Authored by: Sundar Rengamani, Vice President – Digital Solutions, Incedo
What You Need to Know about Digital Transformation at Enterprises
A tide of digital change has swept into every sector – it is almost dramatic. Every change comes with new flavours – faster time to market, new technology, connectivity etc. Digital transformation is a complex mix of these trends put together.
Digital transformation dominates CXO conversations today. What’s often overlooked is that digital transformation is about much more than survival or a disruption to de-risk businesses – it is an opportunity for tremendous growth. For instance, consider India’s current situation around demonetisation. Businesses – no matter how big or small, who had embraced digitisation early suddenly saw a surge in business. More than disrupting businesses it enabled many for an exponential growth. As you sow, so you reap. That is the only challenge any business must be cautious about. By nature the technology landscape and specific business, the use-cases are vast and varied. So it does take a good, in-depth understanding before one can venture and a lot of perseverance and agility to gain from the investments.
Enough room for all
The uniqueness and nature of digitisation is that it needn’t always lead to a ‘winner-takes-it-all’ result. Digitisation gives ample space to everyone for their share of success or failure. Those who resist change are at the risk being left behind as digital customers are more demanding, and they are likely to change products or services if they have a poor experience. The thing about any opportunity is that you must always be aware and prepared to grab it.
The second nature of digitisation is that it isn’t a pre-cast canned solution that enterprises need to look at. Any organisation which transforms to stay relevant in the industry is digital. As new technologies evolve, enterprises continuously adopt it and follow a ‘learn-implement-learn-tweak-implement’ model. Before you get disheartened by evaluating the way Facebook, Google, Amazon and Alibaba applied digitisation, it is important to understand that the landscape is still evolving. Rather, look internally and map your needs with the opportunities provided. It is hard to predict the technologies and trends which will transform our industry. The truth is – digitisation is a continuous journey and there is no end-point to innovation. Digitisation is a phenomenal change and will leave a profound impact on an enterprise as well as how they do their business in a long run.
How to get started
I often get asked, ‘Will it make a difference to my business,’ and ‘Where do I get started?’ I recommend every enterprise to start with two basic questions; is digitisation relevant to my business? And, how do I ride this wave of digitisation like a pro-surfer?
Every enterprise and department which has anything to do with customers’ needs digitisation since consumers are digitally savvy. The question isn’t who or if, but when an enterprise is going digital. The main aspect to consider is the relevance of your business to your consumer. Identify all your consumer touch-points and figure how to digitise it. That’s your path to innovation. Businesses which are ready to face this challenge and take control of the revolution are the ones that will lead.
Enterprises have gradually transformed in how they operate, as well as in their engagement with customers and within departments. We intuitively know how to consume digital content and this ease in technology is expected from products, services and at workplaces, changing the way we work. Traditionally workplace is where latest technology arrived before it got to the living room, but today, the trend has reversed. Employees are also digital consumers and are beginning to demand the best service out there, and this translates to better value for customers.
Riding the digital wave
There are no false promises here – no one said it is easy to go digital. Dealing with change means getting accustomed to new customer demands, new roles for employees, and incorporating new technologies to enable all that. However, this will help you in understanding the new eco system, giving you a competitive advantage.
Like someone once said, digital Darwinism doesn’t discriminate as every business is threatened. Innovation is essential to win over consumers. Today, being digital isn’t a choice – it is a question of staying relevant. If you must grow, you must digitally innovate your business.
