While a strong moat remains critical to businesses, certain key aspects of creating such buffer against competition will change in the coming days, argued panelists during the discussion on Level Next - Building Strong Moat Businesses at Fortune India's The Next 500: Breaking New Frontiers event.

Nikhil Singhal, director and head-top tier business, HSBC India, pointed out the significance of reading megatrends to be able to develop moats. Lalit Agarwal, MD at V-Mart, recommended business to be customer-centric for building buffers against competition.

Rashima Misra, founder of Milk Mantra, emphasised on creating a strong growth margin, adding the focus will soon shift from economic moats to non-economic moats. Sanjesh Thakur, partner-risk management, Deloitte India, underlined the importance of innovation in creating strong moats.