In 2020, digital transformation is no longer the new kid in the block or something that can be put off to be considered in the next fiscal year. It demands a complete redesigning of an organization’s day-to-day activities and its interactions with its customers. Several boards of directors and senior management teams fall prey to the efficacy, innovation, and competitive reach that digital transformation has to offer. However, the path to transformation — like most major corporate initiatives — is a risky one. 

Jai Thomas is Vice President - IT & Operations, DailyHunt Jai Thomas

Most big public companies that have tried to completely refurbish their business model have gone under financial duress. Change is important but it is also fraught with uncertainty and looming danger of failure. 
Jai Thomas, 
VP – IT & Operations, DailyHunt 

The world began to change rapidly with the advent of the internet; and with the development of blockchain, big data, cloud storage, augmented reality and the all-encompassing Internet of Things, measuring customer satisfaction became the currency to outrank competitors in the digital medium.

Many of us confuse digital transformation for a new application or digital marketing strategy. Others regard it as technology-driven business process innovation. Digital transformation has come to mean all of these things and more. However, when a term becomes shorthand for so many different perspectives, it is stripped off much of its usefulness. If we are not on the same page about what digital transformation means to all of us then how do we ever build a meaningful strategy for future development. And how do we possibly align that strategy with our vision?

Ninety percent of companies believe they have a digital strategy in place, but only 14 percent have the technology and skills needed to deliver that strategy.” - Des Cahill, VP and Head CX Evangelist, Oracle

While there is no doubt digital experiences enhance the overall customer engagement and provide more gainful ways to service customers, it does not necessarily equate to profitable experiences. Digital transformation is a planned disruption to what might be a perfectly functioning system. The first step to digitally transforming your processes is making an honest assessment of whether your company can connect the dots between technology and customer-centricity. Because at its core, digital transformation is about innovating business strategies for better customer experience in a way that drives growth for the company and rakes in revenue. 

Technology is important of course, but digital transformation is really about your business and how your purpose, strategy, and growth will survive amid a sea change of expectations from customers, employees, and partners.” - Diana O’Brien, Global CMO, Deloitte

However, driving end-to-end transformation, that too with a customer-first approach is a challenge to be sure. This is perhaps why most successful legacy organizations are reluctant to fully dive into the digital disruption. Their caution is understandable. Think about it: Most big public companies that have tried to completely refurbish their business model have gone under financial duress. Change is important but it is also fraught with uncertainty and looming danger of failure. A recent study by EY, states, the biggest challenge to digital transformation is not legacy systems; but the legacy mindset. In a blog post, Forrester Principal Analyst, Thomas Husson, similarly reflects, “Culture is the most important factor, way more important than technology.” 

Jai Thomas is Vice President - IT & Operations, DailyHunt Jai Thomas

Digital transformation is a planned disruption to what might be a perfectly functioning system. The first step to digitally transforming your processes is making an honest assessment of whether your company can connect the dots between technology and customer-centricity.
Jai Thomas,
VP-IT & Operations, DailyHunt

Experts opine, “big, risky moves” are not typically incentivized for CEOs who are intolerant to risky ventures and fearful of the corporate “change culture”. It can be difficult for legacy organizations to reimagine themselves through the lens of market needs, customer experience, analytics, and technology because they have reached a place of consistently profitable revenue generation which could be upended in a night with the introduction of a thoughtless new system.