Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 42 | Page 67

t cht lk ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN A CHANGED WORLD Veeam’s 2020 Data Protection Trends Report finds that almost half of global organisations are being hindered in their Digital Transformation journeys. Trent Odgers, Cloud Manager, South Africa, Veeam, tells Intelligent CIO more. Digital Transformation (DX) and the Fourth Industrial Revolution are phrases that have been in the public lexicon for years. Boardrooms across the continent have acknowledged the need to fine tune a long-term digital roadmap, but as a famous meme illustrated, the current pandemic has shattered any doubt that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is well and truly here. With the economic norm now turned on its head, businesses around the world – and Africa in particular – are scrambling to digitally transform. However, what does this mean? Vaguely, everyone knows that it is supposed to ‘make business better’ or more efficient. The truth is that the drivers behind DX have been heightened post-pandemic. Ultimately, revenue determines a business’s prospects but people have always been an organisation’s biggest asset, and faced with an invisible enemy in the form of a virus, the importance and safety of employees should be at the forefront of everyone’s agenda. The promise of streamlining an organisation, of finding efficiencies and unlocking real-world competitiveness, is compelling, especially when considering the challenge to remain relevant in the face of disruption on an unprecedented level. The Veeam 2020 Data Protection Trends Report, which surveyed more than 1,500 “ THERE ARE TWO TIERS OF IT DECISION- MAKERS IN AN ORGANISATION, AND THESE SPEAK TO TWO DIFFERENT, YET INTERLINKED CONSIDERATIONS. www.intelligentcio.com INTELLIGENTCIO 67