It’s About Trust: The IT Department’s Role in a Digital Organisation: Why Techies May Be the New Communications Team

This chapter delivers insights into how dynamics and technological advantages associated with digitalisation affect the everyday lives of consumers and traditionally analogue industries alike. By using the example of the electricity industry, the author demonstrates how the digital transformation alters organisational aspects of large companies. Focusing on the emerging Industrial Internet and associated smart devices, this chapter explains how the ability to collect data opens up new markets and value-adding mechanisms even to industries that originally would not be associated with data-driven business models. The disruption of business models and value chains fosters the creation of adaptive management structures capable of coping with ever-increasing data and information volumes. In a company driven by data, the author concludes, trust management will emerge as a substantial task that is crucial to overall success.