The document provides a trend map covering key trends in business transformation and operational excellence. It outlines several major trends impacting these areas, including business model innovation, new work, process excellence, process automation, regulatory compliance, business resilience, and industry 4.0. For each trend, it identifies important related sub-trends and technologies that are shaping how the overall trend is developing. The trend map is intended to help readers navigate emerging topics and understand their interrelationships to determine relevant strategies for their own organizations.

1. The Trend Map of Business
Transformation & Operational
Excellence

2. Change is happening faster and faster in every corner of the economy.
Everyone in organizations—top to bottom—are being challenged to
stay a step ahead of innovation cycles that continue to pick up speed.
The winners will be the companies that continuously—and proactively—adapt their
business models, ecosystems, value chains, product portfolio and customer channels.
Business Transformation
& Operational Excellence
2
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

3. Whether a transformation will flourish or flop depends on how well strategic decisions are
(1) transformed into business operations and then (2) clearly communicated to each employee.
Business Model
• Vision and mission
• Markets
• Goals & strategies
• Product portfolio & value proposition
• Partner ecosystem
• Revenue streams
Operating Model
• Business processes
• Customer journeys & satisfaction
• Cycle time
• Quality
• Cost
• Risks & Regulatory Compliance
• Organization & Skills
• IT
Business
Transformation
Operational
Excellence
D O I N G T H E R I G HT T H I N G S D O I N G T H E T H I N G S R I G HT
Only those who
know their goal
will find the path.
— Laozi
3
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

4. Clarity is power
A recent study by McKinsey revealed that the average
lifespan of companies listed in Standard & Poor’s 500 has
shrunk from 61 years in 1958 to less than 18 years today.
Past success does not guarantee future success. The ability
to adapt to fast-changing market conditions is what makes
all the difference. Finding your path to success through the
obstacle course of disruptions in nearly all industries can be
difficult. But it’s important not to sink into detailed knowledge
but maintain a holistic view from above. Be aware of how
myriad buzzwords and topics that come at you are related to
each other and how the topics influence each other. What you
need is a bird’s-eye view of how the pieces all intersect.
That’s where this trend map for Business Transformation & Operational Excellence comes
in. It covers the most important trends and their dependencies and overlaps in the areas of
business transformation and optimization. A trend line includes the most important
topics and initiatives – and should not be understood as a sequential order.
You can use this as a tool to navigate the emerging trends in business transformation and
operational excellence to help understand the relevant topics and their interrelationships—
and to pin down the strategies for your own organization.
In a world deluged by irrelevant information, clarity is power.
— Yuval Noah Harari
4
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

5. Think about this like a map with various lines and stops.
Each line is a key trend that impacts business
transformation and operational excellence. Each stop
is a key technology or sub-trend that helps shape the key
trend. Like the metro in any major city, sometimes multiple
lines will converge at a single station. The same
is true of these key trends. (We discuss these transfer
stations where multiple lines intersect on page 25.)
We will start by addressing each of the key trends
and the points along the line that define them.
Those key trends are:
How to read?
Business Model
Innovation
New
Work
Process
Automation
Process
Excellence
Regulatory
Compliance
Business
Resilience
Connectivity Customer-driven
Business
Industry
4.0
5
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

6. Business Model Innovation
The stops along the way:
• Business Ecosystems are networks of companies
collaborating to create common value / products for
customers along an end-to-end value chain.
• Coopetition describes the cooperation between
competing companies by forming a strategic alliance
designed to help both organizations.
• Flexicurity (a combination of “flexibility” and “security“)
is a paradigm of labour market policy balancing interests
between employers (being able to hire and fire staff)
and employees (employment security).
• Gig Economy refers to a part of the labour market in
which temporary jobs are awarded flexibly and at short
notice to job seekers or freelancers – with online plat-
forms as intermediaries between client and contractor.
• Hyperlocal Operating Models refer to doing business
(acquiring and delivering products and services) in a
small geographical area.
• Neo-Ecology / Green Market Revolution describes the
major change process towards a resource-efficient,
sustainable economy.
• VUCA is an acronym that refers to “volatility”,
“uncertainty”, “complexity” and “ambiguity“, the
supposed characteristics of the modern world.
Business Model Innovation means the (re-)definition of your strategic positioning and provides
the basis for the long-term orientation of your company. A business model (designed by methods
such as the Business Model Canvas) includes the description of markets, target groups, customer
benefits, partner relationships, core processes, cost structures and revenue streams.
6
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

