Close X
Monday, November 11, 2024
ADVT 
National

Deloitte Study Says Few Canadian Businesses Ready For Next Wave Of Tech Change

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 28 Apr, 2015 10:42 AM
    TORONTO — A new study by Deloitte has found that most Canadian companies aren't prepared for how quickly they'll be affected by major advances in technology such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
     
    The Canadian arm of the international consulting firm says only 13 per cent of the 700 companies in its study scored well, while 87 per cent were partially or completely unprepared for the magnitude and speed of change ahead.
     
    In fact more than one-third — 35 per cent — scored poorly on all four of the key criteria that Deloitte used to measure preparedness: awareness, innovation, agility and the ability to channel resources.
     
    The study's findings are consistent with other Deloitte research on Canadian productivity, said Terry Stuart, a co-author of the 42-page report released Tuesday.
     
    "Canadian companies are generally risk-adverse," Stuart said in an interview ahead of the study's publication. 
     
    "They're not investing as much as they need to in the technologies and capabilities and we're seeing that applied directly in these technology areas that we studied."
     
    The study was especially interested in how Canadian companies were responding to five types of technology with the potential to cause widespread disruption to what has become the usual manner of doing business: robotics, artificial intelligence, communications networks, manufacturing tools such as 3D printers and platforms for collaboration. 
     
    Although many of these technologies have been around for decades, they had been advancing at a relatively slow pace — which Deloitte expects will surge exponentially in the very near term.
     
    "Disruption is not going to happen in some distant future. It is happening now," the study concludes.
     
    Stuart, who is Deloitte Canada's chief innovation officer, said the majority of companies in the study weren't spending enough time thinking about the new technologies, understanding them and preparing for the implications.
     
    "There was no difference between industry segments or size of company. That was a little bit surprising to us," Stuart said.
     
    But the study did find 74 per cent of the most prepared companies had experienced revenue growth over a five-year period, much higher that among unprepared companies.
     
    The most prepared companies were also spending more on research and development over sustained periods and were more internationally focused.
     
    Stuart said the underlying causes for the Canadian caution are complex and there is a role to be played by the academic and government sectors, although the main audience for the study is business leaders.
     
    "You have to look at a variety of factors. They way that our culture has grown up, how we're educated and trained, et cetera.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Modi's Three-Nation Tour: Projecting A Self-confident India

    Modi's Three-Nation Tour: Projecting A Self-confident India
    Narendra Modi's three-nation tour was marked by several high points - the surprise announcement on purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets in France, clinching a five-year uranium supply deal with Canada, pushing the Make in India initiative in Germany

    Modi's Three-Nation Tour: Projecting A Self-confident India

    Home Price Gains In Toronto, Vancouver Spilling Over To Nearby Regions

    Home Price Gains In Toronto, Vancouver Spilling Over To Nearby Regions
    Gurinder Sandhu, executive vice-president at Re/Max Ontario Atlantic, says a growing number of Canadians who work in pricey Toronto and Vancouver are buying homes in nearby areas where they can get more for their money.

    Home Price Gains In Toronto, Vancouver Spilling Over To Nearby Regions

    Homicide Investigators Called To Mission Trailer Park After Fatal Fire

    Homicide Investigators Called To Mission Trailer Park After Fatal Fire
    MISSION, B.C. — Homicide investigators have been called to the scene of a deadly fire at a Mission, B.C., trailer park. The blaze broke out at about 3:30 a.m. Friday and fully engulfed a mobile home.

    Homicide Investigators Called To Mission Trailer Park After Fatal Fire

    Warning Lifted As Crews Fight Fire At Deep-Water Shipping Terminal In Squamish

    Warning Lifted As Crews Fight Fire At Deep-Water Shipping Terminal In Squamish
    SQUAMISH, B.C. — Crews continue to battle a fire at the Squamish Terminals deep-water port in B.C., but a warning that called on residents to stay indoors has been lifted for now.

    Warning Lifted As Crews Fight Fire At Deep-Water Shipping Terminal In Squamish

    Accused In Alberta Mountie Shootings Had Photographed Officer's Family

    Accused In Alberta Mountie Shootings Had Photographed Officer's Family
    WETASKIWIN, Alta. — An Alberta RCMP officer had met the man later charged with trying to kill him when the Mountie's wife hired him to snap some smiling family portraits.

    Accused In Alberta Mountie Shootings Had Photographed Officer's Family

    Cardinal Jean-claude Turcotte To Be Laid To Rest In Montreal

    MONTREAL — A funeral will be held in Montreal's Mary Queen of the World Cathedral today for Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte, who died April 8 after a lengthy illness at the age of 78.

    Cardinal Jean-claude Turcotte To Be Laid To Rest In Montreal