“What is Digital Transformation?”

Let’s just say it like it is: There is no clear and crisp definition for “digital transformation,” because current developments are too complex and far-reaching for that. What we can be sure of is that the year 2020 will see an inflection point in digital transformation.

The technology part

In combination, 5G and Wi-Fi 6 will turbocharge home and office connectivity, and that’s why blockchain, robotic process automation (RPA), conversational AI and always-connected PCs (ACPCs) will enter – or transform – the mainstream.

To understand what fundamentally changes with the new technology, we recommend the following abstract:

So, some core technologies will bear long-awaited fruit, and major tech-adjacent trends will gather steam and likely increase their influence. How do you deal with this new situation in a business context?

The cultural (and much more important) part

If you are looking for a one-size-fits-all recommendation on how to act, we have to disappoint you a second time: There is no such thing. When dealing with transformation, it’s all about avoiding wrong decisions based on wrong questions in the first place.

Too many companies mistakenly view digital disruption as a technology threat, so they undertake digital transformation by focusing primarily on the need to upgrade their systems. That is a costly error – one that could even be fatal if taken to the extreme. Above all else, digital transformation is about people: the right people inspired by the right culture prepared to adapt to a very new landscape. Driving that culture is a leader’s most important responsibility today.

Paul Michaelman on How to Survive Digital Disruption

One of the most valuable abstracts on how to do that is the following. Over the course of four years, its authors Gerald C. Kane, Anh Nguyen Phillips, Jonathan R. Copulsky and Garth R. Andrus surveyed more than 16,000 businesspeople worldwide about the impact of digital disruption on their organizations. The researchers’ insights can help guide any company to “digital maturation.”

A brief overview of how to drive a more aware culture of change can be found in this research-based article from the MIT Sloan Management Review: 

The (least important) blowhard part

Well, if you’re just here to impress your colleagues by how much you already know about tomorrow’s world (think Marty McFly, you’re welcome), take a look here:

---