Category: Digital Transformation

Business Transformation Digital Transformation

Examples of Business Transformation; Success Stories.

Post author By Paresh
Post date 16 June 2019

As the wave of digital business transformation hits most, if not all organisations, changing landscapes, advancing technology, shifting and emerging markets, knowing, precisely what transformation is and having a vision can become unclear unless you have a digital strategy.

Encountering challenges on the way and learning throughout the process is fundamental to a successful business and digital transformation. We’ll cover successful business transformations in brands that we know.

Buzzwords like AI and machine learning are not just a hype, and becomes our reality. As this becomes our reality, for CEO’s understanding how these new technologies fit into business operations is sometimes tricky to envision.

Our research shows that experimenting, researching and testing is key to successful digital transformation. Digital and business transformation is a journey and an iterative one with continuous change.

Business Transformation in most cases is triggered by shifting markets.

As consumer demands are shifting, along with uncertain markets organisations need to be quick off the mark, in delivering change and transformation to survive in a continually changing world.

Taking Risks is Key to Successful Business Transformation.

Brands like Nike so too struggle to be quick off the mark to keep up with the latest trending consumer demands and this poses a risk to their organisation. But Nike continue to strive forward taking risks at the same time.

We’ve discovered that generally, business transformation is triggered by shifting markets and competition. Business transformation requires research, experimenting and testing.

So digital transformation is proving to be a challenging journey; however, if delivered and planned correctly, can prove to provide sustainable growth for an organisation. We know that the data revolution is here and so focusing your business needs and approaching business with a data-centric approach is the way forward. Our article on Why a data driven business is more likely to succeed through the digital age.

Digital is the norm.

Digital has become a way of life. We are the digital consumer having information at our fingertips at all times. With this in mind, your business, not only should you have a website that offers immersive experiences but also have a mobile app, engaging the consumer to your brand. Nike is an excellent example of engaging consumers online and offline through their store and their products, and so is IKEA; both cases we will be covering in this post.

If consumers have an abundance of accessible technology in their pockets, then surely retailers should be looking to create interactive digital experiences seamlessly connecting online and offline touch-points.

Some examples of business transformation that we cover include organisations like IKEA, Nike, McDonald’s, to name a few.

To learn about how we have helped organisations with business transformation examples visit: www.modernwaysofworking.com/insights

Our first business transformation example is IKEA.

IKEA’s business transformation was triggered by shifting markets with IKEA’s profits falling. As a consequence, IKEA announced it’s next steps of transformation. Since then, there sustained growth has been over several years of business transformation. IKEA has been very good at adapting and innovating for its customer base, adding value.

They have created opportunities while transforming with digital capability throughout their organisation, adapting to change with inspiration, energy and drive, and this is what set them apart. IKEA’s focus is digitisation and customer convenience.

Jesper Brodin, Chief Executive Officer, Ingka Group, says:

“We continue to grow and perform strongly. At the same time, we recognise that the retail landscape is transforming at a scale and pace we’ve never seen before. As customer behaviours change rapidly, we are investing and developing our business to meet their needs in better and new ways. We will put greater emphasis on making our existing stores even better and taking the opportunity to renew and reinvent our business in a way that is inspired by our history, culture and values. Our values guide our work and build our inclusive, open and honest culture. It’s all based on a spirit of togetherness and enthusiasm, and we will continue to transform with that spirit.”

You can read the IKEA press release here.

Nike get personal with consumers with insights from data to drive their business transformation.

Let’s take Nike as our next business transformation example. Nike leaders in retail technology. They are utilising technology to its full potential to drive and engage consumers to their brand.

Like IKEA, they too are very good at adapting to change and creating consumer personalisation and unforgettable immersive experiences.

The Nike Plus membership app does this well. Consumers gain a shopping experience in store while connecting to the Nike app while creating more of a personalised experience for the consumer creating memorable experiences.

