TARUN BALI, AVT & Head-IT - Quest Retail

Digital transformation (DT) is not a conversion of technology but it requires complete makeover from traditional way of working towards customer centric agile approach of doing business, increase speed to market, Anytime Anyware simplified access to the organizations resources and applications. This has to be built on three important pillars -Platforms, People and Processes with strong responsive foundation of cloud, Apps & Integrators. Technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things,  Blockchain, AR/VR will continue to revolutionize business models of established and start-up industries in the digital space. 

BELOW ARE THE SOME KEY DIFFERENTIATORS TO MAKE DT A SUCCESS STORY -

BUSINESS STRATEGY IS NOT A DIGITAL STRATEGY: DT drives changes in three capacities: Customer experience & interactions, Improved and responsive business operations and creating new business models. But it cannot be merely drive by system tools and there is no single technology that will deliver “speed” or “innovation” or “optimization” to entire business verticals. Technology should be blended with business strategy and can vary from one vision to another.

PEOPLE & THEIR SKILLS STILL MATTERS: Organizations should have right mix of external partners and internal resources while seeking to build the ecosystem. Every organisation has unique way of working and one size fit for all concept cannot be implemented  by the external resources who does not know the nitty gritty of organization from inside. Until insiders takes the lead it cannot be a success story by the external partners who generally followed standard best practices.

CUSTOMER CENTRICITY IS THE ONLY REASON FOR THE BUSINESS: After all we are all here for the customer not customer is for the business. The products, solutions and the services should be developed outside in not inside out. The system and process should be agile to the change and remain in sync with customer’s feedbacks, surveys and escalations. 

FEAR FACTOR:  When employees perceive that DT & Automation could threaten their jobs, they may consciously or unconsciously resist the changes. It is critical for top management &leaders to recognize those fears and to emphasize that the new process and technology is actually an opportunity for them to upgrade their expertise to suit the new business models. They should be trained time to time with new skill sets and technologies.

AGILITY, FLEXIBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY:  The success story of start-up sis for their agile decision making, rapid market research and development and flat working philosophy. The scope of DT is fundamentally always remain undefined and will keep on changing. The change what we initially thought might change again and should be adjusted and tweaked as per the market scenarios. So we should always keep in mind that everything that has been built is being developed provisionally and has to or should be realigned quickly as per new trends.

SUCCESS IS A CONSCIOUS CHAIN OF DECISIONS BY THE PEOPLE:  Digital transformation successfully worked for the organizations if their leaders and people stay back to their original business fundamentals while focusing on the current trends and new practicing with changing mindset and quick decision making. It’s only the people and their will which will drive the technology, not the other way around.