Chasing digital transformation? The right business model will put you on track
Digital transformation won’t stop, but your business model should come first
Everyone seems to be either thinking about it, talking about it or doing it. It may be digital but is it transformation, disruption or a combination of both? Does one lead to the other? Could it be better described as digital transformation disruption? Questions like this reflect just a little of the discussion going on about some very sweeping, but nonetheless some of the hottest topics of the last few years.
The results stats from Google search on 13th February 2017 for “digital transformation” delivered “about 9,790,000 results”. On the same day, a search for “digital disruption” showed “about 47,000,000 results”. Two weeks later, the same searched results had increased to “about 10, 100,000 results” and “about 47,700,000 results” respectively. As for other, similar manifestations, go on take a look. But don’t get too distracted, there’s important work to be done.
- The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Your Roadmap to Digital Transformation
Who should be making digital transformation happen?
A quick search online uncovers questions about where digital transformation should be coming from – grassroots level or from the top down? And if it’s coming from C-level, who should be spearheading the digital transformation charge – the CEO, CIO, CTO, CMO or a newer kid on the block the CDO (chief digital officer)? It’s just another thing to think about.
While many businesses are still very much grappling with words to define what this fourth industrial revolution is, we’re also being told that digital transformation is absolutely not an option. If companies stand still, digital Darwinism will be their nemesis. If they don’t disrupt, they’ll be disrupted. Even today’s biggest disruptors will face contenders one day.
And the winners are…
There are all those enviable stories about the bright, agile young things who’ve successfully gained a place ahead of the curve. They’ve used the digital-age tools smartly and displaced some of the business world’s long-standing titans. There are also examples of non-digital businesses that have thrived like never before, off the digital disruption made possible by websites such as TripAdvisor. Where once a backwater restaurant may have eked out a living providing good food and friendly service, it can be very quickly projected to a massive audience as a “great find” by a few favourable comments on TripAdvisor. Soon that eatery finds itself on a gastronomic bucket list of places to go out of your way to experience.
The world’s gone non-stop digital
One thing is for certain, amidst all the discussion, there will always be new technologies and new digital trends. So, digital transformation and the disruption that it enables, will never stop. We often talk about it as a journey – a journey intended to maintain or establish a company’s relevance and competitiveness. The way the world is working today, that means it’s a journey with no end. It’s ultimately a way of life.
In the beginning is the business model
However, it’s also a very individual journey, which brings us to the matter of business model innovation. R “Ray” Wang, founder of and principal analyst at Constellation Research said:
“When we look at digital transformation, people tend to think about technology, but it’s about
how you change your business models and how you change the way you engage with stakeholders.
Once you get the business model down right, then you can figure out what technologies you need to support. And when you bring those two together, that’s when you actually get to digital transformation.”
R “Ray” Wang, Digital Transformation, A conversation with R “Ray” Wang
People, we need people
Of course, it takes people to create and agree on business models. It’s Microsoft’s mission to provide the tools that will help businesses to empower employees, optimise operations and transform products – helping create the disruption that engages customers. Through Microsoft Dynamics 365 business apps in the cloud, businesses can work to the changing business models that keep them productive, intelligent and adaptable.
To consider your business model for the digital age, download 5 Critical Success Factors for Digital Transformation and our eBook Your Roadmap for a Digital-First Business.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution: Your Roadmap to Digital Transformation
