Digitization: A case study in transformation
Digitization: A case study in transformation
The RAND Corporation highlights that digital transformation in military logistics alone has increased operational readiness by over 25 %( RAND Corporation, 2019).
Digitization exemplifies transformational thinking. Prior to digital technologies, businesses struggled with manual record-keeping, drowning in physical documents and inefficiencies. Similarly, the U. S. military once faced immense challenges with command-and-control systems reliant on cumbersome paper maps and manual communications. The adoption of digital command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance( C4ISR) systems revolutionized operational efficiency, enabling real-time data-sharing and rapid decision-making on the battlefield. This transformation from analog to digital radically reshaped military strategies, improving agility and effectiveness. We can trace today’ s capabilities in data analytics and artificial intelligence directly back to foundational digital transformations like these, which turned warehouses of paper into rivers of actionable data, fueling unprecedented innovation and productivity.
Just as the military’ s shift to C4ISR systems transformed its operational tempo, business leaders today must look beyond surface-level digitization. Rather than simply moving paper records to the cloud, digitization might include adopting transformational thinking that anticipates and adapts to entirely new operating models. For example, consider how a company like Amazon didn’ t just digitize the retail experience, but reimagined it through a logistics-first lens, building infrastructure and systems that turned data into a dynamic, real-time engine for demand prediction, inventory flow, and customer engagement. The competitive edge wasn’ t in adopting digital tools— it was in foreseeing how those tools would redefine scale, speed and service. Similarly, technology leaders now face the imperative to not just observe trends in AI or hybrid IT, but to design for the new organizational“ forms” those capabilities make possible.
The Kyndryl Institute Journal 19