Over the next 10 years, I expect many more industries to be disrupted by software, with new world-beating Silicon Valley companies doing the disruption in more cases than not.
Marc Andreessen – Entrepreneur
We’ve been involved in engineering and tech automation for many years. What surprises us is the observable breadth, depth, and impacts of automation over the last five years, which COVID will accelerate.
So, what’s the big deal about automation? “Automation exists to substitute work undertaken by humans with work done by machines, with the aim of increasing the quality and quantity of output at a reduced cost.”[i] If workers can’t work close together due social distancing, the solution may be robots.
Automation disrupts business and displaces VUCANs. Automation stories are rising in the U.S., China, India, and all parts of the world. For example, one of China’s big e-commerce companies, has a warehouse in Shanghai where 4 engineers service all the robots in a mega fulfillment center. Amazon has an army of 100,000 robots that displace humans. So, what happens to VUCANs? We’re just beginning to see and understand social impacts.
Automation is accelerating. Over the past few years, most if not all established and legacy companies realize they must transform their ‘brick and mortar’ business models to online and automated models to thrive or even just survive.
Work Lesson Earned: You say: ‘So what? This won’t affect me.’ Years ago, Xerox PARC CEO Stephen Hoover said: “Every company is a tech company”. I guess he was right.
[i] ‘Automation and Artificial Intelligence: How Machines Are Affecting People and Places’, Brooking Institution, January 24, 2019.