Updated: May 21, 2020
It seems that every single conversation nowadays will include "digital transformation", "cloud", and "Industry 4.0". Despite the overwhelming focus on digital transformation, very few companies successfully achieve their objectives. While all companies are encouraged to undergo this change, it is not a magical one-size-fits-all solution that can work seamlessly from one firm to another: after all, an MNC with over 1,000 employees will have different needs from an SME with 30. Digital transformation needs to be a strategic and highly-customised process. Below you will find three common misconceptions about digital transformation.
"Digital Transformation means buying the newest technology can solve all business problems."
Buying the most recent software and hardware is the quickest implementation of "digital transformation"; however, a company that chooses to do this needs to understand that it is the business driving the digital technology improvements, not the other way around. Bain & Company recently released a report showing that only 8% of companies truly understand the purpose of the transformation:
"Rather than asking which technologies they should add to become more digital, the 8% ask how they can improve the business and how technology can enable that change."
-Vishy Padmanabhan, Steve Berez and Pascal Gautheron