In today’s marketplace, resilience is a critical business asset. Not only are companies fighting against a fragile economy, but they’re also scrapping with competitors in the race to achieve AI-powered industry dominance. New research from crisis management and AI business Dataminr explores companies’ value creation and resilience priorities.
The firm’s recent report, Building Business Value: Resilience in a Rapidly Evolving Global Environment, commissioned by Economist Impact, found that in an environment of unpredictable seismic disruptions, resilience—the proactive capacity to absorb stress, protect assets, manage risks and seize opportunities—is the lynchpin for creating business value.
Three types of resilience emerged as essential for success
These are organizational, technological, and operational, with more than 40 percent of global executives saying they are prioritizing these areas. The research revealed that when businesses proactively look for emerging risks, prepare for disruption and implement operational flexibility, they outperform others. Survey respondents revealed they are prioritizing resiliency after reimagining business and working arrangements post-pandemic.
“In an increasingly volatile landscape, it is crucial for forward-looking organizations to seek out solutions to combat the evolving challenges faced by businesses today,” said Jason Edelboim, president and COO of Dataminr, in a news release. “We are proud to partner with Economist Impact to shed light on business resiliency strategies employed by industry leaders. Insights like these play a vital role in our commitment to provide our customers with the tools and knowledge they need to make data-driven decisions, and prepare for emerging or unforeseen risks.”
Data protection policies and procedures also emerged as one of respondents’ most business-critical strategies
The research found that 48 percent of respondents assign the highest priority to safeguarding their organizations’ data, systems and digital assets to stay ahead of threats, such as cyber attacks, as well as vulnerabilities where physical and cyber security intersect. As technology and digital innovations increasingly intersect with how businesses operate, respondents also revealed the growing importance of their strategies for risk assessment and threat modeling; business continuity and disaster recovery planning; and identification of physical security risks that may impact digital assets.
The survey also revealed that two of the most significant opportunities to create business value are the increased adoption of new technologies and ESG policies
Forty-one percent of respondents said that increased access to new and rapidly developing technologies like AI provides the most significant opportunities to create value over the next three years. AI can add transformative capabilities to resilience strategies by processing data in real time across a vast and changing landscape—increasing the relevance and actionability of data used for critical business decisions. Leaders within the pharmaceuticals, technology, and manufacturing industries rated this access highest across the six industries.
Just over 41 percent of respondents prioritized the increased adoption of ESG policies within their corporate strategies. Leaders within the retail, financial services, and energy and utilities industries indicated that ESG policies are their main priority. ESG policies can bolster reputational resilience—aligning an organization’s values to its actions, and helping it prepare for future operational and financial shocks. Reflecting this urgency, these respondents also said that effectively managing an ESG communications strategy was a top priority for building and protecting their brands.
Download the full report here.
The report, informed by a survey of 600 business executives across Asia, Europe, and North America, as well as extensive desk research and expert interviews, provides a comprehensive analysis of the factors that contribute to building business resilience. Under the guidance of Economist Impact, contributors to the report include subject matter experts from Boston Consulting Group, General Electric and Cambridge University’s Judge Business School Centre for Risk Studies.
