Recent news from the technology world indicates that enterprises are moving at the speed of light to leapfrog their competition and accelerate the digital transformation (DT) of their business.
New gen technologies such as cloud, mobile, Big Data and Social Networks are becoming a necessity to drive growth.
This is because of the significant role of digital transformation in changing customer experience, operational processes and business models.
IDC says digital transformation requires a top-down study and redesign of business strategy / leadership, business processes, human engagement (workforce and others), information monetization, and technology.
“Retailers dealing with legacy, disconnected, siloed systems have latencies and speeds that cannot support modern commerce, nor do most of the legacy systems allow retailers to quickly launch the types of services that customers today are expecting,” said Robert Eastman, research manager, Retail Omni-Channel IT Strategies at IDC Retail Insights.
Recent DT news from different industries
Here is a glance through recent technology adoption by enterprises in various industries. In most cases, the exact amounts of investment are unavailable. But, the ongoing trend indicates that enterprise digitalisation is moving upwards.
Most recently, Orange Business Services has won a three-year contract with Sensile Technologies for M2M connectivity, including 25,000 SIM cards, to support its two remote monitoring products worldwide: NETRIS 2 and GASLink.
Sensile Technologies monitors more than 60,000 tanks in industrial and business facilities across 60 countries, via a global network of highly-qualified technicians and local partners.
Up to now, Sensile Technologies used 2G compatible devices to power its telemetry solutions. The contract with Orange Business Services extends this to cover 3G/4G devices.
Merck, a science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials, has deployed a 200-site, next-generation network to support its digital transformation with the help of Orange Business Services.
Last month, Orange Business Services signed a network and security deal with consumer and industrial goods manufacturer Henkel.
From the online shopping industry, eBay Classifieds Group has deployed Juniper Networks Contrail Networking to build automated and scalable virtual overlay networks.
Juniper Networks QFX Series switches have been selected by the company to power its cloud-based network and ensure reliability and faster response times.
eBay Classifieds Group moved its operations to the cloud to speed up its business processes by reducing the time to build and bring its classified platforms online.
“We constantly create new innovative services that can deliver substantial value to our customers. Juniper, with its customer-first approach, provides us with the network but also enables us to provide an excellent customer service,” says Maarten Moerman, manager of network engineering at eBay Classifieds Group, Netherlands.
Chocolateness, a Kuwaiti company specializing in desserts, is partnering with Viacomms Telecom to transform its customer experience with communications solutions from Avaya.
With Viacomms Telecom, Chocolateness has implemented a new contact center system, based on Avaya Contact Center Select.
The solution delivers a unified agent desktop providing a single platform for omni-channel communication, while skills-based routing enables customers to be directed to the most qualified agent based on their choice.
The solution gives the contact center supervisor visibility over agent interactions and customer feedback.
The live chat feature provides a simple way to connect with customers, with faster response times and lower waiting times, while increasing agents’ efficiency. The contact center solution supports inbound and outbound SMS functionality, allowing order confirmation via SMS.
What CIOs think about digital transition?
The above mentioned case studies point to how various industries make use of digital technologies to meet changing business needs. A recent study EMC and VMware analysis reveals CIOs worldwide intend to invest in IT infrastructure to boost digital transformation.
In a report entitled “The State of IT Transformation”, EMC said CIOs are looking to reduce IT costs and use those savings to make investments in digital transformation. CIOs see adopting cloud technologies as a way to save infrastructure costs and operating costs.
A survey of nearly 500 senior decision-makers from companies ranging across industrial manufacturing, construction, retail, oil and gas, automotive, energy and utilities, and other industries by IFS found that 86 percent of the respondents think that digital transformation will play a key role in their market.
At the same time, the survey found 40 percent lack a strategy for going digital. According to C-suite leaders, IoT, cloud computing, cognitive computing, machine learning, wearable technology, 3D priting are some of the top technologies driving digital transformation.
Challenges
While industries have realized the potential that digital transformation offers, there are concerns about how this will work in a real world.
Digital transformation becomes success on then, when the adopted technologies yield expected value and benefits while boosting the overall growth.
When the traditional way of doing business gives way to disruptive technologies, digital proficiency, security concerns and leadership issues will challenge the initiation, execution and governance of digital transformation.
Arya MM
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