In his ServiceNow Knowledge 2023 keynote, CEO Bill McDermott discussed the importance of both technological advancements and human connections in the digital economy. McDermott acknowledged his own failures in this area and addressed the problematic mindset of the “IT versus business” narrative. He stressed the need to abandon this flawed thinking and emphasized that IT strategy is now business strategy.
This divide between IT and business has caused confusion, frustration, and stagnation in many companies. McDermott believes that companies need to overcome this fallacy to become influential players in the rapidly emerging accelerating economy. He encouraged business leaders to create fully integrated, seamless, and unified teams to achieve more than they could alone.
McDermott also discussed the pressure that CEOs face to improve innovation and drive growth. He cited statistics that show 40% of CEOs worldwide believe their company will not be viable in 10 years if they do not change. Now, more than ever, companies need to be bold and act with great courage to adapt and thrive in the rapidly changing digital landscape.
As ServiceNow continues to position itself as an “Intelligent Platform for Digital Transformation,” McDermott believes that the past thinking fallacy of “IT vs. Business” has been replaced by the dizzying possibilities of an integrated future. He encouraged CIOs to connect all aspects of their organization and become enterprise-wide evangelists who drive business outcomes.
In summary, McDermott’s keynote emphasized the importance of human connections in the digital economy and called for the abandonment of the “IT vs. Business” narrative. He advocated for fully integrated teams and urged business leaders to be bold and adapt to the changing digital landscape to achieve success in the future.