7. Business Model Innovation
Flexicurity
Hyperlocal
Operating
Models
Internet of
Everything
Frictionless
Enterprise
Neo-Ecology /
Green Market
Revolution
Platform
Economy
Organizational
Change
Management
VUCA
Mass
Customization
Cultural
Change
Business
Ecosystems
Business
Model
Innovation
Business
Model
Innovation
Digital Twin of
an Organization Gig
Economy
Digital
Transformation
7
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

8. New Work
The stops along the way:
• Digital Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s) are digital documents used by organizations
to detail out the duties and responsibilities of employees.
• Objectives and Key Results (OKR) is a collaborative goal-setting methodology used
by teams and individuals to set ambitious goals with measurable results.
• Open Knowledge designates content whose free usability is guaranteed and whose further
dissemination is generally permitted under copyright law.
• Talent Management is the systematic attraction, development, and retention of those
individuals who are of particular value to an organization due to their high potential.
• Work-Life Blending means the merging of the living world and the working world,
leading to a barely perceptible jumping between profession and leisure time.
New work is a collective term for various, mostly alternative models and
forms of work. The term goes back to the social philosopher Frithjof
Bergmann. In particular, the concept encompasses new forms of work
that are shaped by today’s knowledge and information society.
8
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

9. New Work
Work-Life Blending
Objectives & Key Results (OKR)
Coopetition
Operational Agility
Flexicurity
VUCA
Cultural Change
Business
Ecosystems
Organizational
Change
Management
Digital
Collaboration
Hybrid Work /
Hybrid Workplace
Digital
SOPs
Open
Knowledge
New Work
New Work
Digital
Transformation
Talent
Management
9
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

10. Process Excellence
The stops along the way:
• Customer Journey Analytics aims at analyzing customer behavior across touchpoints to
measure customer satisfaction and the impact of customer behavior on business outcomes.
• Enterprise Mining refers to the combination of analyzing various dynamic aspects of an
organization, like processes, tasks, customer journeys, supply chains, etc.
• Process Governance contains all the instruments and regulations to uniformly design and
develop the process management of a company. This includes standards for how process
management is to be developed and operated.
• Process Mining analyzes in an automated way the as-is execution of business processes
to identify bottlenecks and to derive optimization measures.
• Task Mining is the automated discovery and analysis of user interactions on a desktop.
Process excellence encompasses all initiatives, methods and technologies aimed at optimizing
the performance (in terms of times, costs, quality, etc.) of a company’s core processes.
10
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

11. Process Excellence
Task Mining
End-to-end Processes
Process Governance
Centers of Excellence
Business
Operating Model
Process
Mining
Compliance
Monitoring
Scenario
Simulation
Document
Intelligence
Process
Excellence Process
Excellence
Digital
Transformation
Enterprise
Management
System
Customer
Journey
Analytics
Organizational
Mining
Enterprise
Mining
Way of
Working
11
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

12. Process Automation
Process automation is defined as the use of digital technology to perform
complex business processes and functions with minimal human intervention.
The stops along the way:
• APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) define the protocol how software applications
talk to each other. The exchange of these APIs and the systems to manage them through
the wider digital ecosystem is the API Economy.
• Automation Fabric / Hyperautomation is a business-driven approach that allows organizations to
automate business and IT processes by the orchestrated use of multiple technologies, tools or platforms.
• Autonomic Business Operations (ABO) align customer journeys with business operations by using
advanced automation technologies and decision intelligence to create enterprise value in a new way.
• Emergent AI refers to the combination of artificial intelligence technologies with new value propositions
and new interrelationships between the individual technologies.
• No Code / Low Code Platforms are types of visual software development environments that allow even
citizen developers to create applications and mobile / web.
• Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is the configuration and usage of software robots to automate the
tasks of office workers by manipulating data and processing transactions within software applications.
12
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

