Enterprises must use digital economics to tap business value

Organisations that have caused real market disruptions have done so because they have applied digital economics to exploit new value creation opportunities, says Gartner, Inc. "The deepening and widening of digital business initiatives puts CIOs, chief data officers and digital leaders at the centre of creating measurable new business value. These leaders are uniquely positioned to connect digital technology advances with emerging flexible business models to fuel growth," said Chris Howard, VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "Some organisations, such as GE, Uber, Hitachi and Monsanto, are already beginning to change the basis of competition by exploiting digital value to fuel business growth. They have understood that the framework for exploiting the value of digital business is digital economics."

"All too often IT leaders focus value creation more narrowly, with the result that most digital initiatives are aimed at operational improvements, rather than value transformation," said Saul Judah, research director at Gartner. "While this tactical approach to digital value can result in very real process and financial improvements, the greatest potential for digital value lies in more strategic initiatives, such as creating new markets, empowering employees, changing the basis of competition and crossing industry boundaries."