As a result, increasing consumer loyalty and frequency. You can scan and go using the app or speak with an associate, and if it’s that easy, then you’ll keep going back for more convenient shopping.

Pizza Express, takes more of a personalised approach.

Next, Pizza Express has embarked on their journey of transformation. Pizza Express
created a global innovation centre in London for new concepts and brand creatives. Launching the first vegan menu in light of the media attention to allergies had allowed Pizza Express to experiment with new recipes. The training was key to staff to understand why consumers choose what they do and the ethics involved to follow through strictly.

Researching into and tapping into the markets using technology also played a big part in Pizza Express’s marketing communications using digital.

Events like Mother’s day were taken advantage of by using digital and generating over 1.1m views for their mothers day video, across a range of digital channels.

Pizza Express had a 7% increase in traffic to their website and a 17% increase in bookings for Mother’s Day.

Also, Pizza Express’s “The piccolo game” allowed children to interact with Pizza Express through augmented reality.

IBM too, have transformed their business. Allowing for advanced technologies, AI, machine learning and data.

According to IBM’s 2018 annual report, IBM achieved $79.6 billion in revenue and operating earnings per share of $13.81 in 2018.

Helping organisations like United Airlines, KPMG and BNP Paribas, to name a few with their digital and business transformation IBM can deliver the results of a successful business transformation programme. Staying relevant and innovating is the key to success. Knowing what the consumers want and delivering on that is essential for any business to survive, let alone thrive. By focusing and offering AI, data, analytics and cyber-security to organisations, IBM’s position in the market, as a leading provider of advanced technology services and solutions accounts for approximately $40 billion in revenue in 2018, with IDC ranking IBM number 1 in the market share. Let’s take a look at some of the organisations IBM have helped. IBM 2018 Annual Report can be found here.

United Airlines undergoes business transformation with the help of IBM. The service has improved by using mobile app technology by streamlining communications within the organisation through different time-zones. Rising to what the consumer needs are the focus and re-thinking business operations is key to transformation.

They are using a mobile app to report flight issues which report to the ground crew immediately.

KPMG is also using IBM technology, technology a contract analysis application to long breakdown contracts. Reading contracts with AI makes it much easier and quicker to get through lengthy, detailed agreements.

BNP Paribas, an investment bank, is transforming digitally to improve operational efficiencies, by doing so, leveraging IBM cloud for their data centres, they provide capabilities for speed, agility and scalability, without compromising security and confidentiality of their consumer data.

Vodafone’s Approach to Business Transformation is Data-Driven

Vodafone, a 5G network provider, is working with IBM to deliver on new integrated solutions to improve consumer experiences from a data-driven approach.

Intel’s vision: If it’s smart and connected then it’s best with Intel

Intel, the world leader in manufacturing and design, with a vision “if it smart and connected then it’s best with Intel” moved from a pc-centric company to a data-centric organisation and as a data-driven business increased their operational efficiencies and have become a growing company. The shift in becoming a data-driven business to address the increasing needs of the market, creating a wealth of business opportunities, and positioning themselves in the market to be the leaders on data-driven solutions. Shaping and

“Intel’s strategy is to provide the technological foundation of the new data world.”

—Brian Krzanich, Intel Chief Executive Officer.

Business Transformation at McDonalds gets underway

McDonald’s business transformation includes modernising restaurants driven by technology and increasing consumer engagement through digital by way of loyalty initiatives. Like Nike’s membership app, McDonald’s too are focusing on consumer loyalty.
Again, like the above examples of business transformation, quickly adapting to change, to shifting markets and consumer demands, McDonald’s strives to stay relevant and transform to the growing needs of the market.

As well as their consumers, McDonald’s drive initiatives for their employees. A typical example, challenges and rewards incentivised its employees to increase speed and agility during breakfast through their drive-thru.

McDonalds offers a new shopping experience to it’s customers adding value by offering personalised service.

