Digital is changing the world. We are experiencing yet another technology paradigm transition – after the emergence of the first and second IT platforms – supported by social networks, mobile technologies, Big Data solutions and business analytics, and cloud computing services use. Business-as-usual is no longer an option, and if the nature of business does not change, the potential consequences may be devastating.

1. The digital path
Digital is changing the world. We are experiencing yet another
technology paradigm transition – after the emergence of the first and second
IT platforms – supported by social networks, mobile technologies, Big Data
solutions and business analytics, and cloud computing services use.
Business-as-usual is no longer an option, and if the nature of business does
not change, the potential consequences may be devastating. It is easy,
however, to lose sight of trends and understand their long-term impact, as the
direction of these trends is not always clear. Today, for example, technology
is producing remarkable advances, wherever the web has changed the rules
of business, and the best practices of the industrial economy are now
challenged by the digital age, impacting the business structure[1]. Firm ground
has become swampy for many organisations, and the inability to adapt may
dictate their demise. How many cases are there of businesses that closed their
doors because of the growth of new digital models? Businesses like
Blockbuster were overrun by other offers, such as Netflix. Or take Kodak, for
example, that, despite having invented the first digital machine ever in 1975,
chose not to embrace the transformation of their business and was eventually
overtaken by many other companies that evolved in that direction.
Digital transformation, mostly driven by a change in consumer
behaviour, has become an inevitability and the competitiveness of
organisations depends on how successfully they cope with this process.
Although the terminologies used differ, there is a consensus that the
digital transformation of organisations must develop in some key dimensions.
The use of information must play a fundamental role in the way organisations
build their decision-making processes and even as a way to optimise products
and processes. Digital technologies can provide critical support for
streamlining the processes of organisations and bring greater agility and
efficiency to their business operations, but only organisations led by managers
who can engage employees, customers and partners in the challenging
deployment of this transformation will thrive. According to the MIT Sloan

2. Management Review[2], the new generations do want to work for digital
leaders and will be in constant search for the best digital opportunities, also
helping organisations to adapt so they can retain and attract talent.
In order to stay ahead of the digital revolution, organisations must also
adopt agile models to respond to the needs of their ecosystem, for example
through an all-American approach, providing experiences to clients that are
seductive and relevant regardless of the channel through which their
customers choose to interact. This results in the need to build support for a
sound strategy and processes beyond just technology[3] to ensure the
standardisation and empowerment of customer experience. This is much more
than just developing a mobile application or an attractive website.
This digital transformation requires a fundamental change in the
operations and mindset of an organisation, affecting everything from the way
processes are executed to the new advanced capabilities of data collection
and analysis. This change fosters the creation of knowledge around the
ecosystem of organisations. Digital transformation continues to grow, and
organisations realise that this is crucial to the success of their business. We
can then see the digital transformation as an ongoing process whereby
organisations adapt or adopt disruptive changes to their customers and
markets, benefiting from digital competencies to innovate in their business
models and in products and services that combine physical and digital
experiences, while simultaneously improving operational efficiency and
organisational performance.
In a simple way, digital has changed consumer behaviour, which in turn
has changed business. In this way, we need to adapt our strategies, visions
and business models and incorporate technologies that can accelerate the
adaptation to this new reality.
In a sense, digital transformation can be as growing a bonsai, because
it is a process of continuous improvement and it demands constant stimulation
and sound subject matter knowledge. Does my organisation need digital
transformation? The answer is always “yes." The digital revolution has affected
virtually every industry or organisation, and it will continue to do so.

3. The question must be whether we are doing the right digital
transformation and need more digital transformation, and, in that regard, the
answer will depend on the level of maturity that the organisation in question
has already reached.
For questions such as “Will my organisation, my processes and
collaborators be able to embrace digital transformation and change
fundamental aspects of the business?” if the answer is no, it is urgent to start
grounding the change. If the answer is yes, then what are you waiting for?
[1] http://web.uncg.edu/bae/lsiyer/ec_common/articles/strategy_and_internet
_porter.pdf
[2] http://sloanreview.mit.edu/projects/strategy-drives-digital-transformation/
[3] https://dupress.deloitte.com/content/dam/dup-us-en/articles/digital-
transformation-strategy-digitally-mature/15-MIT-DD-Strategy_small.pdf
Abel Camelo
Infosistema Manager
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