13. Process Automation
Automation
Fabric /
Hyper-
automation
Autonomic Business
Operations (ABO)
Digital Process
Automation (DPA)
Continuous
Delivery
Robotic
Process
Automation
(RPA)
No Code /
Low Code
Platforms
Turing Bots
Natural Language
Processing (NLP)
API
Economy
IT / OT
Connect
Process
Automation
Process
Automation
Intelligent
Document
Processing
(IDP)
Intelligent
Agents
Enterprise
Mining
Task Mining
Emergent AI
13
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

14. Regulatory Compliance
The stops along the way:
• Business Continuity Management (BCM) bundles methods, procedures and
rules to resume productive operations as quickly as possible after disruption
or failure of business processes or critical IT systems.
• Compliance Monitoring checks how well the business operations meet their
regulatory and internal process obligations.
• Dynamic Risk Governance (DRG) links strategy and risk management to solve the
lack of senior management involvement of traditional risk governance frameworks
(like ‘Three Lines of Defense (3LOD)’ / ‘Three Lines – 3L model’).
• Supply Chain Act (the Act on Corporate Due Diligence in Supply Chains,
Lieferkettengesetz) is a law of the German government to come into force in
January 2023 that commits companies to ensure compliance with human
rights and certain environmental standards in their supply chains.
Regulatory compliance is the set of processes, policies, and
governance structures making sure that an organization is following
the rules and standards set for its industry.
14
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

15. Regulatory Compliance
Regulatory
Compliance Regulatory
Compliance
Environmental Sustainability
Process Mining
Total Quality Management
Business Continuity Management
3rd
Party Risk Management
Compliance
by Design
Data
Protection
Social
Responsibility
Supply
Chain Act
Information
Security
RegTech
Compliance
Monitoring
Enterprise
Management
System
Enterprise
Mining
Dynamic Risk
Governance (DRG)
15
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

16. Business Resilience
The stops along the way:
• Environmental Sustainability is the conservation of natural resources and
protection of global ecosystems combined with the responsibility to preserve
resources like clean air, water, and wildlife for future generations.
• Multi-Sourcing is the approach of companies to procure its goods from several
suppliers in order to gain competitive advantages in terms of price, quality and time
from the competition between the suppliers and to reduce its own supply risk.
• RegTech is a subset of fintech that focuses on technologies that ensure companies
comply with their regulatory requirements.
Business resilience is the ability of an enterprise to quickly adapt
and respond to disruptions while maintaining continuous business
operations and safeguarding people and assets. Business resilience
relies on identifying essential functions and prioritizing what is
critical to be performed in times of massive disruptions.
16
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

17. Business Resilience
Business
Resilience
Business
Resilience
Fraud Detection
Cyber Security
Environmental
Sustainability Supply Chain Resilience
Nearshoring
Multi-
Sourcing
Frictionless Enterprise
Climate Risk
Analytics
Business
Operating
Model
Business Continuity Management
3rd
Party Risk Management
RegTech
Dynamic Risk
Governance (DRG)
Enterprise
Management
System
17
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

18. Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is the fourth major technological breakthrough in the history
of industry and is aimed in particular at connecting the real world with the
virtual world - production methods are combined with state-of-the-art
information and communications technology.
The stops along the way:
• A Digital Twin is a virtual representation of a real-world entity or system primarily
to create simulations and to understand how things and systems work.
• Edge Computing / Intelligence is a distributed, open IT architecture to process
data by the device itself to enable mobile computing and internet of
things (IoT) technologies.
• Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) refers to the use of the
internet of things (IoT) in industrial sectors based on the
intersection of information technology (IT) and operational
technology (OT).
18
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

19. Industry 4.0
Industrial Internet
of Things (IIoT)
Internet of
Everything
Edge
Computing /
Intelligence
Digital Twin
Big Data
Extended Reality (AR/VR)
Emergent AI
Digital Process Automation (DPA)
Autonomous Robots
Digital
Transformation
Digital Twin of
an Organization
Enterprise
Mangement
System
IT/OT Connect
Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0
19
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

