Following two highly successful years interacting on a wide range of eclectic topics, the DiG Festival will be focussing on what has been identified as essential information for modern organisations when it returns to Newcastle City Hall on 12 & 13 October.

 

Following significant market research and liaison with attendees, industry groups as well as local, national and international businesses, 2015 will see DiG Festival roll out with a new theme and format - Digital Disruption and Transformation. How To Survive and Thrive.

The relentless cycle of innovation we are experiencing has led to an unprecedented era of change, where new technology and business models are emerging daily to threaten our once dominant and secure industries and organisations. Recent history has proven that disruption can be rapid and unforgiving. Apple, for instance, took only seven years to dominate the music industry only to find itself battling the shift from paid downloads to advertising-supported music streaming. Google Maps took just 18 months to destroy almost 85 per cent of the market capitalisation of the world's top GPS vendors.

 

James McQuivey of Forrester Research recently wrote, "Digital disruption is not only a possibility for your company's future but the only possibility". The problem for organisations is that they are not evolving their business models quite as rapidly as technology. Most are still in the relatively early stages of transitioning from industrially driven to digitally driven strategies and operational models.

 

A major study by Forrester Research called 'The Future of Business is Digital' found:

• In 17 industry sectors from insurance bracket [86%] to industrial products [60 %] executives agree that digital technologies will disrupt their business in the next 12 months.

• 76% of executives believe they have a digital strategy: but only 16% have the skills to execute the strategy.

 

The 2015 DiG Festival will highlight leaders in digital disruption and transformation and provide attendees with a framework to navigate change, not only to survive, but to thrive in the new economy.

A series of Presenters will detail their "war-stories", inspirational successes and cautionary failures, while structured workshops will introduce attendees to the tools, systems and knowledge, organisations need to survive and thrive.

DiG Festival 2015 has something for every business; no matter your size or scope. Co-creators Craig Wilson, Stephanie Hinds and Tracy McKelligott, continue to strive toward making the DiG Festival something very special for Newcastle and the Hunter.