Companies today are rushing headlong to become more 'digital'. But what does 'digital' really mean? In the 70s it was a meant to be a source of information – a future of perfect knowledge, you can know anything you want, anytime, anywhere. Today, for C-suites 'digital' is about technology, for marketers it's about a new channel to engage with customers and for others 'digital' represents an entirely new way of doing business. These diverse perspectives reflect a lack of alignment and common vision about where the business needs to go. That is why companies very often are faced with piecemeal initiatives or misguided efforts, missed opportunities and an overall sluggish performance. As a matter of fact, 'digital' consists of 3 components that have to work in sync: 1.Creating value It is about creating value at the new frontiers of the business world. 'Digital' means digital products / services that use sensors, big data and analytics. E.g. IoT (Internet of things – physical products 'talking' directly to each other without human interference) – think of autonomous driving E.g. AI (artificial intelligence – makes it possible for machines to learn from experience and adjust new inputs) – think of Josie Pepper at the Munich airport. E.g. Logistics where you can improve efficiency of the supply chain E.g. eCommerce: marketplaces, aggregators, Apps etc. 2. Customer experience It's a cycle of core processes that execute a vision around customer experience. It means to understand customer behavior and customer decision journeys. In this part of 'digital' we can create accurate customer insights based on data and deliver personalized content and experiences. With consistent user journeys along various touch-points we then enhance the customer experience. 3. Capabilities It's about foundational capabilities that support the entire company structure. Technology and organizational processes have to be agile and fast. This is the hardest part: I have seen a couple of organizations that struggle with functional vs. cross-functional teams. Outsourced vs. in-sourced teams. Local vs abroad development teams. It is easy to exchange information and align processes within a company of 50 FTEs (e.g. start-ups in their early phase). But what about big organizations? Believe me, there is not the ONE solution. I am ready to share my experiences ;-) Gartner has recently released their popular report heralding the most important technology trends of 2018. Learn more about the trends that will transform the digital landscape over the next five years: Inspired by: McKinsey
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