If it seems like technological changes are happening faster and faster, it’s because they are! The rate of technological evolution is speeding up. One way to assess this is by the number of patents for new technologies filed. AI tools like ChatGPT are the perfect example of how a technology can accelerate: As more people use these technologies, the AI improves and the tool becomes more effective — at an exponential rate.
Businesses that want to remain competitive need to keep up with the pace of change or risk being left behind. Look at companies like Kodak or Blackberry as cautionary tales: Once at the top of their respective industries, these are organizations that failed to keep up and fell behind.
Digital technologies have revamped the consumer retail experience with things like e-coupons and digital loyalty cards. Retailers have likewise benefited from innovations like automated inventory management software. The rise of e-commerce exemplifies digital transformation shaking up an entire industry.
Digital transformation is an organization-wide strategy aimed at leveraging digital technologies to modernize key business processes and to introduce new services that better engage customers, support employees, improve operations, and drive business value to the bottom line.
When done correctly, digital transformation becomes embedded in the enterprise strategy, with the organization’s CEO, executive team, and entire workforce embracing digital transformation as a continual reinvention essential to the organization’s success.
The health care field has been impacted by digital technologies. Big data supports drug development, for example, while robotics can expand treatment options and cloud technologies can simplify patient data storage.
The rise of telemedicine is one example of how health care has evolved thanks to tech. COVID-19 helped spur the trend. Mental health services, in particular, have benefitted from the availability of telehealth, with novel platforms like Better Help connecting patients with licensed therapists.
The manufacturing and supply chain sector can benefit from many types of digital transformation projects, from robotics to automation, cloud computing, and more. For example, supply chain management can be simplified through end-to-end customer engagement tools.
Take a company like Amazon, for instance. When you order a product, you get an email notification (sent automatically). You’re also notified when your package is out for delivery and when it’s been dropped off. You’re even given delivery time windows, which are based on the Amazon driver’s GPS-tracked location.
The COVID-19 pandemic likewise sped up the adoption of digital technologies in the education sector. Jokes about “Zoom University” aside, tech has improved many education and e-learning systems by allowing customizable and adaptive teaching processes.
Immersive technologies like AR/VR can also improve education and training. Already, companies are using AR tools to cut costs on training. This is especially useful in high-risk industries. For example, think of how airline pilots train on a flight simulator.
Businesses ranging from young start-ups to established corporations – can all benefit immensely from digital transformation, through greater efficiency, better decision-making and higher profitability. However, this requires more than just integrating the latest technology tools; a holistic digital strategy is pivotal.
Through these programs, participants gain deep insights into redefining their business models, reshaping their marketing strategies, and creating value. In addition, the focus on leveraging business analytics helps foster a culture of data-driven decision making. In essence, the competencies developed through our offerings prepare executives to succeed in a globally connected environment.
Because digital transformation involves integrating digital technologies into all aspects of business operations to improve products and services, streamline processes, and introduce new revenue streams, digital transformation has become the No. 1 strategy for organizations seeking to reinvent their operations and business models for the modern business era.
Many organizations fall short on their digital transformation objectives because they lack clear vision, shortchange cultural transformation, or fail to make the necessary long-term commitment, among other factors. Organizations and IT leaders in particular, must recognize that digital transformation requires a continual, organization-wide effort in order to succeed.
India’s digital transformation has become a cornerstone for fostering economic growth, social inclusivity, and environmental sustainability. Defined as the process of leveraging technology to innovate, streamline, or completely overhaul business operations. For India, this transformation is not just an option but a strategic imperative, positioning the country as a leader in the global digital economy.
India now boasts over a billion mobile subscribers and the world’s second-largest internet user base, driving technology integration into governance, business, and daily life. The country’s digital transformation is continuously evolving, fueled by both government programs and a tech-savvy population.
Digital transformation isn’t just investing in and adopting a new technology. It’s about evaluating how a technology modality can be integrated into existing technologies and processes to find new sources of value.
Digital transformation became a key strategic initiative in the mid-2010s, as mobile, cloud, analytics, and other advanced information technologies took off, enabling businesses and consumers to easily engage via digital channels. And it accelerated in 2020, as work, commerce, and everyday activities shifted online in response to COVID-19 lockdowns.
Today, advancements in artificial intelligence and generative AI are fueling the next surge in transformation, with the majority of chief executives seeing AI as monumental for their organizations’ futures. A survey released in 2024 by research firm Gartner found that 58% of CEOs believed that AI “will have the most significant impact on their industries in the next three years.”
Rapidly maturing immersive technologies, the still-developing field of quantum computing as well as other advancing technologies will supercharge the pace and scale of transformation even further, according to executives, consultants, researchers, and analysts.
Recognizing they must continuously transform — as technologies give them opportunities and as changing market conditions require them to do — leading CEOs and their boards have incorporated transformation into how their business operates, thus, these digital leaders no longer think about transformation as a big project to do but rather as part of their everyday work.
With that emphasis on continual reinvention, leading-edge organizations are constantly building new skills within their workforce through training existing employees and acquiring new ones who can bring to teams the newest talent capabilities.
(The author can be mailed at [email protected]. X (Twitter): @haniefmha)
