Just a decade ago, desktops dominated; now tablets, e-readers and smartphones rule. CDs are gradually becoming extinct, in favour of online downloads. Credit cards are being threatened by NFC-enabled mobile devices. The trend to share rather than own a car is growing. Even the cars themselves are changing – before you know it, your car may no longer have a gas tank. An established and once groundbreaking 224 year old resource, the Encyclopedia Britannica went out of print last year. Kodak, the business that built the world’s first digital camera in 1975, filed for bankruptcy.

Everything, from consumer behaviour, to product design, and manufacturing methods, to business models are changing at a break-neck pace. Not since the Industrial Revolution has the list of companies and business models that have become obsolete, been longer. Moreover, there is no guarantee that today’s hot products and trends will stand the test of time. Every business is being forced to constantly evolve. Take Amazon, a quintessential technology-driven business, which has had to adapt from being an online bookstore to a distributor of digital books, a marketplace for products, a manufacturer of low-cost e-readers to web services and same-day delivery. The rate of change we are seeing is not just fast, it is exponential.

For many, such unpredictability can be daunting. Take the European Union telecom market that is both fragmented and fiercely competitive, with over 140 mobile operators. Many businesses are uncertain as to what will happen next: will we see a series of mergers and acquisitions in a bid to acquire more customers? How will operators cope with meeting the requirements of national regulators? But a small incremental change – being creative and innovative in aligning business strategy to new regulatory demands – could result in a giant leap for a handful of operators.

So what is a business to do in these exponentially changing times? I believe that the answer lies buried in data. Today there is an abundance of data. Hidden in the data are the coming trends. What will customer want tomorrow? Which are the new markets with the highest yield? Where do the best sourcing options lie? Which channels are star performers? Which factories need to close down and which ones need to resize or change their product line today in order to meet evolving demand? Who are your best partners to deliver business success in the future? Do you, as a company, know your core?

A recent Economist Intelligence Unit report commissioned by Wipro looked into what data currently does – and has the potential to do - for businesses. The study revealed that out of 300+ C-suite executives, only a tiny fraction (3%) are currently not prioritising data collection. Of the executives polled, 72% considered themselves effective at translating data into insights. The report clearly identified data and analytics as being a crucial differentiator in businesses and one which the C-Suite is taking seriously in today’s competitive climate. However, the key question is: how do you arrive at actions from insights?

Here, technology plays a pivotal role. Take the retail sector, where technology can drive in-store and online customer experience, based on customer-level P&L. These insights can improve the ability of businesses to personalise and customise products, services and ultimately - experience. By deploying offer engines that leverage real-time data, data has the potential to drive sales. With the right system in place, a business can be increasingly agile , predicting change and rapidly re-tuning their supply chains accordingly. With improved financial decision making, workforce allocation and productivity, the benefits are undeniable.

Change is not going to halt in tracks; so agility and the ability to react – often in real-time – could make the difference between whether a company sinks or swims in this difficult economic climate. With the help of technology, companies can embrace change, recognising the opportunity for innovation and creativity, rather than viewing it as in inhibitor of growth. Those who do so will emerge winners – because technology will arm them with ways to stay one step ahead of change by predicting it.

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