Digital transformation isn't just for Silicon Valley companies or young startups. It's a way of life for organizations expecting to survive in the next decade.
Companies, especially those with outdated legacy systems stuck on doing "business as usual," are rapidly hiring Chief Digital Officers and creating Centers of Innovation and Excellence to try and keep up.
Read also: 9 Digital Transformation Statistics in 2021 You Don't Want To Ignore
While leaders at these organization are well-aware we live in a data-driven world that requires digital dexterity and customer-first innovation, changing the status quo and an entire culture to prioritize long-term digital transformation is like trying to solve a Rubik's Cube on a rollercoaster.
It requires shifting strategy multiple times as you're pulled in all kinds of directions. This means organizations will need to adopt new KPIs and redesign core processes to become more transparent and collaborative. For those who succeed, the rewards are high.
“Less than 1% of data in businesses is analyzed and turned into benefits.” — SAP
“In Today’s era of volatility, there is no other way but to re-invent. the only sustainable advantage you can have over others is agility, that’s it. Because nothing else is sustainable, everything else you create, somebody else will replicate.” — JEFF BEZOS, AMAZON FOUNDER
“At least 40% of all businesses will die in the next 10 years… If they don’t figure out how to change their entire company to accommodate new technologies.” — JOHN CHAMBERS, EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, CISCO SYSTEM
“The last ten years of IT have been about changing the way people work. The next ten years of IT will be about transforming your business.” — AARON LEVIE, CEO OF BOX
“It’s no longer the big beating the small, but the fast beating the slow.” — ERIC PEARSON, CIO, INTERNATIONAL HOTEL GROUP (IHG)
“90% of CEOs believe the digital economy will impact their industry, but less than 15% are executing on a digital strategy.” — MIT SLOAN AND CAPGEMINI
“You can’t delegate digital transformation for your company… You and your executives have to own it! Executives need to engage, embrace and adopt new ways of working with the latest and emerging technologies.” — BARRY ROSS, CEO AND CO-FOUNDER, ROSS & ROSS INTERNATIONAL
“We’re only at the very, very beginning of this next generation of computing and I think that every industry leader will be the ones that transforms first. I don’t care what industry you’re talking about.” — KIM STEVENSON, CIO, INTEL
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” — CHARLES DARWIN
“IT leaders, CIOs specifically, need to stop being so passive. I view the role of IT, the role of the CIO as being frankly one of the most important, if not the most important role at the leadership table today. Because company CIOs that can’t understand how to use technology to change their business models are going to find themselves somewhat out of jobs.” — JEFF IMMELT, CEO, GE
“Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.” — JOHN F. KENNEDY
About the Author
Nicole is Director of Marketing at Kintone, with 10+ years experience in content strategy, campaign management, lead acquisition and building positive work cultures of empowered, purpose-driven team members. She spent seven years as a journalist, previously serving as a CBS San Francisco digital producer, NPR contributor, Patagon Journal deputy editor and reporter for several publications, including the Chicago Tribune. She's passionate about the tech for good space, social entrepreneurship and women leadership. On the weekends, you’ll likely find her putting her Master Gardener skills to use in at community gardens in Oakland.
