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Low Tech Business Executives Concerns
In the agriculture industry, one of the major concerns of farmers in digital transformation is the privacy and ownership of farm-related data, as there are unclear property rights regarding farm data. On the other hand, changes in the organizational structure and the lack of expertise are impacting manufacturing companies.
CHALLENGES IN THE AGRICULTURE INDUSTRY
- One of the major concerns of farmers in digital transformation is the privacy and ownership of farm-related data as there are unclear property rights when it comes to farm data.
- Small stakeholders in the agriculture industry exhibit concern about the improvement of policies in the agro-food sector if they embrace digital technologies.
- A survey involving farmers revealed that they are concerned about data collection, its process, and how it will be implemented.
- The reason for this is that farmers believe that their data on yields, farming techniques, and soil properties as trade secrets, and digitization of this information might lead to price discrimination and other implications.
- There is no legislation currently regulating the issue of " who owns the non-personal data generated on farms with the use of advanced machinery and other devices".
- The lack of published government policies does not provide proper regulation information regarding connectivity and data usage.
CHALLENGES IN THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
- In a survey involving business stakeholders in manufacturing companies, around 90% of them reported that their company is still undergoing digital transformation.
- Internal factors are the common challenges impacting manufacturing industries and not the availability of technology.
- The internal factors that manufacturing companies face in digital transformation are the same regardless of the company size, either the company has under 100 employees or employs over 5,000 individuals.
- The top five challenges faced by low-tech companies in the manufacturing industry include:
OTHER CHALLENGES INDUSTRIES ARE FACING
- In a survey conducted by IDG on senior-level IT executives operating with businesses employing digital transformation projects, it was reported that talent and technology budget are not the primary issue.
- Instead, the primary barriers include cultural challenges and collaboration issues within the workplace.
- Around 43% listed cultural challenges, such as the fear of taking risks and conforming to the status quo, as the main barrier.
- The experience of having digital transformation in low-tech industries is discomforting and leaves employees feeling vulnerable because of the change in routine.
- About 25% of the participants considered their business leadership to be disconnected from the IT leadership, impacting establishment's capacity to effectively undergo digital adaptation.
- Training employees to be technologically literate is considered a technical challenge.
- Digital transformation is associated with the fear of modifying the organizational structure such as adjusting roles and departments, or even overhauling the entire organization.
Research Strategy:
Our research began by searching through industry reports such as Research Gate, Medium, Forbes, and Deloitte, among others, focused on industries like agriculture and manufacturing to understand the challenges they are facing regarding digital transformation. We employed this approach since these articles could include sample companies discussing their success stories on what challenges they face and how they successfully overcame them. However, the available information mostly addressed the solutions that digital transformation would provide these industries and did not focus on specific companies.
Next, we checked for award-granting bodies and articles related to recognizing the efforts of low-tech companies when it comes to digital transformation using sources such as D Magazine and Investors Observer. We wanted to locate examples of companies that ventured into digitalization and was awarded for their efforts and success. Nonetheless, the majority of the sources focused on their top executives and management and most are emerging companies or existing ones that may not be considered "low-tech" but just leveraged the use of technology in their "existing system." Others tackled some low-tech companies that have an explosive growth, but not specifically due to digital transformation.
Finally, we searched for emerging technologies and their impact on different industries. If the emergence of solutions was defined, we hoped to identify companies that were the subjects of these studies and research in finding how these solutions have become an instrument in low-tech companies' digital transformation. Giving specific focus to the agriculture and manufacturing industry, we were not able to find case studies, even from other sectors. Most of the available articles centered on the impact of the use of digital technology in agri-food systems, the companies that offer these solutions, and the trends in digital transformation in general.
Due to the lack of available data, we were unable to provide specific case studies or examples of low-tech companies (founded in the 1990s) with less than $10 million in annual revenue that are embarking (or have recently embarked) on digital transformations.