The digital ecosystem of the post-cloud era is explored in a book just published by the Leading Edge Forum (LEF). Seeing Digital — a Visual Guide to the Industries, Organizations & Careers of the 2020s focuses on today’s new, digital technologies that are increasingly intelligent, aware, autonomous and self-healing.

The LEF is a global research and thought leadership organization dedicated to helping clients reimagine their organizations and leadership for a tech-driven future. It is a subsidiary of DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC).

Authored by LEF Research Fellow, David Moschella, Seeing Digital uses simple illustrations and jargon-free language to show how today’s ever-more powerful digital capabilities will reshape the way businesses innovate, operate, and compete -- and what this ongoing transformation will mean to both organizational leadership and individual careers.

“Seeing Digital is designed to serve as a GPS guide to the opportunities and challenges of the 2020s,” Moschella commented. “What we call the post-cloud era has already begun, as a powerful new wave of technology – including machine learning, smart products, software agents, wearables, blockchains, speech/facial recognition, robotics, augmented realities, algorithms, and 5G wireless bandwidth – gains momentum. Like the great technology waves of the past, this important phase of innovation will generate exciting new marketplaces, but also significant industry restructuring.”

The book forecasts the wide-ranging impact of these technologies through insight-packed chapters that assess the myths and realities of industry disruption; the necessity of machine intelligence; the importance of platform business models; the nature of the outside-in organization; the challenges of digital transformation, leadership and risk; the future of the IT organization; the coming focus on the Human Platform; and the outlook for today’s increasingly high-stakes global technology competition.

These dynamics will result in an ongoing “triple transformation” -- of industries, organizations, and careers -- that will challenge today’s entire business and technology ecosystem. In guiding readers through these developments, the book addresses questions such as:

  • How do CEOs and traditional firms know if they are getting digital right?
  • Can Silicon Valley pull off its dual disruption agenda?
  • What does it mean to be a platform organization?
  • What is the future of Enterprise IT and the IT professional?
  • How will individual jobs, skills and careers evolve?
  • Will China become the technology leader of the 21st century?
  • What do these changes mean for governments, and society overall?

Includes foreword by DXC’s Mike Lawrie

In the book’s foreword, DXC Technology chairman, president and CEO Mike Lawrie observes that business and government leaders throughout the world have one need in common: “they want to better understand the digital future.” Lawrie argues that “science, knowledge, and technology are now being systematically brought to bear on just about every human activity, creating entirely new industries and careers, destined to be led by a new generation of tech-savvy and globally minded individuals.” Lawrie adds that in coping with these challenges, “the ideas, insights, and frameworks in this book have sharpened our thinking and focus. I believe they can do the same for you.”

Based on cutting edge research

As DXC’s thought leadership arm, the Leading Edge Forum has anticipated major information technology developments, including consumerization, cloud computing, and the overall pattern of disruptive innovation. Its research and reports have raised the awareness of digital trends and technologies and helped large businesses and government agencies re-imagine themselves for the 21st century. But until now, this cutting-edge thinking has only been available to LEF clients. Seeing Digital makes the highlights of this important research publicly available for the first time.

Unique visual format

The book is called Seeing Digital because of its unique visual format, with every page presenting a compelling concept, framework, checklist, assessment, or other graphical image, optimized for today’s full-color, tablet devices. The Leading Edge Forum has used this approach for many years, and has seen how it can convey ideas, concepts, and decision-making models more quickly and powerfully than the written word alone. The extensive use of illustrations is particularly well-suited for those for whom English is a second language.

Early Reviews for Seeing Digital

“Seeing Digital is an exceptionally well-done piece of work. It combines both an in-depth macro-economic analysis of the impact of the digital age, with all of its micro implementation challenges, while containing a number of useful frameworks to help parse the future. Not a comfortable read, but a very important one.”
-- Professor F. Warren McFarlan, Harvard Business School

“A ‘WOW’ book! If you have been looking for a way to think about the Digital Revolution from an organizational, leadership and even an individual perspective -- this is your book. It is based on leading-edge field research and uniquely offers both compelling thought leadership and a practical “how to” approach, aided by diagnostics and visual models. Big changes, big challenges and big opportunities clearly stated in a captivating way. A wonderful book that I read through in a single day.”
-- Professor Ed Hess, Darden Business School, University of Virginia

“I have long been a fan of Dave’s incredible talent for flagging important technology and business trends with insightful perspective. This book is the culmination of his many years of research and thought leadership. The use of graphics is simply terrific.”
-- Patty Morrison, Executive VP and Chief Information Officer, Cardinal Health

“Loved it. I leveraged many concepts from this book as focus areas for my leadership team.”
-- Diane Schwarz, Chief Information Officer, Textron

“Seeing Digital is simultaneously profound, practical and hopeful. It embraces the coming world of pervasive machine intelligence, while at the same time providing the tools needed to get digital ‘right.’
-- Dave Vellante, CEO, SiliconANGLE Media, and co-host of the CUBE

"Such a great book; virtually every page contains an insight that will make you ask: ‘Why didn’t I see that?’”
-- Rob Atkinson, President, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF)

“One part practical business and technology strategy, and one part futures and analysis. I particularly liked the chapters on machine learning, industry disruption, and the evolution of Enterprise IT.”
-- Tim Porter, Managing Director, Madrona Venture Group

The ‘Moschella Matrix’ is brilliant! The book just flows, with a great mix of tech and talent issues.”
-- Gary Beach, Author, The U.S. Technology Skills Gap

“I have seen countless times how the ideas and images in this book have helped our clients prepare both their organizations and their people for the opportunities and challenges of the 21st century.”
– Richard Davies, DXC Vice President of Digital Business and Managing Director, Leading Edge Forum.

Links and Resources

  • Get Seeing Digital e-book today on Amazon, iBook Store, and Google Play. (A print version will be available in the Summer)
  • View related assets (e.g., sample chapter, Q/A with David Moschella, video “Why read Seeing Digital?")
  • Connect with David Moschella on Twitter @dmoschella and on LinkedIn and use #SeeingDigital.
  • Connect with the Leading Edge Forum on Twitter @lefep, LinkedIn or www.leadingedgeforum.com

About the Author

David Moschella is a Research Fellow at the Leading Edge Forum where he explores the global business impact of internet technologies, with a particular focus on disruptive business models, industry restructuring, and machine intelligence. He is a well-known speaker, writer, and thought leader, and is the author of two earlier books – Waves of Power (Amacom, 1997) and Customer-Driven IT (Harvard Business School Press, 2003). Previously, he was head of worldwide research for IDC, the largest market analysis firm in the information technology industry. David lives in Boston, MA.

About the Leading Edge Forum

The Leading Edge Forum (LEF) is a global research and thought leadership organization dedicated to helping clients reimagine their organizations and leadership for a tech-driven future. Through an annual membership program of research, events, onsite workshops and advisory services, LEF supports senior leaders in areas such as strategy, organizational change, executive education, talent development and the future of the IT function. The LEF is a DXC Technology company. For more information, visit leadingedgeforum.com.

About DXC Technology

DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) is the world's leading independent, end-to-end IT services company, serving nearly 6,000 private and public-sector clients from a diverse array of industries across 70 countries. The company's technology independence, global talent and extensive partner network deliver transformative digital offerings and solutions that help clients harness the power of innovation to thrive on change. DXC Technology is recognized among the best corporate citizens globally. For more information, visit dxc.technology.