FINAL WORD
It’s a fairly simple matter to embrace
digital transformation for those
organisations that are ‘born digital’, as
many – if not most – of them are already
invested in some sort of digital strategy
and are able to quickly and seamlessly
move towards a fully digital model.
For those businesses that are steeped
in legacy, mired in draconian policies
and weighed down by old technology,
transformation can be a daunting
prospect. It’s important to change the
entire mindset of the business before
starting by placing the customer at the
centre and then to follow with bite-
sized chunks, digitalising those areas of
business that will add the most value to
the overall customer experience, and
then transitioning the rest as part of a
broader digital transformation strategy.
The type of business also determines
its propensity to embrace digital
transformation: a data driven company,
for example a bank, may more readily
leverage big data in the short term,
while a manufacturing organisation
could take longer to put in place the
systems to harness data and therefrom
pursue a data driven approach.
The nine key priorities to digital
transformation:
1
Start with the
customer
It cannot be said
often enough: this is the age of the
customer. Businesses who do not
answer the exacting needs of their
market will be pushed aside by those
who can. Businesses should begin with
identifying and embracing technologies
that help them to understand their
customer’s needs and then work with
that knowledge to tailor their products
and services to answer them. A superior
customer experience is fundamental
today. More than this, the customer
needs to form a key part of the value
and ensuring a business is able to
interact smoothly and consistently
with its customer throughout the value
creation process is key.
80
INTELLIGENTCIO
“Traditional approaches
to business and
technology are fast
becoming irrelevant and
organisations will need
to move into the era of
Industry 4.0 in order to
survive and grow.”
2
Look at data
and processes
Data is the new
currency and its
value lies in how it is used. There are
a host of data-gathering devices and
platforms available which offer insight
into so many aspects of a business,
from understanding one’s customer,
to learning where inefficiencies are
and how they can be rectified. Data, if
properly leveraged, can be used to drive
better decision making and identify
where digital transformation can add
the most value.
3
Be secure
In a data driven
digital world,
data security is a
major consideration. The volume of
data that is being created and being
exposed outside of an organisation’s
traditional security infrastructure
requires a new approach to ICT
security. Compliancy issues also loom
and businesses are faced with the need
to understand the legal implications
of protecting their customer data
and ensuring privacy. There has been
a lot of focus on and progress with
security services, as an example, by
2020 it is expected that 95% of cloud
security issues will not emanate from
the cloud provider but from within the
organisation itself.
4
Digital marketing
The reach and
impact of social
media on today’s
society has driven the growth of digital
marketing in line with the need to
meet the customer in a digital world
where they interact. It is imperative
that digital marketing forms part of
any business’s customer engagement
strategy, beyond just brand awareness
activities. They need to use social media
and digital marketing platforms as new
outlets for conducting business.
5
Think Smart
A key driver of
Industry 4.0 is the
wave of the Internet
of Things (IoT). From wearable devices,
connected cars, factories and other
smart devices, to connected sensors
that touch on everything from food to
manufactured products and even art.
There is a multitude of devices that are
constantly collecting data and painting
an ever-changing picture of the world.
Effective use of IoT coupled with big
data will enable future organisations with
the knowledge and agility to adapt to
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