OpenText World 2021–The Future of Growth Is Inclusive, Sustainable & Digital

This is a time to be bold. To go all in. Be Digital. In my keynote yesterday at OpenText World 2021, I revealed how the…

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Mark J. Barrenechea

November 17, 20216 minutes read

This is a time to be bold. To go all in. Be Digital.

In my keynote yesterday at OpenText World 2021, I revealed how the world’s best-run organizations are choosing to go all-in on digital. They are using Information Management to solve the challenges of today’s global market, respond to disruption, build stronger communities and thrive.

Global events are driving the Great Rethink across all aspects of our lives—the economy, industry, society, environment, geopolitics, individuals and technology. We have an opportunity to reimagine the future. We can leverage ingenuity and technology to overcome our toughest obstacles and create a better world.

Five Forces Changing Everything

I see five major forces that are changing forever the way we do business.

Five Forces Changing Everything
  1. All Work Is Distributed: It’s about how you work, not where you work. Every organization faces a choice: will they stay centralized or shift to distributed work? Leaders are wondering when employees will go back to the office, but the truth is that the best employees don’t have to. Flex-first work models help retain top performers and open up resources. They bolster diversity and inclusion, and let us hire (as we say in Canada) from coast to coast to coast.
  2. All Transactions Are Going Digital: Email, video, payments, signature, commerce, food delivery, business systems, renewals—all are going virtual and paperless. Industry 4.0 is in hyperdrive! The supply chain of tomorrow is a digital-first supply network. It enables businesses to sell everywhere, all the time, with rapid delivery, deep visibility and sustainability.
  3. Seven-Star Experience: At the end of every supply chain is a consumer. Organizations need to deliver personalized, timely customer experiences that wow. Think about what you can do to grow your business, and view everything you do through the eyes of your customers. Don’t aim for five stars. Aim for seven.
  4. Trust and Security:Everything must be built on a platform of trust and security. Organizations need to implement a Zero Trust model, so that if your laptop suddenly grows legs and walks away, you are still secure! Systems must be always on—and always protected.   
  5. The Future of Growth Needs to Be Sustainable and Inclusive: The past 18 months have made it clear that companies have an opportunity to create positive change. Organizations need to champion Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, improve their environmental footprint and strengthen their use of technology for good.  

The world’s most successful organizations are transforming these five forces into opportunities. They strive to be global and connect to ecosystems that span the world. They make large investments, so they can own their digital capabilities. They are shifting from a process advantage to an information advantage, with automation and optimized data analysis. They understand that the future is cloud + edge, working in tandem. And they know how to leverage the right mix of off-cloud, private cloud, public cloud and API cloud to get results.

OpenText Cloud Editions delivers capabilities that help organizations tackle these five forces. Cloud Editions encompasses five purpose-driven clouds—Content Cloud, Business Network Cloud, Experience Cloud, Security & Protection Cloud, and Developer Cloud. Together, they enable organizations to master modern work, build sustainable supply networks, power modern customer experiences, become cyber resilient, drive the API economy, and choose sustainable practices.

OpenText Cloud Editions

Yesterday, I shared parts of our conversations with some extraordinary customers—L’Oréal, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Morgan Stanley and Shell. Each of them is leveraging Cloud Editions to drive growth, spur innovation and build a sustainable future. Watch the full-length versions of the interviews later in OpenText World to get deep insights into how these customers are using technology to transform and thrive. It is time to be digital, and OpenText is lighting the way.

The Digital Road Ahead

OpenText Cloud Editions brings incredible capabilities to the table. If you compare us to IBM—there is no comparison! We are the market leader in Content Services Platforms on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant. We deliver superior solutions across public cloud, private cloud, and integrations with apps. We are focused on Content Services, and we are committed to an aggressive program of R&D investments to keep delivering the solutions in the cloud that our customers need.

It’s time to say Bye Bye Blue! We are so confident that we can deliver a better suite of products and solutions than our competitors, that we are launching a new initiative to help organizations migrate away from IBM. And we can help you do it in 90 days or less!   

With Cloud Editions, you will be part of an exciting roadmap of new technologies.

Cloud Editions: The Digital Road Ahead

Our battle cry is new releases every 90 days. Updates are automatically rolled out, so you always have the latest technologies and features. We are heavily investing in R&D over the next five years. By the time we release Cloud Editions 23.2, more than 80% of our R&D spend will be in the cloud. And we provide a team of over 6,000 dedicated professionals to drive cloud innovations, global cloud operations, platform transformation—and your cloud success.

It is a visionary product roadmap, with exciting capabilities to come in the months and years ahead.

The OpenText ZERO Initiative

The greatest challenge humanity faces in the long-term may not be the pandemic, but climate change. We believe in our core that the future of growth is sustainable and inclusive, and we are going to bring the OpenText voice and way to this future.

I am proud to announce our new program, the OpenText ZERO Initiative. We have laid out concrete benchmarks as we strive towards Zero Emissions, Zero Waste and Zero Barriers. We are committing to net zero GHGs by 2040. Zero waste from operations by 2030. And the majority of OpenText employees will be diverse by 2030, with equal gender representation in key roles, and at least 40% of leadership roles filled by women.

The OpenText ZERO Initiative

We will also partner with local organizations to enhance education opportunities and tackle food insecurity in the communities where we work and live.

Our approach will be science-based and bold. I am eager to update you on our progress in the days ahead, as we watch the goals of the ZERO Initiative become a reality.

The Future of Growth

The future of growth will demand that organizations adapt to continuous disruption, fulfill their roles as responsible global citizens, and leverage technology to fuel innovation and grow.

OpenText helps organizations reach these goals. We are #1 in Information Management. We are investing $2.2 billion to deliver the world’s most complete and integrated Information Management Cloud. And we are leading the way in inclusivity and sustainability with the OpenText ZERO Initiative.

I look forward to working with our customers, colleagues, partners and communities, as we build together the future of growth.

Be well. Be happy. Be bold. Be digital.

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Mark J. Barrenechea

Mark J. Barrenechea joined OpenText as President and Chief Executive Officer in January 2012, and also serves as a member of the Board of Directors. In January 2016, Mark took on the role of Chief Technology Officer and was appointed Vice Chair in September 2017.

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