In a recent announcement, Samsung (News - Alert) revealed a report that indicated that, by 2020, companies which have not opened borders to competitors, innovators and a new generation of independent freelancers will struggle to prosper in what Samsung is calling the ‘Open Economy.’ This new Open Economy will rely heavily on freelance workers, call for startup culture and absorption to lead innovation and, potentially the hardest point, a new kind of collaboration between former competitors.
Over the last decade, the report says, businesses have become more open and collaborative to the benefits of more open business models. To thrive in this world of new technology and dispersed digital workforces, companies, Samsung said, will need to embrace security platforms which will allow them to share information openly but safely, which forces them to rethink business models.
“Finding ways to safely empower new waves of future freelance workers is going to be the number one business challenge,” said Nick Dawson, Global Director, Knox Strategy. “Within three years, it's expected that businesses will have to deal with over 7.3 billion connected devices, whilst a rapidly digitized and changing workforce will evolve to one that will transform businesses in how, where and when they operate.”
On the global stage, European companies are in the lead, which puts them in pole position to harness the open and ultra-flexible workforces and businesses over the next three to 10 years, according to this research from The Future Laboratory, which formed the basis of the report.
“Relying on past certainties will not foster the creativity that business will need to compete in tomorrow's global market place,” said Marcos Eguillor, Founder, BinaryKnowledge and professor, IE Business School, a specialist in digital innovation and transformation. “Companies will need to adopt the technologies that allow them to be fast and flexible enough to spot and understand their next competitive advantages, and recognise when it's time to disengage from the previous one.”