Creativity will ensure humans won’t be left behind by tech, says Fujitsu president

Passion and creativity is what will save people from being “left behind” by technologies such as automation, according to Fujitsu president Tatsuya Tanaka.

Speaking at the Fujitsu Forum in Munich, Tanaka stated that although humans are concerned technologies such as automation will eject humans from the workplace, people are always the main factor in innovation and transformation because of the ideas they have.

“That passion of someone who wants to make a difference inspires others,” he said. “It brings people together and many innovations have been born this way.”

Focusing on the company’s latest mantra of “co-creation”, Tanaka claimed firms are “all in the midst of a major digital transformation. Technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the internet of things (IoT) will lead to great changes to our businesses” and that no one company alone can drive all the change.

He used Fujitsu’s transformation partnership with Microsoft as an example of how the firm is working with other companies to work together on flexibility and creative ways of working to achieve the “full potential” of both companies whilst also promoting the “wellbeing of employees”.

Many experts believe creativity is key to creating innovative products, as it encourages people to think outside of the box.

The firm’s head of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAIA) for Fujitsu, Duncan Tait, said organisations “won’t be in the same shape in the next five years” and that “new ideas create new value”.

Referencing one of Fujitsu’s recent surveys, he claimed people overwhelmingly said creativity, agility and trust from society were imperative to their success.

“An enormous number of people said creativity is a theme,” he said. “These organisations cited people as being critical to their success. It is people that are driving the digital transformation for the world.”

There was also a focus on soft skills, which are becoming increasingly important in the age of automation, such as “innovation and collaboration” that make people important in the process of creating and adopting new technologies, which is something that is difficult to emulate with technologies such as A and automation.

Giving examples of how Fujitsu has worked with customers on digital transformation, he cited Dutch bank ING, Swedish firm Securitas and the Post Office as case studies where a focus on having the right people complimented the implementation of technology.

ING, though the third-largest bank in Germany, has no branches in the country at all, instead organising itself into “tribes and squads” to deliver customer services and the Post Office has 11,500 branches in the UK serving 40-60m customers each month, so people are at the core of what they do.

“It is clear to me that people make the difference, and a focus on people and customer is essential to be successful in the economy we currently work in,” said Tait.

The company also announced at Fujitsu Forum that it would be restructuring its business to increase profit margins and focus on becoming a service-oriented company.