CPA Global sets out to become digital-first business creating new paradigm for the Intellectual Property industry

Global News

02
Jul
2020

Editor

IP technology leader CPA Global today announces its intent to transition to a digital-first organisation. The company, which employs 3,300 people in 29 offices worldwide, has begun the journey to transition to a digital-first workplace as part of its vision to redefine the IP category, creating positive and long lasting change for its people, its customers and its wider community of stakeholders.

This announcement follows CPA Global Ignite Online, the digital conference held last week, where Group CEO Simon Webster addressed the global IP community alongside IP leaders from Microsoft, Dolby Laboratories, Koch Industries, and Pure Storage on the future of an industry that is mission-critical at a planetary level and supporting the innovation that will solve the biggest challenges of our age – climate change, poverty and disease.

CPA Global is targeting ambitious global growth underpinned by delivering digital transformation to IP professionals and the wider industry. Today, CPA Global is taking the next step to accelerate its vision for Frictionless IP, where the innovation and ideas that change the world are never constrained by the IP machinery that manages them. Through evolving into a digital-first business, powered by the best people and advanced technology, it will redefine how it delivers solutions and supports its customers to help them better address the challenges they face as they move-forward on their own digital transformation journeys.

Simon Webster, Group Chief Executive Officer of CPA Global, said: “The implications of recent months have created a rapid and extremely important change for the IP industry. We believe the ‘new normal’ is not something we just arrive into; it isn’t predetermined or preordained. As restrictions fall away, the new normal has to be something we shape, we can control and which we will own in the future. Prior to the pandemic we were already 3 years into a 5-year investment programme into our operating technology, both collaboration infrastructure and business applications, and this meant that the transition of 3,300 colleagues out of our offices and to a remote model happened seamlessly and faultlessly in the last 2 weeks of March.

“Indeed, the shift to virtual, remote working in response to the Covid-19 lockdown has challenged assumptions and sped up the process of digital transformation in the wider IP industry, confirming just what can be achieved when you combine the best technology with the best people to drive productivity, efficiency and innovation as well as bolstering health and wellbeing.

“Today, therefore we are announcing our intention to become a digital-first organisation, to complete the journey that the pandemic has accelerated – and to capture the long term benefits for our people, customers and shareholders that we can see from fully embracing digital. We are setting out on our journey and taking ownership of our new normal - a digital CPA Global.

“We want to lock in the lessons and successes of the last few months and emerge stronger than ever before, providing an even better and more efficient experience for our people and for our customers as we continue to help build a connected, Frictionless IP ecosystem.

“As the IP industry leader in technology we have a responsibility to set the example and ensure that we are perfectly prepared to partner with our law firm customers and corporate IP departments as they look towards their new normal.  As well as a move to digital in the way we work as a business, and a continuation of the development of our digital services, products and customer experience – it’s also a shift in our mindset to always think digital first.

“Location should no longer be a restriction on talent. We want to maximise our collective talent, retaining the best and brightest and creating new opportunities for people around the world. Our teams will work remotely but will never be isolated – putting the wellbeing of our people first and helping them to thrive in the new world is essential to our success. To support our ambitions our offices will also transition from fixed workplaces into dynamic hubs based in our key geographies. We will invest in these hubs to increase our collaboration, culture and agility. 

“One of our values is ‘Always Team First’ and we will be involving all our people in creating how we transition to this new way of working.

“We aren’t alone in this journey. Knowledge intensive businesses, including many of our customers, are on their own digital transformation journeys which we have played a part in helping to facilitate. As we move forward to create a new working paradigm in our business, we will continue to support our customers as they themselves evolve and innovate to thrive. This will be the future for our industry.”