The report, titled "Intelligent Finance: How CFOs Can Lead the Coming Productivity Boom," builds upon a 2017 study conducted by Dr. Mandel on behalf of the Technology CEO Council. It provides CFOs and finance leaders with a deeper understanding of the potential productivity and profitability gains that can be realized by embracing cloud services and the emerging technologies and best practices they contain.

Dr. Mandel's research shows a widening productivity divide between the organizations and industries that have invested in software technologies and those that haven't. But, the report predicts cloud services will close the productivity gap as organizations and industries that have traditionally lagged in technology adoption begin to take advantage of more cost effective and accessible cloud-based solutions. These gains will benefit workers, shareholders, and the broader economy.  

"The cloud era will give low-productivity organizations and industries access to the same technology and best practices that companies in high-productivity industries benefit from," said Dr. Michael Mandel. "By standardizing and automating routine tasks, the lower producers will increase efficiency and reduce the cost of many processes, which will help them self-fund further investments in technology, develop new capabilities, and redeploy and hire resources for higher-level and better-paid tasks."

One low-productivity industry that is well-poised to take advantage of emerging cloud technologies is healthcare—a $3 trillion industry.

"Cloud services now provide us with the basis for integrating our financial data with population health data," said Michael Murray, senior vice president and chief financial officer at Blue Shield of California, which provides healthcare coverage for more than four million Americans. "Through data analytics and better population health management, the United States could remove hundreds of millions of dollars in costs out of the healthcare system. It's a huge economic opportunity and will ultimately enhance clinical quality and patient outcomes."

"The potential impact of emerging technologies on society cannot be understated," noted Dave Donatelli, executive vice president, Cloud Business Group, Oracle. "In addition to creating new jobs and industries based on technology innovations in areas such as 3D printing, artificial intelligence, and cognitive computing, new technologies can help address some of our country's basic needs. For example, many Americans are struggling to afford the high cost of healthcare coverage and basic medical expenses. Imagine if technology could predict illness and health risks to keep the population healthier. Similarly, cloud-based technologies have the potential to bring down the cost of education, using artificial intelligence, bots, and IoT to create more efficient institutions and better student outcomes."

As part of the research, Dr. Mandel conducted in-depth interviews with CEOs, CFOs, and other top executives at companies in key industries identified as essential to U.S. economic growth.

Oracle customers who participated in the report, include:

• Blue Shield of California (healthcare)

• Carbon (manufacturing)

• ConnectOne Bank (financial services)

• FairfieldNodal (oil & gas)

• Oracle (high tech)

• Shawnee State University (education)

• The Wonderful Company (retail/consumer)