In summary, all of the business transformation examples we have seen, organisations are adapting rapidly to shifting trends and markets. A data-driven focus to enable a personalised consumer experience, in turn, resulting in consumer loyalty.

If you are about embarking on your business transformation and need some, then our consultants can offer advice and expertise. Get in touch: www.modernwaysofworking.com/contact

Artificial Intelligence and Robotics

Post author By Paresh
Post date 22 March 2017

The Latest In Artifical Intelligence and Robotics. Keeping up with Insights and News.
View my Flipboard Magazine.

Business Transformation Digital Transformation

Why a data driven business is more likely to succeed through the digital age.

Post author By Paresh
Post date 8 February 2017

Does your data mean anything?

Not knowing what to do with data is challenging and this is where most businesses are failing. Daniel Newman’s article on Closing The Gap Between Data And Understanding will provide an insight into understanding why big data is challenging. As we learn more about Artificial Intelligence (AI), we could look to use AI to help us understand big data.

Cognitive technologies like machine learning are anticipating. In some cases, understanding how these technologies can empower a business is a journey in its self. Frank J Holhurst says in his article big data is poised to get even bigger. Be it now or in the future, organisations large or small will be looking at cognitive technologies. So, it is probably a good time to start learning about how the technologies can help organisations. To make sense of it all in simple terms, it would be like a lock and key mechanism. Valuable data insights from cognitive technologies like AI will unlock your businesses potential if you get it right. Using predictive analytics can significantly improve the decision-making process. Ultimately, a successful business-driven forward from data insights will help an organisation become productive, efficient and successful saving money going forward.

Predictive analytics is essential for digitisation, and the realisation of data that brings capabilities and opportunities within an organisation is yet to be unleashed. We are all going digital and the masses of data, be it structured or unstructured, in today’s digital landscape plays a key factor in the success of business.

Organisations that have entered the digital arena of adopting cognitive technologies have created new channels of communication, and improved business models are increasing opportunities for their business. Stakeholders can make fundamental business decisions from data insights unlocking business potential by knowing what to do with the data.

Wimbledon tennis tournament did just that with the help of cognitive technologies from IBM. IBM delivered cognitive technologies transforming and enriching the tennis experience for fans during the Wimbledon tournament 2016. IBM Watson, an industry leader in cognitive technologies and analytics, is widely used in industries, UK government and councils.

Bernard Marr states that Data Should be at the heart of strategic decision making for business. Using technologies such as AI gives the opportunity for organisations to collate, interpret and analyse data, thus improving business processes and functions, overall improving the business in its entirety.

Let’s look at Uber, the data they hold is indispensable and is key to the growth of their business. Uber is very much a data-driven business and is more of a technology business than a taxi business. Using data and predictive analytics to understand their customers is fundamental. “Uber is rolling out a big redesign powered by machine learning”, Ken Young explains how Uber’s new mobile app uses machine learning. Uber uses predictive analytics using the data from machine learning to restructure the app to understand what the passenger wants.

What if data was centralised creating a new area within an organisation called the “data hub”?

Dedicating an area where you would have a team of data scientists, business analysts and data analysts all working together to understand the data. Thus, a far more efficient way of looking at data and insight.

Why it Matter to leverage AI for business transformation gives examples of numerous organisations who have taken to AI to focus on customer engagement. Simply put, these organisations are relying on huge amounts of data to then guide them into making informed and more deliberate decisions based on data analytics and insights.

Machine learning is a branch of AI and has seen significant advancements in the car industry with self-driving cars. Uber have been working with Volvo and Ford to engineer these self-driving cars. With technologies like GPS, radar and cameras data from these technologies can make driving much safer, with some saying fewer accidents on the road. All these technologies bundled together along with AI can provide enormous amounts of data and from this data can then be extracted useful insights using predictive analytics. Uber’s machine learning chief says pattern-finding computing fuels ride-hailing giant

Big data, machine learning a branch of AI and predictive analytics, are terms used everywhere yet the realisation of data and the importance and value that the data provides indispensable. With large volumes of data to be processed, the challenge lies in the interpretation of this data and the actions that follow from data analytics, with information often lost in translation.

