The Tower of Babel is a huge building that appears in the Genesis of the Bible, which is supposed to be built by men in time immemorial and is usually associated with the historic Etemenanki ziggurat of the ancient city of Babylon, with which men they wanted to reach the sky.
It seems that in 2018, we are getting to touch the sky with our hands, whenever organizations start to get more out of digital. It is the year that transformation becomes mainstream. Indeed, it is no longer a conceptual issue, used exclusively to sell a project -or a technological canning-, and of which there is no idea beyond the title. That one is much more than some isolated initiative carried out on social networks, or some flash of industrial automation, and even less about the mere digitization of "legal" systems. Nor is it enough to be one more item on the wish list, with the a priori security that it will be one of the first to be expelled as soon as the pending items are contrasted with reality -and the budget-.
It is that this field of intervention of strategy, management and operations, is migrating strongly this year, especially, at a time when large and medium-sized companies are preparing to take positions against the real -or potential- attacks of the Purely digital players, who arrive eager to get a substantial part of the business out of them: All because they come with another head, and want to profit before the gap closes. It is that implementing a responsible, thoughtful, consistent and well-articulated digital transformation strategy is key so that this opportunity stops being so as soon as possible. That is the desire of all entrepreneurs and traditional business managers, who want to remain relevant, at this time of exponential business.
EARLY RISES AT THE FOREFRONT
There are several groups that want to be ahead, there are those who like to adopt opportunities early or early adopters, those who like to be a little further, especially when it comes to technological innovations. There are also those that belong to a multinational company, and for this reason they receive a “line” from the headquarters, on those initiatives that could bring them juicy benefits. What to say about those smaller, regional or local organizations that find innovation a source of competitive advantages. Finally come those leaders who are inspired to transform their companies and are willing to take the organization on their shoulders to take it to another level.
The truth is that this year the digital transformation is reaching a key moment, it is no longer a hollow and ostentatious term to be part of the specific initiatives that organizations are carrying out with specific and realistic expectations, and for which they commit efforts that cross the entire organization.
THE DIFFERENT AREAS OF EXPERIENCE CLAIMING THE LEADERSHIP
Among those who first appear claiming the leadership of digital transformation, there are those who have already achieved some considerable progress in digital marketing, be it planning, creating and managing campaigns, deploying an initiative on social networks, or perhaps because they have successfully launched an e- commerce. The truth is that it should not be surprising that they claim their place of privilege, have achieved something significant and believe that they can extend it to other areas of the organization.
The digital entrepreneurs also claim the throne. Developers of one app - or several - have perhaps contributed to improving the customer experience, gained efficiency gains, or have developed a potentially innovative business model. Who could argue with leadership?
Also in the front row are all those who have collaborated in making their operations more agile, a key characteristic, in times of such turmoil, is to be able to do things quickly, whether it is the launch of a new product or a digital property.
There are no less those who have been working for a long time to focus on the customer or customer centricity, an idea that evolved from its origins in product quality, spread to marketing and is now permeating almost everything, especially production and operations.
Close to the above is the idea of applying the designer mentality to the development of products and services - design thinking -. A process that was previously in the hands of advertising creatives, but now promises to enrich companies' innovation teams.
You couldn't leave out those who help organizations make decisions based on facts rather than assumptions. It is about the supporters of the incorporation of multiple data sources into the decision-making process: data driven.
Coming to the bottom of this surely incomplete list are the men and women of technology traditionally associated with innovation and process automation, but who have recently lost prominence, perhaps because in the past they built walls so high that many innovators sometimes they were on the outside.
However, this list is closed by a group that was generally not associated with innovation, it is the area of talents. Taking organizations to another level requires a new type of leadership, which requires highlighting certain key competencies in the organization. There has been talk of the importance of talent for a long time, it is time to move from speech to action.
SOME KEY EXAMPLES OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Digital transformation is based on four pillars: strategy, talents, processes and technology. According to IDC, it estimates that 40% of technological investment in the coming years will be destined for digital transformation (almost a trillion US dollars).
The first case is Nike, a company committed to the integration of the physical product and the digital world for many years. The company recognizes that a deep understanding of the expectations of its consumers is essential for the development of its businesses. Nike expects to achieve $ 7 billion in digital revenue by 2020, in an effort to accelerate that growth, the brand has incorporated different platforms and invested in comprehensive digital capabilities to improve the experience of its customers. “Digital does more than just add current capabilities… It defines how consumers will experience the brand. It is an accelerator in our entire business, in products through the supply chain, in analytics and in sales. "
From the chaos, Disney has begun to implement a new model to support its digital organizational structure, after facing problems of scale, speed and stability of its operations. The four divisions of the media giant: studios, consumer and interactive products, parks and support, and media networks, all have their own - and autonomous - chief technology officer (CTO). Jason Cox, Disney's Director of Systems Engineering, realized that data silos posed a persistent problem for the company. As Disney grew rapidly, the company needed a way to collaborate and communicate with each division, both culturally and technically.
IT IS A SYSTEMIC APPROACH
Digital transformation is a construction that connects different aspects of the life of an organization, strategy, talents, processes and last but not least technology. And note that technology was arranged last because there is a strong temptation to want to handle technology as an end in itself, and in reality it is a facilitator of all of the above.
Digital transformation strategies require an integrated, cooperative, agile, data-driven vision, focused on the client, collaborating, measuring, learning and improving.
We must avoid silos and that the organization speaks a different language in each project. A new Tower of Babel cannot be made of this great business opportunity.
