Digital Transformation (DT) on Warp Speed

Prior to the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the question about who is leading the Digital Transformation (DT) in an organization has usually been a tussle between the CEO & CTO/CIO as ICT gurus argue for or against any of the C-level leaders.

However, current trend has indicated that there is another C-level personnel that is now leading the rapid DT evolution for most organizations across multiple sectors & industry & that C-Level personnel is COVID-19.

The pandemic has revealed so much about the exact positions some organizations are on the DT journey & I’ve watched the various levels of responses.

While some organizations (ICT, Education, Sports, Music/Entertainment, Food, Religious, Transportation, Non/For Profit) could easily switch & pivot into this new reality seamlessly (simply because they had invested in the required technologies, people & processes) other struggled & are still struggling.

WHAT IS DT?

While trying to look for a simple definition of DT, I stumbled on a graphic by a friend of mine from Ghana David Gowu (Executive Director at Institute of ICT Professionals, Ghana) & with his permission I’m adapting the definition & graphic.

Simply put, DT is the outcome of IT-enabled (ICT-enabled) change that is aligned with achieving business objectives & driven by a well-planned strategy.

Just last week, another friend/boss of mine Taopheek Babayeju (CEO, iCentra Consulting) also did a webinar on this topic & he defined DT as “the process of using digital technologies to create new — or modify existing — business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements”.

He further says, “Digital transformation begins and ends with how you think about, and engage with, customers”.

Finally, “Digital Transformation is about re-imagining your business in the Digital Age”.

WHY DT?

This question is now a no-brainer & has been answered by COVID-19. With the resultant effects of social (to me it more physical) distancing & the need for contactless solutions required for business continuity, organizations are not wasting time to be convinced about DT.

Prior to this an ICT expert/strategist will have to go through some or all the points below as they try to convince business leaders:

• Technological Evolution (New Growth Curve)
•  Competitive Landscape (Innovate or Die)
•  New Venture Creation
•  Improve Customer Experience
•  Increase Business Productivity & Efficiency
• Culture Change

Not anymore!! Any organization that doesn’t now see the need for DT should not be in business.

How to achieve DT?

Late last year I applied for & got interviewed for a role that required me to lead the DT of an organization. As part of the interview I had to do a presentation to the Execs on how to embark on the journey of DT. With the depth of my research & years of experience in ICT I had the confidence to deliver a very good presentation (based on feedback).

I didn’t get the job (story for another day), however my mantra “I don’t FAIL, sometimes I WIN & sometimes I LEARN” ensured that I learnt from that experience & that basically positioned me to be ahead of this curve.

The transformation journey must be customized to the organization in question, however below is a generic high-level building blocks I found very interesting made by ionology.

I know DT has become one of the latest technology lingo & in focus now, however there is a need to be clear about what DT is not. (Check out David’s graphic above)

For an organization, as you speed up your DT journey, please do it with the guidance of ICT strategists & experts (David & Taopheek come highly recommended).

For an employee, you need to be on that journey too & on a faster track than your organization. To be ready for DT, you need to develop Digital Skills that will make you relevant in the new norm.

In the short-term, the new norm is WFH (Work From Home) & some organizations have decided to continue WFH till end of 2020. You must plunge into it heads-on, it’s never too late to learn new things & adapt your working pattern.

I will talk about the future of work (#futureofwork) in another post, however do note that DT is on warp speed…

Articles/Blogs

Mr. David Gowu (Executive Director at Institute of ICT Professionals, Ghana)

https://iipgh.org/category/articles/

Mr. Taopheek Babayeju (CEO, iCentra Consulting)

https://icentra.com/index.php/blog/blog/ &  https://taopheek.com/index.php/thoughts/