Every organization in the world is on a journey to become a digital company. The way we work, plan and live is undergoing a fundamental transformation. However, it appears that we are striving to run for the chase that we don’t even understand completely.

Has digital transformation become the next buzz word for corporates for putting in fancy presentations or is it a rather under-capitalized business catalyst that we have not been able to adapt? Read on to uncover the different layers of digital transformation as we unravel the key to successful digital disruption for digital-first mobile-first companies of 2018.

It is essentially the big wave of intersection for human and artificial intelligence that is bringing in the most exciting times for the businesses today. Over time, we started reimagining how we bring together people, data and processes to create value for our customers and maintain a competitive advantage in a digital-first world.

This is the age of an abundance of data and information. Without a common digital platform, it can become extremely difficult to manage information coming from various sources. On this point, we know that useful information can only be gleaned by the study of inter-relationships in large datasets that appear to be chaotic or unintelligible. This ‘gleaning’ is called analysis. By analysing and capitalising on historical data, organisational strength now lies in connecting the dots between multiple layers of the technology stack - business applications, web services, cloud infrastructures and endpoint computing. With technology, every organization is striving to achieve four underlying objectives for their business- Engaging customers, empowering employees, optimize operations, and transform products and services; each being a powerful contributor to the overall success of business.

Firstly, when it comes to engaging customers, it is extremely critical to use emerging technology to create a lasting impression on customers. To stand out, organisations need to understand customers as individuals and find new ways of interacting with them. As per a recent customer survey, by 2020, customer experience will overtake price and product as the key brand differentiator. Millennials are drawn towards genuine, progressive campaigns that are increasingly technology driven. Augmented reality, mixed reality are a few initial technology trends that brands are capitalizing upon. Personalization is another key differentiator that has emerged as trend for customer engagement. The confluence of cloud, mobility and data is changing the way companies do business with their customers. This is resulting in new demands that make it necessary for every business to transform to a digital and data-driven business. All in all, it depends on our capabilities to analyse and use the mountains of data that we have to identify and personalize customer experience.

Secondly, employees are any business’s internal and first customers. They are the potential brand advocates that make a huge impact on the overall brand reputation. Businesses are increasingly using enterprise technologies like Microsoft 365, cloud platforms, apps and interfaces.

The new data culture involves data agility, data governance for collaboration and an analytical workforce which enables and empowers people within the organization to have the ability to ask the right questions, analyse data and drive actionable insights. The organization efficiency that a business achieves by deploying technology to make real time decisions, bring about operational efficiency, improve processes and build a better business continuity is of utmost criticality for any business today.

As indicated by a recent study, 87% of business leaders in Asia feel that the data culture should be driven top down, and there should be a formalized role in the leadership team to drive a successful adoption of their data strategy.

Thirdly, when we look at operational optimization, there lies a huge potential to bring the costs down and productivity high with technology. As with any new technological term, the brilliance of technology is such that it is now easier than ever to migrate towards an integrated yet decentralised computing platform. The fast pace of innovation had made many wary of change. It might seem daunting - to adopt and deploy the latest technologies. But these days, there is an integration of previous versions of technology, stitched together under the broad term of cloud computing and Digital Transformation. Developments in cloud technologies, machine learning and artificial intelligence hold opportunities for a broad range of sectors to optimise their logistics and operational requirements, from farming to fashion, from energy to healthcare. We only must remember what happens when incumbents resist change. When Henry Ford released his Model T car, it was dismissed as a fad because horses are here to stay.

Last but not the least, continuously transforming our products and services as we progress with technology is the key to evolution. By digitizing your products and becoming a more adaptive business model, you are also going to need to embrace the systems of iteration and growth that are vital to the survival of traditionally tech-centric businesses. In today’s world, you’re either trying to disrupt yourselves to be competitive, or your competitors are disrupting you. So you’re always in this constant state of change. In order to understand what our customers need, we need to upgrade our efficiency to disrupt the way we analyse data and thereby embark on a journey to continually transform our offering.

As any organization will continue to unravel these layers of digitization, it will begin to realize the immensely unharnessed potential that it brings to every sphere of its operations. One thing to always remember is that change is the only constant and if it brings about evolution, then innovation is only a result of natural progression.