When looking at ABC technologies, AI will only be valuable to the organisation if data is analysed and interpreted well and provides value. With machine learning dependent on data, this could be the key to unlocking business potential with enormous benefits.

How companies are using data and analytics to improve their customer’s experience.

Bernard Marr writes How Nike and Under Armour have become data businesses. Nike has turned sports and fitness into a data- driven fitness trend and Under Armour are great examples of using data to drive their businesses, bringing wearables and technology to market.

What are we going to do with data? AI and big data play a pivotal role in business transformation. Data-driven analytics and insights give the opportunity for executives and leaders to make informed decisions to improve operational efficiency and reduce costs.

Lisa Morgan writes about “The 9 Secrets of Data-Driven Organisations” which identifies which traits are essential for becoming a truly data-driven company.

Realisation of data is crucial for digitisation. Rudina Sesseri states The Rise Of AI Will Force Data Scientists To Evolve Or Get Left Behind

As we take leaps into the digital landscape of Artificial Intelligence, Big Data is important than ever before as an opportunity to capture more data to understand customers and improve business processes. Understand what the data means, and you could unlock your business potential.

How fostering a growth mindset will cultivate a company’s culture to digital success

Post author By Paresh
Post date 26 January 2017

It’s not all about technology, alignment of culture and strategy is essential for any business yet building a better culture for growth is not a top priority for CEOs. Leaders should look to be creating a cultural growth mindset with a shared mission and vision which runs right through the organisation extending capabilities leaving no disparity. The top challenge facing digital transformation is company culture, and although it takes time to get right, an amazing culture is built around a growth mindset. Leaders can look to drive digital transformation forward, swiftly and successfully once they have cultivated a culture that’s right for them.

Avado works with industry leading partners like Google providing transformation through learning and say that culture has been identified as the number one barrier to digital transformation. If CEOs are making decisions that impact the business such as cutting costs, improving revenue and increasing productivity, which are all part of the digital and business transformation process, then part of this process of change should be building a great culture. Transformation of any type is a continuous process, but with a growth mindset company culture, the transformation will seamlessly deliver.

Microsoft, Google, Walt Disney and Nike all created a culture that cultivated a growth mindset.

We found that in most cases where there was great company culture, training was a key element in organisations. Fostering a personal accountability and responsibility in individuals tends to nurture a passion for learning. With organisations facing digital transformation with technology advancing at lightning speeds it would make sense to build a culture with a growth mindset. Companies such as Nike, Twitter and Walt Disney to name a few, are great examples whereby a growth mindset is crucial to their company culture. Also among these companies, a top ranked company with good culture is Google, and they hire people who are smart and determined and favour ability over experience. They look for talents that grow with them.

Microsoft’s culture includes an element of a growth mindset. Microsoft mission and culture state “At Microsoft, we’re insatiably curious and always learning. We ask questions, take risks and build on each other’s ideas, because we are better together. We lean into uncertainty, take risks and move quickly when we make mistakes because we know that failure happens along the way to innovation and breakthrough.

As part of Nike’s strategic aims that guide the company, the focus is to unleash human potential. Nike has created their culture by providing their employees with training programs to maintain employee talent. The company also has coaching and mentoring programs. Hiring the right people and people development are crucial to their company. A glimpse into Nike’s culture written by Bianca Blartz outlines Nike’s culture in further detail. In summary, Nike is passionate about creating a workforce that can push boundaries and limits. Their Motto of “Just Do it” extends right the way through their community including their customers, employees and management.

