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

    Afghan Immigrant Who Nearly Decapitated Wife Appeals Conviction, Asks For New Trial

    Afghan Immigrant Who Nearly Decapitated Wife Appeals Conviction, Asks For New Trial
    TORONTO — An Afghan immigrant found guilty of second-degree murder after nearly decapitating his wife is appealing his conviction, arguing the judge who presided over his trial made several errors.

    Afghan Immigrant Who Nearly Decapitated Wife Appeals Conviction, Asks For New Trial

    New Westminster Teen Who Died In Vernon While Rock-Climbing With Friends Identified As Taylor Archer

    New Westminster Teen Who Died In Vernon While Rock-Climbing With Friends Identified As Taylor Archer
    The BC Coroners Service says Taylor Archer of New Westminster, B.C., was climbing near the King Edward access logging area with some friends.

    New Westminster Teen Who Died In Vernon While Rock-Climbing With Friends Identified As Taylor Archer

    2 Pilots From Missing B.C. Plane Found Dead Amid Wreckage Near Mt. Seymour: Official

    2 Pilots From Missing B.C. Plane Found Dead Amid Wreckage Near Mt. Seymour: Official
    VANCOUVER — Search and rescue crews have found the bodies of two pilots in and around the wreckage of a cargo plane that crashed in heavily treed mountains north of Vancouver. 

    2 Pilots From Missing B.C. Plane Found Dead Amid Wreckage Near Mt. Seymour: Official

    B.C. Man Alleging 'false Imprisonment' In China To Get Day In Canadian Court

    B.C. Man Alleging 'false Imprisonment' In China To Get Day In Canadian Court
    VANCOUVER — A British Columbia man has won the right to sue a company in a Canadian court that he alleges conspired with Chinese authorities to force him to spend years behind bars in China.

    B.C. Man Alleging 'false Imprisonment' In China To Get Day In Canadian Court

    Conservatives Fuel Opposition To Ontario's Sex-Ed Curriculum: Liberal Minister

    Conservatives Fuel Opposition To Ontario's Sex-Ed Curriculum: Liberal Minister
    TORONTO — Conservative groups are fuelling the vocal opposition to Ontario's new sex-education curriculum, Liberal Education Minister Liz Sandals said Tuesday as thousands of people protested outside the legislature.

    Conservatives Fuel Opposition To Ontario's Sex-Ed Curriculum: Liberal Minister

    Justin Trudeau Might Be Open To Forming Coalition With NDP, But Not With Mulcair As Leader

    Justin Trudeau Might Be Open To Forming Coalition With NDP, But Not With Mulcair As Leader
    OTTAWA — Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau says he would "maybe" be more open to the idea of forming a coalition with the NDP if Tom Mulcair was not running the party.

    Justin Trudeau Might Be Open To Forming Coalition With NDP, But Not With Mulcair As Leader