Report

Future-proofing Cities in a Post-pandemic World with Deloitte

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This article focuses on how cities can build resiliency in public health systems, government operations, and other city domains by focusing on four key capabilities— nimbleness, scalability, stability, and optionality. These recommendations are informed by a global survey of 167 cities conducted as part of the Smart City Solutions for a Riskier World research study to identify challenges and track progress made by cities in each of the key capabilities of resiliency.

ESI Thoughtlab, in collaboration with a coalition of business, government, and academic leaders, including Deloitte, surveyed 167 cities globally to understand their progress on UN Sustainable Development Goals, how they coped with the pandemic, and how are they leveraging digital technologies, data, and other innovative solutions to drive progress in the post pandemic era.

The survey was conducted between August and November 2020. It covered cities across 82 countries with varying income levels and population sizes. The survey also classified cities into three stages of smart city maturity—beginner, intermediate, and leader—based on their progress in harnessing technology and data across various urban domains and their ability to foster citizen and stakeholder engagement. Based on the survey results, 29% of cities were classified as beginner, 49% as intermediate, and 22% as smart city leaders.

The Future of Digital Workspaces with Lakeside

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The future of digital workplaces hinges on one important factor: digital employee experience (DEX). The smoother the digital experience, the more productive employees can be. Conversely, the harder it is to access and use workplace technology, the less workers can do. More than a year spent supporting remote workers since the outbreak of Covid-19 has given companies a crash course in the urgency of digital employee experience.

CEOs and CHROs now realize how much of a priority digital employee experience is in the modern work world. That’s because understanding the technology needs of employees and how it affects them is imperative for creating sustainable growth in productivity as well as controlling costs. Ignoring digital experiences, however, can lead to poor business performance, failed goals, and other losses.

This Lakeside Software report is based on commissioned research performed by ThoughtLab including a survey of 200 C-level executives, 200 end users, and 200 IT leaders in March and April 2021 within manufacturing, financial services, professional services, healthcare, pharmaceuticals/life sciences, and insurance.

The ABCDs of Innovation with Broadridge

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Using next-generation technologies can significantly boost performance and profitability. As this study shows, leaders are accelerating their investments in the ABCDs of Innovation – AI, blockchain, Cloud, and digital – and moving further ahead of their competitors. Broadridge partnered with ESI ThoughtLab to conduct a robust phone-based survey of senior financial services executives. Fielded in late 2020, this study was designed to yield both quantitative and qualitative insights from 1,000 senior executives spanning eight financial sectors. This comprehensive global study provides an evidence-based roadmap to help guide financial firms in responding to the most pressing question of the day: What should I do next?

 

 

ServiceNow Workflow Quarterly: The Agility Issue

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Over the past year, a global pandemic has killed at least 2.8 million people and brought economies to a grinding halt. Police killings of Black Americans moved thousands to march for racial justice in cities worldwide. Floods and forest fires underscored the reality of climate change, and its dangers. Democracy came under attack in Washington, D.C., where a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the result of an election that didn’t go their way. Lies and conspiracy theories spread like kudzu on social media, leading many to wonder whether empirical truth had become a relic of the past.

Business agility became a CEO-level issue during the pandemic, according to a global survey of business leaders conducted by ThoughtLab and ServiceNow, the publisher of Workflow. A plurality of respondents (33%) said CEOs are taking the leading role in business agility efforts, followed by chief information officers (23%) and chief operating officers (20%). The survey found data management and security have become 27% more agile since the pandemic. IT support and services have seen a 26% agility boost. Sales, marketing, and channel management are 24% more agile. IT architecture, platforms, and systems have seen a 21% improvement. Check out more research findings starting on page 15 of this issue, and on the C-Suite Center section of our daily Workflow site.

The Broadridge Next-Gen Technology Adoption Survey

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To understand how financial services companies are adopting AI, blockchain, the cloud, and digital technologies; where they are investing most; and the returns they are generating, ESI ThoughtLab conducted a comprehensive survey on behalf of Broadridge in late 2020 of senior executives at 1,000 companies in eight financial subsectors across 18 countries. Financial services executives agreed that use of these next-gen technologies can significantly boost business performance and profitability.

The survey included questions to allow ESI ThoughtLab economists to develop a maturity framework to gauge how advanced companies are in their adoption of these emerging technologies.

PwC Manufacturing COO Pulse Survey

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Over the past year, manufacturing firms have faced unprecedented disruption. Daunting change caused by the COVID-19 crisis has resulted in accelerated digitalization, increased risk of cyberattacks, and transformed consumer behavior. ThoughtLab worked with PwC to conduct a survey of 585 manufacturing industry COOs to understand the future of manufacturing.

Click here to access an interactive tool that highlights key findings from the survey.