Walt Disney believes in creating and nurturing a culture of excellence. What’s interesting about Disney is that their recruitment process is very important and they hire the right people who will share the company’s values and beliefs. They state that “Once you have hired people with a propensity for excellence, your orientation process and training must reinforce your company’s principles as well as impart new skills and knowledge.”

“There are four interconnected processes that define an organisation’s culture: employee selection, training, care and communication. Each is crucial to creating and nurturing a culture of excellence. With a rich tradition and heritage built upon creating memorable experiences, The Walt Disney Company has consistently worked to attract, develop and retain employees dedicated to this vision.”

Creating and nurturing a love for learning throughout an organisation will foster strong, productive teams and individuals who are passionate about their development but also want to grow with an organisation. It’s a process over time which leaders should not ignore if they are to transform their organisations.

Similarly, a cultural element key to the success of Starbucks has been employee excellence. Howard Schultz established a successful coffee chain, with a passion for coffee that he could outline and share his experience with his customers by communicating to his employees what he expected: Make it your own, everything matters, surprise and delight, embrace resistance and leave your mark. This summarises the type of employee that Starbucks hires. Shaun Frankson’s culture case study of Starbucks outlines this experience and explains the partnering ethos.

A strong and creative culture is fostered at Lego. The LEGO Group look for smart and talented people that embrace Lego’s innovative spirit and enhance Lego’s fun and collaborative culture. Lego states “The LEGO Group constantly strives to live up to our motto, “Only the best is good enough”, and for that reason, our recruitment process is thorough and extensive. Our focus is to ensure we hire the right people who have the skills and desire that match the job criteria as well as competencies and values that fit into the LEGO culture. We will support your growth and give you the tools you need to be successful; in return, you will help us enrich the lives of children around the globe.”

In today’s digital world with digital transformation inevitable Greg Satell at Mapping Innovation says “We shouldn’t be so quick to blame algorithms. When we don’t like what we see, it is possible that we are looking at the cultural problems we have created.” Greg’s article on How This Restaurant Chain Built a Data Culture To Design a Better Customer Experience explains how Cava Grill built a data culture and as a result the CEO of the successful restaurant chain created a data-driven organisation.

The importance of culture to a digital business.

Ikea’s founder, Ingvar Kamprad’s great mantra “you can copy business, but you can’t copy culture.” This very true and in summary, the companies mentioned above believe in people excellence, accountability, responsibility and a passion for learning and embarking on a journey of growth. It seems this is a key element of culture which contributes to the success of a company. In fact, Facebook’s culture includes fostering personal growth alongside other perks.

It’s not all about technology it’s about collaboration and openness to ideas and digital extending the capabilities for people to perform better. If we look at Twitter, their mission is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers. They ensure that every single employee has a voice and contributes to the progression of the company.

We all want to work for a company that gives us flexibility, provides a training programme and offers us perks and most importantly values our contribution. Happy people create opportunities, create and innovate, working alongside each other in teams to drive the company forward.

What do you think are the essential elements to creating a good culture?

You may also be interested in these articles:

Digital Transformation will often fail with existing culture

Why it matters to leverage Artificial Intelligence for business transformation

Useful resources to get you started:

Leadership practices to foster a growth mindset

8 Step Plan to build a digital culture

Six steps to effective cultural management

Secret to building a successful company culture

Three cultural characteristics of Pret A Manger

Google’s Culture

Lessons from digital leaders an article by Deloitte on the Digital DNA of an organisation which explores three core factors organisations should be considered when looking to improve digital maturity levels – leadership, talent management, and organisational design.

Business Transformation Change Management Digital Transformation

Why it matters to leverage Artificial Intelligence for business transformation.

Post author By Paresh
Post date 12 January 2017

Digital Transformation strategy should include AI — Artificial Intelligence is pivotal to business transformation

As humans, we do not prefer to interact with chatbots and bots yet businesses are leaping into embedding Artificial Intelligence like chatbots into their products and services. Transformative technologies are evolving incredibly fast and the deployment of bots across all industry sectors: financial, motor, retail, food and public sector have created a shift in the way we are interacting with businesses.

