Fondia’s Digi Project: what do we need to prepare for in the digitalization revolution?

Over the past few years, we at Fondia have been working on a digitalization research. Digitalization as a phenomenon transforms our society in a fast pace that only keeps accelerating. The impacts of digitalization stretch out to different business sections regardless of industry lines, which opens endless opportunities and, on the other hand, challenges in pursuing them. The purpose of the research has been our will to profoundly understand the change happening in our customers’ industries, in order to be an even better and more proactive legal partner for them.

Conducting the research, Fondia’s lawyers interviewed companies from 13 different industries in Finland. Among the interviewed companies were both two-hundred- year-old traditional companies as well as young and agile “digi native” firms. Regardless of their age, size and industry they all had one thing in common: all of them emphasize possibilities brought by digitalization in their strategies. In planning the research and composing the research questions, we received invaluable help from Liisa Välikangas, professor at Aalto University, and Ilkka Lakaniemi, digitalization expert at the Chamber of Commerce.

Our findings pointed out that certain digitalization trends affect all the industries of our interviewees, regardless of the nature or age of the companies. Both the offering and processes of the companies are subject to the transformation and one part of the development is implementing new technologies. By utilizing new technologies, the companies have among other things been able to better target their services, make their work more efficient, automate their production chain and provide their customers with solutions that have not been possible before.

When I was offered the opportunity to work with this Digi Project, I did not expect the task to be as teaching as it has been. The fact alone that I have gotten to know several Finnish companies and their operation has been a unique experience for a law student. However, the most interesting part has been to hear and see how the companies grasp the opportunities that digitalization has to offer and how they seek for solutions for the still looming, especially legislative, challenges. The companies’ practical examples tell a timely story about the current situation of digitalization. The greatest thank you is dedicated to all of our interviewees.

The results of the research are published on 9.11.2018 in Fondia’s second Digi Seminar.