Philip Smith is the managing director of CBO Projects, specialists in Change Management, eDiscovery and Information Governance. To find out more about CBO Projects you can visit their website or say hello on Facebook and Twitter!
Do you remember the celebration of British history in opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics? It was very much a celebration of a digital nation and Sir Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web tweeted the following narrative from the centre of the stadium #thisisforeveryone.
There was a message being presented to the world during that ceremony that the U.K. is a modern, technologically advanced nation that was leading the journey into the digital age. However a question has been asked recently whether this message is a reality. With the recent publishing of various reports and studies, and the clear outputs from the publications a different reality is clearly indicated.
A section of the executive summary in Booz & Company’s recent paper ‘The Case for Universal Digitisation’ reads:
“The U.K. is not maximising the potential offered by digital technologies, because too many individuals and organisations are either not using them to their fullest or not using them at all. We estimate that the U.K. could have increased its annual 2011 GDP by up to £63 billion if it had achieved global leadership in digitisation.”
They go on to say:
“Realising the full digital potential of the United Kingdom will require a holistic approach from government, businesses, and members of the community, working together to connect with the individuals and organisations now missing out on the benefits of being online.”
In their report, Booz & Company argue that universal digitisation has the potential to unlock substantial economic and social benefits for four sectors in particular: individuals, small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs), charities, and government.In another recent report from Booz & Company titled ‘Maximizing the Impact of Digitization’ the opening statistics in the report have to be eye openers that the digital era is here to stay and it is only going to advance.
It states:
“The number of personal computers (PCs) in use worldwide surged from 100 million in 1990 to 1.4 billion by 2010. There were 10 million mobile phone users in the world in 1990; today there are more than 5 billion. The number of Internet users grew at an even more rapid rate over the same decades, from 3 million to 2 billion. To put that into context, only two decades ago there were as many Internet users in the world as people in the city of Madrid; today, there are as many people online as are living in all of Asia.”
Looking at those figures there is only one real conclusion, the pace of technology and the digital era is accelerating.
Not only is the pace of technology and digitisation accelerating but the a new generation of digital natives is going to emerge. The executive summary of Booz & Company’s ‘The Rise of Generation C’ report reads:
“In the course of the next 10 years, a new generation – Generation C – will emerge. Born after 1990, these “digital natives,” just now beginning to attend university and enter the work-force, will transform the world as we know it. Their interests will help drive massive change in how people around the world socialize, work, and live their passions and in the information and communication technologies they use to do so.”
Obviously the reports I am referencing here are focused on the U.K. but the same principles apply for the 24.5 square miles of Guernsey.
Looking back over the past six months of what appears to be an increased appetite for change from the status quo in Guernsey, what are we going to do about the digital and technology opportunities that are right in front of our eyes?
It is clear from these reports that digital technologies and applications can indeed contribute to the economic strength, societal well-being, and effective governance of a nation, but will Guernsey position itself to benefit and fully exploit this opportunity?
Keywords that regularly get mentioned at the moment are “ICT Strategy” and “Diversification of the Economy”. And what great keywords they are, but there comes a point where substance is required behind the words and real change and progress is required.
Guernsey has a unique opportunity to embrace this acceleration in the digital era where it moves from having one main industry to it becoming a diverse business environment that offers professional services and products both locally and globally.
There is an opportunity for transformation where we develop a culture for business ideas to thrive, for people to develop skills and a ‘can do’ attitude towards entrepreneurs.
In one of the reports by Booz & Company it stated that 16 million people in the U.K. lacked basic online skills, such as using a search engine, sending and receiving emails, completing online applications and accessing information online. I wonder where Guernsey would sit if a similar survey was carried out locally?
The UK’s digital champion, Martha Lane Fox, made the following comment following the report:
“We need to make the country fit for purpose through the next decade and ensure everyone and every organisation has basic digital literacy.”
The change we implement now as an island must both accommodate and impact the future emerging generations in Guernsey and harvest their ideas for business and economic diversification.
We must consider key principles when looking at technology and the digital era, such as:
- Access (cost and availability)
- Awareness (do people understand what’s available and the range of benefits)
- Skills (do people know how to use it and are they seeing the benefits)
When looking at the core components of Digitisation outlined by Booz & Company is Guernsey embracing these components when looking at how to diversify the economy, when looking at the islands ICT strategy or when looking at the inclusion of technology and the digital world in education?
Digital Foundations
- Infrastructure
- Services
- Human Capital
Usage
- Individuals
- Organisations
- Government
To close, Guernsey has a fantastic opportunity to ensure that it is fit for purpose through the next decade, prepared for whatever market challenges it may face, embraces technology and the the digital era, creates a diverse economy, has a business culture that encourages entrepreneurs and realises the social and economic benefits of being one of the digital leaders.