“CIOs should be looking at these transformative technologies to drive speed, scale and consistency in their digital transformation.” Kasey Panetta writes in her article “The ABC Technologies Will Change Future Customer Experience.”

These transformative technologies are certainly the way forward if you are looking to give your clients a better service and need to increase revenue channels. Embedding chatbots into your services and products to use the data and digital intelligence to generate new insights will be fundamental to understanding customers.

With 2017 upon us it would be a good time to start looking at chatbots and including them in Digital Transformation Strategy.

Here’s why it is important to understand the benefits of using bots in your services and products.

1. For businesses and organisations to provide a personalised service, it is all about collecting data. This data will give you valuable insights to improve your customer service.

2. Chatbots can improve and enrich the customer experience and can be available to deliver 24/7 for customers. Basic information like opening hours and contact details can be given out by a bot, online forms on websites can be made easier with a bot at hand to help.

3. Increased operation efficiency and streamline services.

A source from PWC found that 82% of UK CEOs see technological advances as the main global trend which will transform businesses. Organisations that stay ahead of trends better place themselves strategically and prepare themselves for the future. However, mastering technology and preparing for shifts in trends like implementing chatbots and AI is becoming challenging due to the speed in technology advancements. We have the tools and technology to work faster than before, and we are far more advanced in technology than ever before so integrating transformative technologies within our services and products should get easier.

How do chatbots improve revenue and increase customer experience?

An example of Amazon’s recommendation engine uses an algorithm to suggest additional purchases for consumers and have grown their sales by an estimated 10 – 15%.

Offering a personalised service by using chatbots to collect data from your customers will provide valuable customer data which in turn provide insights to improve customer experience. In addition, It will also open up new revenue streams.

Drawing on survey data from the UK, PWC illustrates “Infographic: Chatbots and the future of customer service. How respondents view chatbots as well existing frustrations with online customer services.”

The survey revealed that utilities and councils were industries with the two most frustrating online services for consumers.

The introduction of chatbots in governments and local government.

We see a rise in the usage of chatbots in governments around the globe including Singapore and America. The Whitehouse encourages local government to embrace chatbots.

In London, Enfield Council has become the first local authority to develop the use artificial intelligence a robust cognitive platform to help deliver public services. The AI assistant Amelia will help residents to find information on online and help complete forms using a chat feature. It is a start to development, and Enfield council would like for other councils to develop and use bots to improve customer services.

The adoption of chatbots and bots in Banking.

Although we are in early stages and bots are limited to what they can do now, chatbots can answer basic queries. Let’s look at some examples: American Express and MasterCard. The MasterCard Kai, the bot for banks will extend MasterCard services to customers on messaging platforms. The introduction of bots in banking is to create better money habits. Erica is the Bank of America’s new chatbot. The Bank is looking to offer and deliver a one-to-one personalised service to customers. Bank of America wants customers to be connected with them whenever and wherever they choose. Learn more about Erica and what it can do.

A chatbot MyKai another banking bot is available through the Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp. It offers the functionality of dealing with customer transactions and access to account data. RBS have jumped on board too and have planned to develop their technology to improve their customer service with chatbots.

The usage of chatbots in the motor industry.

Ford are to bring Amazon’s Alexa to millions of cars. Alexa will be able to switch the car on and off and lock and unlock doors as well as control IoT connected in the home. Nick Hastings writes “Every Device That Connects to Amazon’s Alexa” Nick has compiled a list of all the devices that are compatible with the Echo.

Uber using the Facebook messenger app allow customers to request a ride by starting a conversation with the Uber chatbot.

It seems that we have only touched the surface with bots as artificial intelligence (AI) extends to aviation. Turkish Airlines are looking into IoT, Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), wearables and robotics.

