Digital disruption spurring interest in cloud, data centre technologies

Cloud Expo Asia and Data Centre World Asia were very well attended this year.

Michael Westcott, Co-founder & Director, CloserStill Media, the organisers of Cloud Expo Asia and Data Centre World Asia in Singapore, together with the first Cloud Security Expo said in a keynote speech that 12,500 people are expected at the event to learn more about digital disruption.

"We're at a critical time for the digital economy...digital is integrated into every aspect of economies," he said. Westcott discussed the Digital Vortex, a concept introduced by the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, an initiative from business school IMD and Cisco. Digital Vortex research has found that respondents believe an average of roughly four of today’s top 10 incumbents in terms of market share in each industry will be displaced by digital disruption in the next five years, with the top industries facing disruption being technology, media & entertainment, and retail.

Huawei's KunLun Mission Critical Server setup.

"There are high stakes involved. Digital disruptors innovate rapidly," said Westcott. "They grow enormous user bases seemingly overnight and are agile enough to to convert them to new business models."

He gave the example of WhatsApp as an industry disruptor that has impacted a US$100 billion global text messaging market. WhatsApp currently has 800 million users, and could well affect the banking industry if it chooses to start providing peer-to-peer payments, he pointed out.
 
"Disruption looms. There is no safe haven from the digital vortex," he said.

Data that can inform the customer experience is shifting the power structure within an organisation, he said. "Whoever has the data to make strategic decisions has the power," he said. "You can't become a more digital company without the right people leading the charge."

Companies can bring in a catalyst to jumpstart digital transformation, but the challenge is finding the right person, he added. "CEOs beget chief data officers," he noted. "The chief growth officer and the chief customer officer are (new roles), tasked with driving growth."