Many of us have seen the words “digital transformation” so many times they have nearly become invisible. I believe that’s not just because it’s been one of the most discussed business topics in recent years, but because there is so much packed into that single phrase. It can be complex, pulling together a widening array of increasingly sophisticated, integrated technologies. And it encompasses myriad approaches: there are as many ways to digitally transform as there are organizations.
I doubt there is a leader of an organization or owner of a line of business who isn’t committing some part of each day to deciphering the ROI of that journey—and the potential cost of not striking out on a path to digital innovation. The customers I speak with are seeking a clear direction for seizing competitive advantage while ensuring critical business processes run smoothly. First, do no harm.
Market influencers and analysts from around the world came together to offer their advice and perspectives on the digital opportunities that are here now and on the horizon. These are guides into uncharted worlds, and they offered their views in a great e-book. Claudia Imhoff, founder of Boulder BI Brain Trust, provided an excellent lay of the land: “We are in a period of breath-taking innovation in the technologies that support next-generation analytics and decision making. With access to an entire world of knowledge, enterprises finally have the ability to quickly sense and respond to any situation—as it is unfolding—securely and confidently.”
To seize those opportunities takes a measure of courage. Michael Krigsman, host of CXOTALK, explained: “From machine learning to IOT; from Blockchain to robo-investing tools, data is the currency of digital transformation. Digital transformation means collaborating across boundaries. The challenge of breaking down silos and information barriers demands we build fundamentally new relationships, with incentives to share rather than withhold information.”
Meeting that challenge to break down silos is not always an easy mission, as those silos often contain not just data but comfortable processes. But it can open up a world of possibilities. As Eric Kavanagh, strategic consultant to the United Nations, explained: “The cloud provides a marshalling area of both data and services. When the architecture uses in-memory technology, clients can benefit from the latest innovations in real time, thus expediting time to value and reducing friction that hampers customer satisfaction. And because the cloud is global, it enables innovation across corporate and cultural boundaries. That’s when the real magic happens—when professionals from all walks of life can collaborate in real time, share their vision, hammer out the details, and launch new offerings in a fraction of the time it took two years ago.”
Breaking down barriers, paving the way to much greater efficiency, is the lynchpin of digital transformation and it will only continue to disrupt business as usual. Blockchain, for instance, is poised to “deliver us a new type of internet,” said Ian Moyse, UK sales director at Natterbox. “It is an ingenious invention for sharing anything of core value. It makes the nature of digital transactions more secure and will disrupt many industry economies and the status quo of how they work and who leads. Blockchain empowers the removal of fees and risks posed by middle people and will impact a wide range of sectors from the obvious fintech through to stock trading, crowdfunding, supply-chain auditing and consumer areas such as e-books. Increasingly, we will see a closer, if not direct, connection between core supplier and end consumer.”
Disruption is the new normal. It has been for a while and it will only increase. The question now is not if to embrace disruption, but how. The good news is that as we evolve the meaning of digital transformation, the path becomes clearer for those seeking much greater agility and unbound collaboration while keeping core business functions sound.