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The Company of
Tomorrow
Issue 1, 2020

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28/4/2020 The Company of Tomorrow | Arthur D Little

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Arthur D. Little Prism 20200 S1

Editorial
Editorial
The COVID-19 crisis hit the world as this edition of Prism was in preparation. Needless to say, the outlook for
business, at least in the short term, has changed radically in just a few weeks. Nevertheless, it’s becoming
increasingly clear that one effect of the crisis has been acceleration of trends that were already there, such as
virtualization of the workplace, further penetration of digital technologies (for example, AI and the IoT), and
“asset-light” business models that make businesses more responsive and resilient to rapid shocks.

So our original pre-COVID theme of “The Company of Tomorrow” is still pertinent, and in fact, in some ways it
will be even more so as businesses focus on recovery and regrowth over the coming months and years. As we
look ahead, the capacity to adapt, innovate and reinvent – as well as have a strong balance sheet – will be
critical.

Our lead article challenges companies to take the first steps towards enabling the company of tomorrow: to
take a fresh look at what they really are, and to shape themselves in a new, more flexible and dynamic way, in
which capabilities are decoupled from corporate business functions and the external ecosystem is leveraged to
the maximum. We provide a view on how to lead the change.

Our next piece zeroes in on the future of companies’ R&D labs. If companies are increasingly shifting from
making products to providing solutions – and many are – what does this mean for your R&D function? The
answer may surprise you – and by the way, it’s not just about digital technology.

Providing solutions rather than just products is also the theme of our third article. Driven by key trends around
customer expectations and digital technology, many companies are finding they can multiply business value by
turning their customers into long-term subscribers. However, it’s easier said than done. How should companies
go about it?

Up until now, words such as “democratization” and “citizen” haven’t had much of an airing in corporate business
speak – but in our fourth article, we suggest this might be about to change. We delve into the increasingly
prominent phenomenon of no-code/lowcode software development and look at how companies can use it to
create “citizen developers” as a key part of their transformation.
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And finally, without(/en)

apology, our remaining articles address two of the most written-about – though some may
GLOBAL say over-hyped – technologies in today’s world: the IoT and blockchain. With the advent of 5G, the IoT is on the
cusp of finally delivering the transformational change it always promised, and now is the time for companies to
shape up their strategies, particularly when it comes to their own networks. In our final article, we cut through
the hype and look at the practicalities of what is needed for blockchain to deliver its huge potential for the
global transport industry.

We hope you enjoy our insight, and wish you every success in moving forward from the crisis and shaping up
for tomorrow!

Rick Eagar
Chief Editor, Prism (/node/17279)
Arthur D.Little

See our Flipbook (https://www.adlittle.com/flipbook/Pr

Table
Table ofof Contents
Contents

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ThePrism
The Prism Board
Board :

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