20. Connectivity
Connectivity describes the principle of networking based on digital
infrastructures and communication technologies. Connectivity leads
to fundamental changes in the way we work and do business.
The stops along the way:
• 5G Networks is the 5th
generation mobile network standard aiming at connecting
virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects,
and devices.
• Hybrid Work / Hybrid Workplace means a mix of on-site and remote working.
• Platform Economy refers to the shift from a product-based business model
to technology-driven platforms with multiple offerings and collaboration and
community connectivity.
20
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

21. Connectivity
Hybrid Work /
Hybrid
Workplace
Digital
Collaboration
Digital Standard
Operating Procedures
Platform Economy
Multi-Sourcing
Customer
Management
5G Networks
Business Ecosystems
Connectivity
Connectivity
Customer
Touchpoints
21
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

22. Customer-driven
Business
The stops along the way:
• Digital Customer Experience (CX) deals with digitally-mediated experiences
and touchpoints of customers engaging with a brand through the internet.
• Digital Twin of the Customer (DToC) is a virtual representation of a customer to
emulate and predict customer behavior, and to improve the customer experience.
• Mass Customization (built-to-order) combines the flexibility and
personalization of custom-made products with the low unit costs
associated with mass production.
Customer-driven business puts customer needs at the heart of the
corporate strategy. This concept argues that only by attracting and
retaining customers will long-term profits be obtained.
22
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

23. Customer-driven
Business
Mass Customization
Personalization at scale
Customer-driven Business
Customer-driven Business
Omnichannel Experiences
CX Performance
Customer Touchpoints
Customer Journey Analytics
Data Protection
Intelligent Agents
Digital Customer Experience (CX)
Digital Twin of the Customer (DToC)
Customer Management
23
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

24. 24
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e
24
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

25. Intersections
The following intersections or transfer stations are—similar to a bustling urban metro—
particularly interesting and buzzing with activity. These nodes connect many of the trends together:
Digital Transformation
is about integrating
digital technologies
into all business areas
with fundamentally
changing how to operate
and to meet changing
business and market
requirements.
Enterprise Mining
refers to the
combination of
monitoring and
analyzing various
dynamic aspects of
an organization, like
processes, tasks,
customer journeys,
supply chains, etc.
IT / OT Connect is the
integration of
information technology
(IT) systems that
manage data with
operational technology
(OT) systems that
control the physical
world.
The concept of a Digital
Twin of an Organization
(DTO) (defined by
Gartner) provides a
virtual representation
of an organization to
simulate the business
operations and to support
the implementation of
changes. Enterprise
Management System is
often used synonymously
and serves the
transformation and
optimization of an
enterprise.
Customer Journey
Analytics monitors
customer behaviour
across Customer
Touchpoints to measure
the impact on business
outcomes. Customer
journeys are recognized
as a mean to improve
Customer Experience
(CX) Performance and
the overall Customer
Management.
25
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

26. Putting the trend map to action
To keep up with the rapid changes in your industry, think of strategic transformation and operational
implementation together. It is more than a conventional change process. Successful companies
proactively shape change despite many uncertainties and efficiently implement innovative
business models at the organizational, process and technology levels.
Use the trend map as your Global Positioning System
(GPS) to increase the maturity of your organization:
• Share the trend map with the stakeholders of your company
• Identify the key trends relevant for your organization
• For each key trend: adapt the trend line to your specific needs
• Define goals, initiatives and milestones
• Derive your individual roadmap to successful Business
Transformation and Operational Excellence
Business Transformation
Operational Excellence
26
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e

27. Try a Free Trial today!
Calculate the value
of you transformation
initiative!
Visit: softwareag.com/aris-roi
© 2022 Software AG. All rights reserved. Software AG and all Software AG products are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Software AG. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
ebook-trend-map-en.pdf
Software AG simplifies the connected world. Founded in 1969, it helps deliver the experiences that employees, partners and customers now expect. Its technology creates the digital backbone
that integrates applications, devices, data and clouds; empowers streamlined processes; and connects “things” like sensors, devices and machines. It helps 10,000+ organizations to become a
truly connected enterprise and make smarter decisions, faster. The company has more than 5,000 employees across more than 70 countries and annual revenue of over €830 million.
Learn more at www.SoftwareAG.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
27
T h e T r e n d M a p o f B u s i n e s s T r a n s f o r m a t i o n & O p e r a t i o n a l E x c e l l e n c e