Digital Economy, a Reality With a High Impact

“Who innovates, begins to lose, who does not innovate, ends up losing”.

Guillermo Beuchat

According to Carmen Cuesta of BBVA Research, the information age began in the 50s of last century, with the entry into operation of the first computers, which started the change from analog to digital.

However, it is only in the last two decades that the radical changes brought about by information and communication technologies have taken place and that have led our societies to a true industrial revolution.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the digital economy is defined as the result of a process of transformation triggered by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Its revolution has made technologies cheaper and cheaper, while at the same time standardizing them broadly, improving business processes and driving innovation in all sectors of the economy (OECD, 2015).

The impact on the world economy is really relevant considering that in the G-20 countries the digital economy is expected to generate 4.2 trillion dollars by 2016. In Europe, it could contribute 4% of GDP in Colombia 6.12% and in the United States already represents 6% of GDP. (Towards a measurement of the Digital Economy in Colombia, August 2016).

On this occasion, instead of referring to the economic fact itself, I will refer to the impact it has on economically active people.

At the beginning of 2016, the World Economic Forum estimated that seven million jobs will be lost in the fifteen largest countries in the world before 2020. This phenomenon is motivated by automation, disintermediation and the redundancy of tasks and processes.

It is also to be considered in this analysis, the creation of new jobs in more technical and specialized professions such as mathematics, computational engineering and technology systems architecture.

Clearly, not all professionals will survive this natural selection motivated by the fourth industrial revolution, so it seems to me of vital relevance to illustrate the skills, training and skills that will be decisive in this new work context.

At the present time, we are experiencing a rapid technological change that dramatically affects the traditional business models, hence it becomes necessary experts in analytics, artificial intelligence, automation, virtual reality, Big Data, Data Mining; among others.

Technicians in computer technology, specialists in analytics, software developers, philosophers, pure mathematicians; will have a very important contribution in the digital age. Now we can talk about the "Revenge of the Nerds", which will appear on the scene as the great privileged that all companies want to have, and of discrimination and victims of bullshit, will be considered and considered as the new owners of the work scenarios, far from being despised characters, will become a pride to which all want to belong and a few will be accepted.

On the other hand, competencies such as flexibility will be highly appreciated, professionals who adapt to permanent changes, that can be useful in various functions and responsibilities, from being leaders to being part of a team of projects, who do not have difficulties to moving to different countries and adapting easily and quickly to different types of cultures.

Secondly, the ability and willingness to learn and unlearn will be crucial in the digital age, technology, business models, and how things change so dramatically and rapidly, that if you are not in a continuous learning process, the relevance of the value proposition can be destroyed in the blink of an eye.

Strategic thinking, communication, transformational leadership, emotional intelligence, and negotiating skills will be soft skills that must be cultivated if one wants to fit into the fourth industrial revolution.

As we can see the digital economy is only a topic of value generation, economic development and competitiveness, to make it a reality in our companies and our countries it is vital to have technically trained professionals with skills developed to adapt to a very competitive market, which will leave out countries, organizations and of course a large number of human beings.

You're welcome to be part of this exciting world, now it's up to you.