British Airways launched their facebook chatbot, only for the month of December last year, for personalised offers and recommendations. The bot recommended discounts at hotels and shopping centres such as Westfields and a London guide.

An excellent article by Clint Boulton who writes for the CIO says “Virtual assistants, chatbot poised for mass adoption in 2017. Enterprises will continue to experiment with virtual assistants and chatbots in 2017 as they look to balance better customer service with operational efficiency.”

Chipotle, Whole Foods Market, Dominos and Pizza Hut have seamlessly integrated bots with excellent customer service too.

Ordering a Pizza’ through a Facebook messenger Bot requires little effort and time. Using the Chipotle bot enables you to pick up your burrito when it is ready at your preferred location. Pizza Hut can have a delicious pizza delivered to your door.

All these require a simple texting app using Twitter and Facebook, and within minutes we have what we want.

Technology Advancements in healthcare.

Technology Advancements in healthcare could see chatbots help people take their medication. The data collected from a patient would be invaluable.

Scott Wasserman, a CTO partner at Stuzo, writes “How a Chatbot could help people take their medication.”

How data from these bots are used to empower customer experience.

With heaps of data to be processed and analysed, it can become overwhelming and time-consuming. Sifting through data from multi-channels including social media, blogs, online surveys, customer feedback forms, online reviews and websites is a lot of work. The benefits of using AI platform is that you are able to quickly access the information rather than going through considerable data.

Hotels like Hilton and The Dorchester are great examples of how data from AI is then used to measure customer experiences. The Dorchester Collection has partnered with RicheyTX and together have created an AI platform. Metis. Nikki Gilland a writer for E-Consultancy recently wrote an interesting article on “The Impact of AI on the Travel Industry“, she explains how hotels are finding it easier to collect the data from their customers and then provide a better service. Nikki writes “Metis helped Dorchester to discover that breakfast it not merely an expectation – but something guests place huge importance on. As a result, the hotels began to think about how they could enhance and personalise the breakfast experience.”

Apart from Facebook, Google and Amazon, IBM Watson also offers a cognitive customer engagement virtual agent. It provides an automated customer service and can be customised for your business needs.

Once we have the data, it is merely what we think the data is telling us and what we then go on to do with the data.

We have become familiar with transformative technologies like Google Assistant, Amazon’s Echo and Apple’s Siri yet we are apprehensive when companies are beginning to introduce chatbots to interact with us. Will bots lack the empathy and intuition related to human relationships that are required to deal with complex problems? Research from Gartner sees 33% of all customer service interactions as still needing a human intermediary by 2017, down from nearly 60% in 2014.

Implementing chatbots into your products and services may not be at the top of your agenda but if you are looking into AI then ask these questions: How well will chatbots serve your customers? What will be the impact of chatbots and bots on customer experience? What does the data tell you about your customers and How will you use the data that you collect?

We would love to hear your thoughts and comments. Like if you found the article interesting and share if you think your connections would find it useful.

Business Transformation Change Management Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation will often fail with the existing culture.

Post author By Paresh
Post date 15 December 2016

Digital Transformation can often fail due to the existing organisational culture and structure. There’s no point in implementing digital tools and new technology in an organisation if the staff do not feel confident and will not champion the transformation, especially if they see no value. After all, it is the people within an organisation who must run with the change and successfully transition to the innovate and adaptive stage in the digital transformation.

An interesting article by Clint Boulton writes about the top 10 digital transformation stories in 2016 and mentions Subway on this list. Subways transformation is in early stages, and the CIO has hired more than 150 technology, marketing and operational professions to deliver their transformation. Read the Top 10 digital transformation stories in 2016: http://www.cio.com/article/3149977/leadership-management/8-top-digital-transformation-stories-of-2016.html

Having worked with numerous organisations and from our experience in transformation we deliver by putting a team in place with the right skills and competence to help drive the transformation. Michael Curry says “Put people at the heart of your digital business transformation.” in his article about people and digital transformation. You can read about it here:http://www.cityam.com/254193/put-people-heart-your-business-digital-transformation.

