Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 73 | Page 46

FEATURE : DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

The need for transformation

Digital Transformation is the incorporation of computer-based technologies into an organisation ’ s products , processes , and strategies . Enterprises undertake Digital Transformation to better engage and serve their workforce and customers and thus improve their ability to compete . Industry experts look at how organisations can succeed with Digital Transformations , business benefits , digital technologies and processes that can enable organisations to adeptly respond to customer demands in the present and as demands continue to evolve at a rapid pace .

The digitisation of society started in the late 20th century and underwent rapid acceleration in the first two decades of the 21st century , spurring a growing need for digital transformation across industries .

Indeed , many organisations believe they must either adapt to the changing market forces driven by digitisation or face extinction . According to the Digital Transformation Index 2020 from Dell Technologies , a third of enterprise leaders are worried their organisations will not survive in the upcoming years , while 60 % thought they ’ d survive but would shed many additional jobs and take years to return to profitability . from about 2005 onward , as Netflix and others harnessed emerging technologies and capitalised on the consumer appetite for on-demand entertainment delivered via highly profitable streaming video services . The power of digital technologies to disrupt is also evident in the rise of Amazon from online bookseller to an electronic commerce ( e-commerce ) juggernaut that has redefined the retail industry .
Today , the danger of market leaders being displaced and disrupted is expected to continue , as emerging technologies enable new business models , more engaging customer experiences , novel products and services , and other innovations .
The need for transformation is exemplified in the often-cited case of Blockbuster LLC , which , in the early 2000s , was a global entity with video rental stores throughout the United States and around the world . But its presence and relevance precipitously declined
According to a report by World Bank , the adoption of digital technologies in countries across MEA would reap enormous socio-economic benefits , amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars each year and a muchneeded surge in new jobs .
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