Here's a summary of Mike Riegel's latest blog on the IoE Blog site that reaches out to all those in the energy industry, both oil & gas and power utilities:

"As we explored in my previous blog, today's rampant pace of innovation can be likened to a Digital Vortex, where ideas, technologies, and even entire industries are swept to the center of the Vortex - recombining and merging into disruptive new business models."

In Mike's blog he talks about how digital business transformation is critical for all industries. However, Cisco's Digital Vortex research revealed, 45 percent of companies don't consider digital disruption a board-level concern. That's worrying. Mike goes on to talk about the level of complacency, and how organizations had better watch out -there's a disrupter increasingly in your industry!

The blog elucidates of five key areas which, if adopted, can enable success for those wanting to thrive in the new digital business environment:

• Lead from the top down
• Create the Workforce of the future
• Merge Business Processes and Technology
• Ideate and innovate FAST (FAST IT)
• Cultivate the Partner Ecosystem

So, the blog concludes, it is the incumbents that can thrive as the agile disrupters if they play their cards right in this business digitization arena. Singular point-digitization is not enough. Comprehensive digitization is the way forward, involving people, process, data, and things. Find out more about the Digital Vortex  by clicking on the link (the subject of Mike's next blog).

What do you think -are you ready to be a disruptor in the Energy Industry, or be disrupted?

My take: The good news is that the utilities companies are at lower risk than others, and oil and gas companies even less, according to the report. Those organizations have embraced digitization and recognize the disruption will most likely come from within, probably owing to the large barrier to entry for outsiders (unlike Amazon taking on retail for example).

Still, don't be complacent -your competitors are waiting to take further digital business steps, and take market share. You can find out more about cisco digital solutions for oil and gas and power utilities by clicking on the links.

Let me know what you think!