IBM IX

Forward thinking companies have always pushed the boundaries of technology, insights and design to reimagine the experiences they want customers to have. Today, we are crossing a new threshold as businesses from all types of industries adopt a host of digital technologies that are reinventing how they interact with customers across physical as well as digital environments. This is leading to innovative, often disruptive experiences that can quickly supplant incumbents and shift the competitive landscape.

For example, instead of buying a car that’s sitting on a dealership lot, customers can now use a virtual showroom to view a car in 3D, customize it with a click of a screen, and checkout with a swipe of their smartphone. Mobile apps and payments, IoT, wearables, voice command—these new capabilities are fundamentally changing how people interact and transact with brands and businesses everywhere.

Companies across all industries are building their playbooks to address this shift and the challenges they face. The game is shaping up fast, and most companies are playing hard to win. In doing so, they are also discovering new rules along the way in areas such as the teams they need to build and the goals they need to set. Four themes stand out. I combined with a team build the IBM IX Studio Dubai from scratch.