Does your company have backup laptops available in case of damage or loss? A plan of action in place should a cyber attack occur? An expert on hand to resolve connectivity issues?

Of course, it does. Most successful businesses have plans in place for unexpected everyday events. This begs the question – shouldn’t they also have protocols ready to go in case of major global or industry disruptions? 

We live in a period of immense uncertainty, and experiencing events that permanently change the status quo is now a case of ‘when’ rather than ‘if’. It’s good business sense to expect the unexpected, but too many companies are taking things day by day rather than creating long-term plans. As a digital-focused firm, we’re perfectly positioned to not only survive economic downturns or industry-altering events but to thrive during them by anticipating possible events and having a future-orientated vision. 

What kind of global disruption do we mean?

Anything that disrupts forward-momentum and forces a response. These disruptions take on many different shapes: economic, geopolitical, security, environmental, social, competitive or technological, to name a few. They can be anticipated a long time in advance or come out of nowhere. Here are some examples: 

All these events have the power to fundamentally change how you continue to conduct business. 

Is this really something we should be thinking about?

Yes. The fact is that we, as part of the digital sector, are the root cause of much of the disruption, especially the technical kind. The rate at which things are developing and progressing has made sticking to traditional business models a slow death march. That’s why we try to expect the unexpected and to welcome, embrace and create new innovations that reinvent ‘normal’. We do this by constantly challenging ourselves and our competitors to develop the next big idea. We have the benefit of already being at the forefront of digital transformation. However, success in this field isn’t achieved by polishing a previous model but by creating something revolutionary – something that makes previous models obsolete. By doing our jobs well, we put an increasing amount of pressure on other industries and ourselves to keep progressing, investing and creating – which goes against convention when dealing with disruption (which is why we’re perfectly positioned to use it to our advantage).  

Competition in the tech sector has never been so high, though, with entrepreneurship and start-ups spiking. This is particularly true in the Netherlands but also in Britain, where it flies in the face of Brexit trends. This spike exists despite the fact that economic uncertainty is undermining consumer and customer confidence across most other industries in both the US and Europe. 

But global movements do affect us. The shockwave that Brexit sent out is still palpable, with the uncertainty that still presides prompting companies to avoid long-term investment, the border in Ireland and the exact placement leading to much uncertainty.

However, the biggest disruption we face today is the war in Ukraine. With a situation that has not only impacted governments but also companies, leaning into the disruption was never as important. As Russia is feeling the hit of the sanctions laid upon it, so are the companies that reside there. With a huge drop in revenue and a worthless currency, innovation is the only thing creating light at the end of the tunnel. 

Environmentally, there has been a consumer shift towards durability and sustainability, and governments are responding to the climate crisis with anti-waste laws that directly affect industries such as fashion and food. National (and international) emergencies should also be taken into account. The economic cost of the Australian bushfires is estimated to exceed $44bn, while the Coronavirus could shave 1% from China’s annual full-year economic growth rate. 

You should also factor in the possibility of social disruptions, such as your product going out of favour or being publicly dismissed by an influencer or celebrity. When Kylie Jenner posted a negative tweet about Snapchat, it knocked $1.3 billion off the brand’s market value.