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Digital transformation: A journey to bridge the digital divide
With proliferation of technology to bridge the digital divide, the 3Ps will be a leading objective of many organisations - people, planet and profit.
Dubai - Every organisation should clearly define their digital ambition, vision, objectives and related goals.
In this era of burgeoning digital innovations with disruptive technologies, change is only element that's constant. However, are we ready to embrace this change? What is our preparedness?
Every organisation should clearly define their digital ambition, vision, objectives and related goals. Is it a digital strategy to use technology to improvise the existing business processes for digital optimisation? Or, is it using technology to create a new process/service for a competitive advantage or enterprise agility which is essentially a digital transformation? The objective is to drive growth with digital initiatives or have a collection of digital projects? Pertinent thoughts of deliberation for organisations before they embark on the journey.
I resonate the values of sustainability and inclusivity for the success of any strategy. It is crucial to assess readiness, effectiveness and maturity for any technology adoption. Thereby, it's imperative to bridge the digital divide and then only a digital transformation journey begins.
A digital divide in literal terms would imply disparity or gaps in access to information and communication technology. However, as an unconventional thinker I would extrapolate this definition to a global issue impacting all spheres of life that can manifest itself in small groups of people, organisations, nation thereby adversely impacting the socio economic quotient of any economy.
Humans are the ultimate invention from the creator and have set the highest benchmark of any innovation. Hence, natural intelligence is indispensable. Although with disparate sources of knowledge we can built a repository of experience, research facts, observations, etc. But can we build a wisdom tool to discern the relevance, value, velocity and veracity of that knowledge base? A robust talent management system, which clearly defines the sources of current and future value, will certainly boost the strategic choices in delivering the stakeholder value and drive digitalisation. It's vital to assess the fitment of talent (knowledge, skill, expertise, etc) against augmented role requirements and design the strategy accordingly.
An organisation may aim to be a technology behemoth but is it at the cost of our planet? A sustainable initiative is compelled to evaluate how far technology can solve and how far it exacerbates them. Harnessing technological advance to the restoration of nature is imperative. Hence, the strategy should embrace technology to accomplish the set objectives while defining and managing a balanced digital ecosystem.
Lastly, profitability is often viewed as sign of economic prowess, however, innovation and efficiency brings the competitive advantage. The digital capabilities of an organisation inevitably drive its bottom line, hence the strategy should encompass objectives to accelerate the pace of innovation and broadening the areas of technical inclusion. Introducing new services or transformations, organisations are creating strategic opportunities of profitable units and thereby building equality by leveraging technology. Organisations need to redesign their budgets and plans, in close coordination with lines of businesses to concentrate on areas that will provide business growth and digital transformation opportunities.
Residing in UAE over a decade now, I truly applaud the vision and ambition of the leaders of this great country. The growth and transformation has been remarkably significant and is highly result-oriented. The adoption strategy has been simple yet very impactful, by exploring digital technologies thereby resulting in transformation in government practices, business models and society.
The UAE is ranked 17th according to a study released by IMD World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2018 and the World Economic Form covering 137 countries and is ranked first in Digital Index in the Arab World 2018. It has also joined World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to close the growing gap between emerging technologies and policy development.
The UAE has transitioned in this journey of continuous development by adopting various digital strategies. However, the core objective is consistent - defining smart, innovative and intelligent services that will act as a catalyst to build UAE as the leading nation in the world and international success. Few quick references: The UAE was the first country in the region to adopt an e-Government initiative that quickly transitioned into smart government in 2013, UAE Vision 2021, UAE Centennial 2071, UAE Strategy for Artificial Intelligence, UAE National Innovation Strategy and Establishment of Ministry of Possibilities.
UAE as a nation aims to bridge this digital divide for an all-inclusive growth which is a very integrated and sustainable approach towards building a digital economy. Notably, the organisations often benchmark their strategy and align their initiatives against the results, such as pneumatic trains and flying taxis, first taxi drones, robotics, 3D printing, etc. However, it's the journey that needs to be studied not the destination. Organisations must tread their way through a successful sustainable and inclusive strategy in order to reach the destiny of digitally transformed organisation.
The current dynamics is propelling us towards an era of human-machine partnerships with enormous changes that will fundamentally alter how businesses functions. In conclusion, I propose that the strategic excellence lies in pragmatic governance and capitalisation of social, economic and environmental dividends.
The writer is a strategy evangelist and consultant/auditor. Views expressed are her own and do not reflect the newspaper's policy.
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