecosystems
Future of Industry Ecosystem explores how industries adopt an outside-in culture, engaging in a
deeply interconnected network of suppliers, partners, and customers.
SHORT-TERM PREDICTION
In 2021, more than 40% of the global cross-industry digital ecosystems based on physical products will
be orchestrated out of Europe, adding $125B in regional economic output.
On the road to recovery, the short-term Future ofIndustry Ecosystem prediction focuses on:

The short-term Future of Industry Ecosystem
prediction drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeLONG-TERM PREDICTION
By 2023, $2 out of every $10 spent in Europe on ecosystem orchestration platforms and technologies
will be centered around "trust" to protect the data, contracts, transactions, and intellectual property ofall participants.
On the road to recovery, the long-term Future ofIndustry Ecosystem prediction focuses on:

The long-term Future of Industry Ecosystem prediction
drives these business values:

Response

Financial

Ecosystem

Diversity

Trust

Resilience

Reignition

PurposeIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

3 IDC Takeaways
Every day, networks of organizations from different sectors join forces to deliver
value and foster innovation through cross-industry ecosystems. Key emerging
technologies and new business constructs such as joint ventures and innovation
hubs are at the heart of this transformation.
Ecosystem orchestrators face a balancing act of encouraging open innovation while
mitigating security, data, and reputational risk. A breakdown in trust could have adisastrous impact on an organization's and ecosystem's reputation and viability. As
these inter-industry digital ecosystems become more prevalent, new mechanisms to
manage the complexity of multi-partner IP-protection, local, regional, andinternational data protection requirements, cross-border transactions, and contracts
will be required.
European ecosystems will trigger an additional $15 billion tech spending in 2021,
including business consulting services, integration technologies, digital twins, edge,
cloud platforms, data management and analytics, and trust-centric platforms andtechnologies (e.g., authentication, data loss prevention, contract provisioning, anddistributed ledger technologies).

Giorgio Nebuloni

Massimiliano Claps

Associate Vice President

Research Director

Margaret Adam

Roberta Bigliani

Associate Vice PresidentGroup Vice President

Andrea Siviero
Associate Research
Director

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

Volkswagen: Ecosystem Based on the Digital Production Platform (DPP)
Partner

VOLKSWAGEN
Digital Production
Platform (DPP)

Cloud
Security

Analytics

IoT

Source: Volkswagen GroupIDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

European Organizations' 2021
Actions in a Nutshell

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

As we head towards a digitally oriented
next normal, it is clear that technology willplay an unprecedented role in building the
Future Enterprise.

A Carbon Friendly
Future in Europe
Sustainable Digital Economy:
Digital Ecosystems

The Future CEO: New
Trust Metrics

Compressed Innovation
Tactics: Task Apps andthe Core

Resilient CX = Top Line
‘Defense’

Resilient Workforce:
From HR to HX

ACCELERATEDDIGITALDESTINY

AI-Driven Resilient
Operations for the
VUCA Economy

The Hybrid Edge:
The New Distributed
Infrastructure

Private 5G Networks to
Win the Millisecond
Latency War

However, operating in a next normal that is
also a better normal will require a new,reframed business value approach.
For organizations, there is a need to focus
on where the weak pillars are to tick all thevalue boxes, as they are interdependent —Financial, Ecosystem, Societal, but also
Diversity and Trust! Now is the time for theforward-thinking organizations, armed withthese nine agenda items, to ensure thenext steps forward in the sustainabledigital economy as a digital, ecosystemdriven, trusted, diverse, future-readyenterprise.

IDC eBook

Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond

FOR MORE INFORMATION

idc.com/uk

This eBook is based on research from the IDC FutureScape: Creating a
Sustainable Digital Economy in 2021 and Beyond.

idcmarketingemea@idc.com

Contact your account representative or watch the IDC Webinar
Presentation: FutureScape 2021: Creating a Sustainable Digital Economy in2021 and Beyond
All rights reserved. ©IDC 2021

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