The changes that have occurred in the Spanish business environment in recent years undoubtedly reveal a future that is radically different from what we could have ever imagined and enormously complex.
There are many challenges that national companies must face in the coming times if they want to not only lead the market, but simply survive in it.
Many have already understood the need to reinvent themselves in line with social changes, but the road is still long.
For this reason, and to find out what the plans of companies in our country are for the near future and how they understand the obligatory adaptation to a new environment, we attended the Forbes Summit Reinventing Spain 2017, an event that brought together the largest companies in Spain for an enriching day.
To kick off the event, a look into the future was offered by Rosa García, CEO of Siemens; Antonio Llardén, executive president of Enagás ; Pilar López, president of Microsoft; Juan Pedro Moreno, president of tunisia phone number Accenture Spain; Enrique Tellado, CEO of Evo Banco in the debate “Challenges and opportunities for our companies”.
With journalist Iñaki Gabilondo as moderator, the debate began by highlighting the Spanish reality.
An uncertain reality
For Pilar López, Microsoft, “it is a fascinating time of rapid change and Spain is not outside of this wave of change. In Microsoft we see a country with exceptional examples of innovation.”
“Vertigo, uncertainty and change” are, for Moreno, the keys to this new stage, and the fact is that “we are not living in an era of change, but rather a change of era. There is not only political uncertainty, but thanks to the democratization of technology, uncertainties have been generated, which are what companies really have to respond to.”
García, for his part, points to the customer and speed as essential elements for facing the future.
“As companies, we wake up every morning trying to understand how we are going to be able to adapt to these changes. It has changed us completely, from what we expect, a product or service that exactly fits our needs, immediacy, we don’t just want things, we want them now, products and services that are much smarter, we look for the best quality-price ratio, that the company we trust has the capacity to react.”
“We are facing a paradigm shift that affects three aspects: the emergence of an intelligence different from that of humans and with unsuspected limits; exponential behavior; and the disappearance of barriers between sectors. Three years ago it was unthinkable that a company would be making movies and selling carrots, and that is what Amazon does,” argues Tellado.
Technology and people: the great challenges for Spanish companies
According to López, the main challenge for Spanish companies is “to improve their competitiveness and productivity through technology.”
And, he points out, “technology has never allowed us to do so many things as it does today, it has become democratized.” But artificial intelligence is undoubtedly the great opportunity for companies because, far from replacing human intelligence, López points out, “it allows us to enhance the talent of the organization, it enhances human capabilities.”
And data is the engine of this transformative intelligence, so “ the challenge is how to capture data , which is the fuel of artificial intelligence that increases productivity and competitiveness. This is what will determine who the winners are in this changing environment.”
The ageing of the Spanish population poses enormous challenges, according to Moreno.
“Society is moving towards an experience economy. Decisions are no longer based solely on quality or product, but on the experiences offered. We are changing the way society thinks and these are changes of such magnitude that they offer enormous opportunities to companies. New forms of service and distribution, new business models, are being created.”