BEYOND INDUSTRY 4.0 AND COMPETITION: DATA AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MARKETS AS A BATTLEFIELD FOR DIGITAL LEADERSHIP

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of the article is to analyze the transformational potential of the digital economy as an environment for acquiring new competitive characteristics in the context of global innovation and technological competition. Groups of countries are identified according to the criterion of technological leadership. The importance of institutional support for innovative development is noted and the technological development strategies of key players in the innovation race are analyzed. The article analyzes the strategy of the PRC government to implement a digital economy integrating ICT and transformed factors of production as the main economic structure, the key innovative and strategically important resource of which is data resources, and their leading carrier is information networks. The advantages of the digital platform economy are analyzed. Key technologies of the digital economy are highlighted, with an emphasis on the role of big data, the IoT, cloud technologies,  augmented reality technologies. We have included the following technological drivers that ensure the close interconnection of data and ICT markets in the context of the emergence of global digital competition: (1) artificial intelligence and machine learning; (2) cloud computing; (3) Internet of Things; (4) Big Data. It has been established that the growth of demand for cybersecurity solutions is a key driver of the growth of the interdependence of data and ICT markets. Analysis of the relationship between the data market and the ICT market indicates their deep structural integration and interdependence. The main characteristics of this relationship are: (1) technological convergence; (2) economic synergy (organizations that effectively combine ICT technologies with data analytics demonstrate significantly higher profitability and competitiveness); (3) global growth trends; (4) regional differentiation.

The concepts of IoT, Industrial IoT and Industry 4.0 are compared. It is established that, unlike Industry 4.0, which focuses on production and management of production processes, the cornerstone of the use of IoT is the collection and analysis of data. All three concepts are realized through the use of new technologies. The role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in the digitalization of economic relations is emphasized. The role of Data Science tools in foresight analysis is defined. Attention is focused on the role of Big Data in the development of the digital economy and on the transformation of the role of information as a factor of production. The impact of Data Science tools on costs, profitability and profitability of business, on the specifics of choosing a business model using digital technologies for managing business risks is characterized. We attribute the following economic effects of digitalization and platformization: changes in the life cycle of economic development strategy; changes in the ratio of strategic and tactical development goals; changes in business cycles; changes in approaches to competition; changes in approaches to pricing; automation and modification of business processes; revision of management systems; management of transaction costs; formation of a new economic and social environment; changes in business processes; reformatting of value chains; reformatting of supply chains; formation of a new economic geography.