Jack Ma: If you don't engage in big data, you'll definitely regret it in ten years.

Alibaba Founder Jack Ma

[Caijing reporter Hu Haonan] "Ten years from now, many people will say that China's economy, and even the world economy, was all Guizhou's fault. If you don't participate in building big data, if you don't take part in big data technologies and cloud computing, and if you don't truly turn your own company into an Internet-enabled manufacturer, I believe you will end up complaining and grumbling just like today." On May 26, Alibaba founder Jack Ma made these remarks at the opening ceremony of the 2015 Guiyang International Big Data Expo and the Guiyang Summit of the Global Big Data Era.

Jack Ma stated that the coming 30 years will be the most exciting, most anticipated, as well as the most panicked and frightening 30 years in human society. He felt fortunate that he started his business 15 years ago; if he were to start a business today, he would certainly be "killed" by the younger generation, because "they use big data, they use the Internet model, and they talk about many things I don't quite understand. Yet, I believe the more I understand, the more panic I will feel."

Ma also pointed out that future manufacturing will not be just about producing goods and products. The machines manufactured in the future must be able to think, speak, and communicate. All future manufacturing enterprises will become end-user enterprises of the Internet and big data.

The following is the transcript of Jack Ma's speech:

Hello everyone, respected Governor Chen, Minister Huai, colleagues. Sitting down there listening to the speeches, I felt particularly excited. A few years ago, from a concept, from an idea, to today when Guizhou has truly entered the big data era in full scale, I think it is sometimes really extraordinary.

Before I came here this morning, I searched the Internet and saw many small offline shops saying they were having sales and closing down, all blaming it on me, Jack Ma, and on Taobao. Actually, I was thinking: 13 years ago, when we were promoting e-commerce, we kept saying that the Internet would affect production, manufacturing, and sales, that the Internet would influence every aspect of society, and that e-commerce would have a huge impact on many industries. Many people did not take it seriously.

I can say the same today: Ten years from now, many people will say that China's economy, and even the world economy, was all Guizhou's fault. If you don't participate in building big data, if you don't engage in big data technology and cloud computing, and if you don't truly turn your own company into an Internet-enabled manufacturer, I believe you will end up complaining and grumbling just like today.

I think one should always look at today from the perspective of the future, not just see the future through today's achievements or through what we can do today. The world is undergoing tremendous changes. I believe the coming 30 years will be the most exciting, most anticipated, as well as the most panicked and frightening 30 years in human society.

Today we live in a very confusing era. The downward economic trend and small companies closing down are blamed on the Internet. Large companies are at a loss because of the Internet. In any case, everyone blames the Internet for our troubles.

But on the other hand, we see many thriving enterprises rising continuously. Not long ago, I interviewed six young people. I took a cold breath. I am so lucky that I started my business 15 years ago. If I were to start a business today, I would certainly be "done in" by these young guys. Because they use big data, they use the Internet model, and they talk about many things I don't quite understand. But I believe that the more I understand, the more panic I will feel.

Actually, today, the era of information and data that we have been talking about for many years has begun, and the era of government transformation and innovation has begun. Transformation and upgrading come at a cost, and this cost is starting to take shape. Perhaps many people say we expect transformation and upgrading.

To respond to what Edward Tian just said about the three industrial revolutions: the first was the steam engine in the United States, the second was the power of electricity. The first industrial revolution truly released human physical strength, the second industrial revolution, with the rise of energy, released human capability, allowing people to travel farther. The first industrial revolution sought strength, the second sought distance. As for the third industrial revolution, we need to ask what kind of business form it will bring. This is what I've been thinking about most recently, because every industrial revolution has had an enormous impact on the form of commerce. We must think from an organizational perspective about what our future organization should look like. What I think about most is that any military transformation, after many years, will eventually become a commercial transformation.

From World War I and World War II, one can also say that the first industrial revolution led to World War I, and the second industrial revolution led to World War II. What will this technological revolution bring about? Because this technological revolution releases human wisdom, human brains. People have not thought about what earth-shaking changes this technological revolution will bring to the entire human society. In future organizations, it will not be companies hiring employees, but employees hiring companies. All these changes arise because of the huge changes in technology. The change in the entire human society's commerce, caused by the generation of data, will definitely lead to changes in the whole society, in the economic and political systems.

So everyone must think, every enterprise here must think: What kind of organization is suitable for the future? What kind of team can be suitable for the future?

In addition, what I want to focus on today is the transformation from IT to DT. We tend to think that IT and DT are just about technological advancements, but in fact, this is a competition between two eras, the beginning of a new era. So everyone must pay great attention to thinking in the DT era, to the DT mindset. The IT era is about making oneself more powerful; the DT era is about making others more powerful. The IT era is about letting others serve you; the DT era is about letting you serve others well, making them happier, and competing by serving competitors. The IT era controls the future by analyzing yesterday's information, to control the future.

Meanwhile, the DT era is about creating the future. The IT era makes 20% of enterprises increasingly powerful, while 80% may feel lost. The DT era, however, releases the capabilities of 80% of enterprises. So the entire world will undergo earth-shaking changes. The IT era turned people into machines, while the DT era turns machines into intelligent humans. This is how we are entering a new type of era.

And future manufacturing will not just be about producing goods and products. The machines manufactured in the future must be able to think, speak, and communicate. All future manufacturing enterprises will become end-user enterprises of the Internet and big data. The future manufacturing industry will not need oil; its greatest energy source will be data.

So I believe future competition will be completely different. If we talk about platform-based enterprises centered on serving others versus those centered on serving themselves, I would like to give a simple example. In World War II, Japan built the strongest warship in human history, the Yamato. It had powerful steel armor and immense strength, and they thought it could destroy everything. But on its first long-distance voyage, when it wanted to engage an aircraft carrier, it couldn't even find one and was sunk by a few aircraft. This is because an aircraft carrier is a platform that itself does not generate offensive power; instead, it enables the carrier-based aircraft to have strong offensive capability. It is an ecosystem. So no matter how powerful you are, you need to think about making your employees stronger, making your customers stronger, and making your partners stronger before you compete. If we fail to grasp what the DT era thinking is about in the future, then our technology will be invisible, and we will still be living in yesterday.

Today we see countless enterprises chasing, discovering, and participating in the big data era. We also see many Internet companies quickly degrading into traditional Internet companies. We see many IT companies becoming traditional IT companies. Because many people have not yet fully understood IT, we have entered DT. Internet enterprises should participate in social change, in economic development, in education and issues, making all aspects of society increasingly stronger. Making the economy more prosperous and humanity happier is the historical responsibility of all large Internet enterprises.

Today, the Internet is no longer just about browsing news, shopping, playing games, or chatting. The Internet must become a tremendous source of energy and driving force for the development and progress of the whole society. If we treat the Internet merely as a tool, then it is like how China historically invented gunpowder but only used it for fireworks and firecrackers, while others used it as a machine and as a weapon. So I think this is a great era, an era where we can all look forward to the future together. It is not about changing others but about changing ourselves, embracing this era. Then you won't be saying ten years later that this was all big data's fault. We should work together to truly make it a great energy source for humanity in the future. Thank you, everyone. Thank you, Guizhou.