(Originally published in September 2016) At a recent HCL Global conference that focused on “Engineering Healthcare – From Product Centric to Patient Centric”, various technology and healthcare leaders discussed the impact that the rapid advancements in technology are making on how patients receive care.

During the conference, the President of Engineering and R&D Services for HCL Global, Gade Hanumantha Rao (GH among friends), pointed out the three realities of the current digital world.  These realities are not new, but when presented in this context – gave pause to ask the business leaders, what could they do to respond to the shift that the current digital world is forcing upon businesses?

Customers know more about business pricing, service offerings and reputation than even a firm’s own employees. With the expansion of Amazon into healthcare and life sciences, Google’s progress towards offering online shops combined with the power of Google Search – customers are better informed than ever before.  They are empowered to seek out products and services that best meet their needs rapidly. And they can leverage that information to negotiate for more favorable terms.

Online and mobile purchasing is on-demand purchasing.  Customers can purchase almost anything at the push of a button and they aren’t waiting. When they see something they like, they buy it. When they find something they need, they buy it. Better yet, they can have it delivered wherever they like.

Technology has made it more difficult for businesses to maintain competitive advantage.  Competing on price is no longer an advantage. In fact, entire business models may now become obsolete given the availability of information and the ease with which entire business models may be replicated for a fraction of the cost.