Harvard Business Review (HBR) Analytic Services’ new study – “The Digital Dividend – First Mover Advantage” – has found that early adoption of new technologies leads to better business outcomes.
The study results showed that IT “Pioneers” – companies identified as strong believer in the benefits of adopting new technologies and pursue “first-mover advantage” — are more likely to lead in both revenue growth and market position than their peers.
23 percent of these companies experienced over 30 percent revenue growth. This is more than twice the growth experienced by companies identified as technology “Followers” (those that watch and invest once benefits are proven) and three times the growth experienced by “Cautious” technology adopters (those that wait until a technology is well established).
The Verizon Enterprise Solutions sponsored study surveyed 672 business and technology leaders from around the world on the impact of what HBR Analytic Services calls the Big Five technologies – mobile, social, cloud computing, advanced analytics and machine to machine communications.
The aim of the study was to understand how these tools are transforming organisations and helping them innovate to derive shareholder value.
“Organisations need to be constantly innovating in order to stay ahead of the curve, and this study shows that technology is a key enabler of business growth,” said Tony Recine, Chief Marketing Officer – Verizon Enterprise Solutions.
“The HBR-Analytic Services research demonstrates that the Big 5 technologies are now viewed as powering growth, creating new business models and ultimately changing how companies can interact with their customers. Most importantly, the value of these new technologies lies not in what they can achieve on their own, but in their combined power as a holistic solution,” added Recine.