Tech or digitization is a stronger trend in 2017 and it means that as a freelance consultant who will be walking into different organisational environments, one constant will be that the organisation is undergoing digital transformation.
In a discussion with CEO and co-founder of LinkdPro, Africa’s first digital platform connecting top-tier freelance consultants with companies looking for specialised expertise for project-based work, Scelo Makhathini mentions the importance of freelance consultants staying abreast of global trends in the gig economy. And what came up from this discussion is that digitization evidently has a strong hold. In this context digitization will be used in its simplest term and interchangeable with tech.
The advances in tech have evidently disrupted every industry. Areas such as finance, retail, media and telecoms are rising to the occasion while mining and manufacturing are still lagging. But the point is, all industries are impacted and must re-invent their vision. This means that as a freelance consultant in 2017, you are walking into businesses which are figuring out a new way of doing things.
So this digitization future, which was predicted some odd years ago, is actually now. And part of uniquely positioning yourself is by taking inventory of digital advances in your industry of specialisation as well as specific clients and actually finding ways to use it to radically improve performance and reach of businesses. You don’t necessarily have to be an architecture of a new system, however you will have to know the systems of intelligence the business is now using which will have an influence over your strategy. So these trends help connect the dots and are a clear indicator that the economics of industries are changing. For instance in the finance industry there are various product innovations, dubbed FinTech, which seek, among others, to fasten payments while creating an improved experience for customers.
Virtual reality and augmented reality is taking up space in media, and television as we know it, is no longer one of the predominant ways in which people consume content. Real estate is leveraging technologies such as 3D printing, shared economy and the Internet of Things (IoT). These are just a few examples. And the good thing is that the driving force behind digitization of most companies are CEOs, according to survey done by the IDC commissioned by Microsoft.
Naturally, this is a new place where businesses are competing. Products and technologies are advancing, opening new revenue models and requiring freelance consultants to be in the know of how they will use all that is in place to optimise operations and create economic value for businesses. Lastly look around, the workplace is changing rapidly and you as a freelance consultant who searches for project opportunities through digital platforms are a part of digital disruption. Keep in mind, no one is exempt, just warm up to the changes and thrive in them.