During his visit to the University of Navarra School of Economics and Business Administration, the Chairman of the Telefónica Foundation, César Alierta, highlighted the importance of the Digital Revolution, a historical event that “is set to affect all sectors” and is underpinned by big data. Alierta spoke to students at the School on “The Challenge of Digitalization”.

“Big Data is facilitating innovation as never seen before in the history of mankind”, he claimed. Alierta explained that, by analysing an enormous amount of information, companies can identify their customers’ needs and launch new products based on their findings. “Innovation is set to accelerate dramatically. Companies that don’t use big data simply won’t survive, because their competitors will be so much more innovative”, he predicted. He also warned that “the most competitive companies will be those that use digital systems in their production line”.

Alierta pointed out that “the progress of mankind hinges on two sectors: education and innovation”. He went on to highlight the current lack of technological training by revealing that there are currently 160,000 job vacancies due to a shortage of specialists in the technology sector. “The problem with most companies is that they don’t have digital experts”, he said. According to the chairman, however, primary school pupils across the world will occupy professions that “don’t exist yet and will have one thing in common: digital knowledge”.

He explained that, after more than 15 years at the helm of one of the world’s leading telecommunications companies, he left the job because he ended up being “obsolete” in a digital world “that’s advancing at a spectacular rate”. He stressed that his successor, José María Álvarez-Pallete, was “much better placed to ensure the future success of the company”.

Alierta concluded by revealing the enormous satisfaction he gets from his commitment to social action through the Telefónica Foundation: “I used to love making Telefónica customers happy, but what I love even more is seeing the smiles on the faces of children in developing countries when we make a difference to their lives”.