TIA Industry Transformation Study: A Results Preview

The TIA Industry Transformation Study gathered insight from business leaders at TIA member companies who were asked to compare their business priorities for three specific time periods: the year before Covid-19 (2019); the time of the pandemic (2020/21); and the expectations for post-pandemic (2022 and beyond). The questions asked business leaders to compare the biggest challenges their businesses faced during these periods.

In this study, we looked especially close at the shift in business challenges and how challenges for one business may represent a potential opportunity for another.

Our survey provided the opportunity for TIA members to share stories and anecdotes of challenges brought on by Covid-19 and we are learning a lot about their challenges through these stories. One such story was about protecting employees during a pandemic, another focused on the the pandemic impact on supply chains. We found that the same root of a problem can sprout in the form of different results, depending on the role and position in the industry.

Organizations in the ICT industry have a great deal of interdependencies, so much so that the ICT industry can be viewed as one large supply chain. Nearly all industry players are suppliers to others who are also suppliers to other organizations. Supplier relations – as the responses show – are now nearly as important as customer relations with a greater understanding that what happens to one sector in our industry, will have an impact on others.

It is important to note, that this study is not only looking at the challenges of the past 3 years but is also looking at what changes will result of these challenges and understand our members’ view for the future. What key challenges do they expect to meet after the pandemic? And how has this expectation changed over the last 16 months?

The purpose of the study is to understand how the industry has been impacted by the pandemic by looking at individual enterprises and finding the common themes and trends. As such, TIA is analyzing the results and will publish a report with the goal of supporting the advancement of our industry.

The results report is expected be published in the late Summer of 2021. The results will show how the pandemic, with all the new challenges it brought, has simultaneously accelerated the digital transformation process for all industries. This digital transformation of entire industries was made possible by the innovation and dedication of our members and the ICT industry at large. The accelerated transformation process has also led to new buying patterns and a number of other shifts in priorities.

Here is a preview of some of the data samples and findings:

The scenario for 2022 (light blue) differs quite significantly to 2019 (dark blue). Revenues, value creation, key partners, and other areas of business operations need to be re-worked for the future.

The new challenges for companies after Covid come in context with new buying patterns of their customers including, new requirements, pricing, new channels, pressure to adapt.

Employees have been the area of biggest challenges in 2020/21, for different reasons; health concerns, remote working, lay-offs, finding and training new people.

The search for suppliers to meet future challenges is an important topic for many companies. As to be expected the areas of application are wide (above), but building competitive strength is gaining renewed focus in a time when new qualities are needed.

 

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About TIA

TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to develop voluntary, consensus-based industry standards for a variety of ICT segments. Follow TIA on FacebookLinkedInTwitterYouTube, and TIA NOW for the latest updates.