Digital Transformation – from an excessively overused buzzword over the last 7-8 years to a stark reality in just over 2 months

In the lexicon of overused or rather abused buzzwords, “digital transformation” ranks right up there with the likes of “Out-of-the-box solution”, “big data” and “disruption”. These are some of the buzzwords that most of us have been hearing excessively from one meeting to the other.

Maybe the business and marketing consultancies who use it as a term for modernization are to blame or it could be the fault of countless speakers that inject these buzzwords into their keynotes with reckless abandon. Maybe the marketing agencies who keep using these terms repetitively to market their services are the culprits. It really doesn’t matter who is to be blamed but the point I am going to make here is:

Regardless of the overuse of the term “digital transformation” the concept represents a powerful movement in the business world, one that cannot be ignored anymore no matter how much eye-rolling you do upon hearing the phrase.

Right from the time the countries started implementing lockdown measures suddenly, a meme has been doing the rounds on social media platforms. That meme landed in my social media feeds a couple of times as well. It depicted a survey question:

It’s a fact. As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country and around the globe, the ripple effects caused by the virus have been far-reaching. The pandemic is bringing economies to a standstill and stretching healthcare systems far beyond their limits.

Most of us have felt a strong sense of disruption in our work and daily lives. The world is collectively trying to understand what’s in store next. The fact is that due to the disruption caused by Covid-19 we have already experienced more digital transformation in the last couple of months than we have seen in the last 7-8 years or so and is being led by healthcare, e-commerce, communications, telecom BFSI sectors etc.

The COVID-19 crisis is rapidly reshaping the "what" and "how" of digital transformation for businesses - for the better.

If one thought that the pace of the pre-coronavirus world was already fast, the luxury of time now seems to have disappeared completely. Businesses that once mapped digital transformation strategy in two- to three-year phases have been forced to scale their initiatives in a matter of weeks. Though digital transformation has been on the agenda of quite a few organisations even in the pre-Covid world but bringing about a digital transformation is about a culture change which is often met with resistance given the human psychology. The organizations that have succeeded in making digital transformation efforts a reality have done more than invest in technology and digital solutions. They have transformed their culture. As Gartner has observed, the biggest threat to innovation is internal politics. Common pitfalls include lack of tolerance for failure, inability to accept new ideas, and the failure to change. Also, because many of the people leading these businesses are pigeonholed in the old way of doing business.

And that’s where the severity of Covid-19 is proving to be a positive side effect in pushing these organisations to embrace it wholeheartedly keeping aside all the internal politics. What’s more, the phased integration of digital solutions, so popular in the past, has been pushed out by the need for rapid change. 

Leaders across businesses are clearly recognising that digital transformation is synonymous with business transformation and is not to be perceived as an IT initiative. It is in effect, when companies make use of powerful technology to transform their business and is used to improve processes and productivity, deliver better customer and employee experiences and control costs.

The focus for business leaders must be on using technology to do things in a new, improved way, and fully embracing digital transformation which will be fundamental in realigning their business in the post-COVID-19 era. While digital transformation strategies will vary from vertical to vertical but there are some digital solutions/processes/emerging technologies that will see a rapid adoption to cut through this crisis:

Data - As businesses begin to start coming back to life in the new normal, developing and embracing a data mindset and appreciating its strategic value will differentiate the leaders from the laggards. By leveraging data right, businesses can be more proactive and anticipate future actions and customer expectations, deliver more relevant products, ensure personalized services, optimize processes. 

Automation - Businesses will need to automate their operations as much as possible. The rise of automation isn’t new – in many manufacturing units, industrial robots now make up nearly 1 percent of the factory “workforce,” and robotic process automation is already a several billion dollar market. But automation – in its many forms – has moved from the innovation agenda to the resilience agenda because of new pressures on both the cost of human workers and the need to have fewer humans in many workspaces.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - The features of AI applications such as predictive analytics, speech recognition, image recognition, and chatbots are not only helping healthcare workers diagnose but also trace the spread of the pandemic and monitor vaccine development. Besides supporting healthcare workers, AI today is also helping to sustain critical infrastructure such as medical equipment manufacturers, oil & gas, and transportation. Companies that leverage AI technology can apply predictive analytics to map the real-time and historic data transmitted by IoT sensors on their equipment. This enables them to identify the slightest deviations in time and prevent failures before they occur, while also understanding and eliminating the root cause of problems.

AR/VR Technologies - Technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) can drive remote collaboration and build resilience. From providing an effective alternative to workforce training needs to enabling maintenance and repair, product service, field audit, inspection, and sales and marketing functions, AR/VR can enable real-time information sharing across organizations. This is especially relevant for aerospace, energy, and manufacturing sectors.

There will undoubtedly be many lessons that emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic but the world of work has changed. Digital transformation is no longer a vague buzz word to be bandied around the boardroom. It is happening in every business, large and small, across the globe. As we move beyond the initial shock of Covid-19, the ‘new normal’ will involve more agile working models, a greater organisational affinity for automation and a better work/life balance for their employees…all enabled by technology.