Digital Transformation has undergone massive acceleration over the past year. In the Microsoft quarterly earnings report, CEO Satya Nadella famously said that the company had seen two years’ worth of Digital Transformation in two months. It’s a view shared by McKinsey who, in their quarterly report referred to the impact of the pandemic on Digital Transformation as ‘The quickening’ and suggesting, with no humour whatsoever that perhaps the whiplash felt by the business was the ‘10 years forward we just jumped in 90 days.’ As Nicholas Bell, Group CEO, Decision Inc, explained, there has been a shift in how technology is shaping and transforming business and now is the time to determine how to shape and create progress.
“We’re emerging from an environment that has been defined by complexity and uncertainty,” he added. “Today, progress is more than just attempting to get back to how things used to be. The changes that have taken place around the world have been quite fundamental. With so much change, the challenge is working out how to create momentum. We need to ensure that our businesses are fit and healthy for the future and to use the idea of progress, not for its own sake, but to ensure the business is capable of handling what lies ahead in a new and different world.”
A significant catalyst of this change has been the acceleration of digital across all industries. To fully realise the potential of digital, the business needs to look beyond a stop gap technology intervention in a crisis and understand how digital can drive business transformation. This is where trusted partners and collaboration are key. Organisations should work with partners who understand the potential opportunity of digital for their organisation and industry and know how to support them in driving this change across their business.
“Companies are eager to embrace a new digital operating model, however, they’ve found the transformation challenging as so much of the space in front of them is unknown. Redesigning the businesses architecture and decision-making model is complex and the speed with which these decisions need to be made is often different to how the company is used to operating.” said Bell.
The most important step is to create momentum and start the journey, one step at a time. Organisations that have remained the fittest over this period and created opportunity, have focused their model of transformation on progress. They have moved to a continuous improvement, continuous innovation and agile mindset.
“Decision Inc has worked with clients as their digital strategy and execution partner. Our industry focused delivery and Global Knowledge Platform have become key tools in our progress model. We have helped them create progress, not only by delivering the technology platforms, but by helping them design and conceive the strategic roadmap and transformation agenda,” said Bell.
Digital partners need to be more than just technology delivery service providers. They need to bring deep industry and functional insights, embedded in the technology platforms of the industry, to help clients make an impact.
