The answer is, most likely, no. Technology far outpaces the speed at which companies can respond, leaving a constant state of catch up and contributing to the vast ecosystem of technical debt.
The push for digital transformation urges organizations to upgrade and overhaul technology stacks toward service-based models and away from physical technology stacks.
Moving too fast carries its risks. Rapid transitions threaten to leave employees behind, creating tension throughout the business. Or worse, security shortcomings emerge from poor software quality.
But digital transformation goes beyond technology—if companies want to engage in a new era of technology, they must rethink how work is done too.
Old processes applied to new systems do little. Instead, CIOs and other business technology leaders are called to adopt more nimble operations. That means less prescribed, and bureaucratic, processes.
In fact, the drumbeat of “people, process, technology” highlights the most important aspect of digital transformation: the people.
Overall, the inexorable shift from simple digitization (the Third Industrial Revolution) to innovation based on combinations of technologies (the Fourth Industrial Revolution) is forcing companies to reexamine the way they do business. The bottom line, however, is the same: business leaders and senior executives need to understand their changing environment, challenge the assumptions of their operating teams, and relentlessly and continuously innovate.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution will change not only what we do but also who we are. It will affect our identity and all the issues associated with it: our sense of privacy, our notions of ownership, our consumption patterns, the time we devote to work and leisure, and how we develop our careers, cultivate our skills, meet people, and nurture relationships. It is already changing our health and leading to a “quantified” self, and sooner than we think it may lead to human augmentation. The list is endless because it is bound only by our imagination.
In the end, it all comes down to people and values. We need to shape a future that works for all of us by putting people first and empowering them. In its most pessimistic, dehumanized form, the Fourth Industrial Revolution may indeed have the potential to “robotize” humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul. But as a complement to the best parts of human nature—creativity, empathy, stewardship—it can also lift humanity into a new collective and moral consciousness based on a shared sense of destiny. It is incumbent on us all to make sure the latter prevails.
In 2021, the focus on people will drive digital transformation as companies think through returns to the office and what a hybrid workplace will look like.
What are we supposed to be involved in these days? Digitalization and innovation? To get there, we are asking ourselves how we can improve planning, forecasting, budgeting, run simulations, run plans and analytics in a very visual and intuitive manner. What tools are available? Are we making those tools available to the organization? And more importantly: are we training our important asset, our people, adequately?
Moving forward in 2021, I firmly believe that management has clear expectations regarding information requirements, such as:
• Monitor and manage business value drivers and simulate how key drivers impact financial outcomes;
• Analyze performance variances and identify influencers that impact business outcomes;
• Define, measure and optimize sales performance by line of business, product offerings, geographies and sales reps;
• Reduce budgeting cycles and run quick re-forecasts by effectively capturing business/market fluctuations; and
• Perform demand and supply planning, inventory planning, procurement planning, work force planning and more.
If this is correct, you have no choice but to train your staff in IT and operations so that they will be capable to provide management with the daily data analytics and information visualization, based on Microsoft’s Excel and Power BI. Luckily, detailed training is available for companies, for industry sectors and subsectors, and can be offered to you.
Feedback is welcome; contact me at [email protected]