We totally agree with Michael Curry. Putting the right people in the right place will see success in transformation as it is the people, who will ultimately change the business and drive the change.

So what’s the link between Organisational culture and digital transformation?

Organisational culture is a set of values, beliefs and behaviours that characterise the functioning of a business or organisation.

Having a fixed set of values and behaviours throughout an entire organisation is often not the case. Our experience in working in public sector and private sector organisations in the UK has proven that often different sub-cultures exist within an organisation. For example, The IT department will have a different culture to the finance department and the HR department. In some cases, this can prove to be difficult when project managing change for an entire organisation.

Driving digital transformation and changing an array of business processes to use new technologies simply won’t happen if the existing organisational culture is reluctant to change or resist change. This stage “Business as Usual” often is the hardest obstacle to overcome. The comfort in traditional ways of working and introducing any change or a different way of working imposes a threat to the existing workforce.

Digital transformation: shifting from projects to business operations and culture. Digital Transformation 2017 and beyond is an insightful read into digital transformation by J-P De Clerck from the iScoop blog. He says the entire organisation requires a cultural change.

From our experience in business transformation, to overcome some of these challenges a culture change from the top down is necessary for any successful change alongside strong project management skills. Understanding digital, business and the customer is fundamental and the key question in most organisations is how do we move forward? Digital transformation must fit in with the business needs, and ultimately the customer needs.

Every third company is unprepared for digital transformation. Just seven percent have completed the process says Sead Fadilpasic in his article:http://www.itproportal.com/news/every-third-company-unprepared-for-digital-transformation/

Companies are unprepared for digital transformation and IT spending is rising too. Public sector organisations are looking for help from Microsoft. Investing in Microsoft Dynamics online to keep up with the digital expectation of citizens in the provision of the online services public sector are jumping on board. Recently Wokingham Council implemented this software to enable retiring legacy systems to a one case management system to deliver cost savings and improve customer service. At the centre of this transformation is data but not realising the real potential of data can become an issue to the success of transformation.

Essex County Council also earlier on in the year invested in IT. The ITIL programme was part of the broader review of the council’s IT function, and they had a rollout of Windows 7 and planned to migrate to Windows 10. However, is this too slow in the fast-paced digital era?

A new report from Forbes Insights states that half of the executives believe that digital transformation will be crucial within the next two years. So it seems that executives understand that the comfort in traditional business practices can be difficult to break but must change soon, however, through realisation and the need for IT throughout an organisation can transition from the “business as usual” phase to the “present and active stage”. The six stages of digital transformation explained by Jamie Brighton (Adobe).

There is the need of commitment to digital and technology and a willingness to change within an organisation to truly transform an organisation. The value of IT and technology must have a strong presence within an organisation.

Today’s leaders need to have excellent business acumen and technology expertise. We have transformed numerous public sector organisations and far too often the challenge has been the culture and the lack of skills to deliver within departments. In most cases, the persistence of willingness and training available to staff to change the way they work and to implement new ways of working is too challenging and can be discouraging within an organisation if not supported.

The combined skills of strong leadership, excellent business acumen and technological expertise can take a business to the next level. However, finding the right people is difficult.

The London Mayor has also outlined digital plans for traffic management. The aim is to reduce congestion in London by using technologies.

“Ensuring people can get around our city easily and efficiently is vital for London’s future prosperity,” Khan said. “We need to be much smarter in how we use our roads to tackle the causes of congestion head-on.”

Only time will tell.

Quickly completing transformation and not delaying decisions but implementing change at a fast pace will increase staff morale and in most cases successfully deliver transformation. In all industries and all sectors, we see digital business transformation but not all are seeing the success. Maybe we can learn from companies like Uber, Airbnb and Amazon moving ahead and staying ahead understanding customer needs and providing the services that customers want efficiently through digital.