“There is no endgame in digital. Digital transformation is a constant journey and buzzwords are fallouts along the way”: Gavin Payne, who has been actively involved in the digital space for nearly two decades, had this one thought that he hopes companies attempting to stay relevant in the quick evolving digital era, can come to terms with.
Speaking at the Step Conference 2016, Mr Payne reflected on the tug of war of sorts between IT and marketing, saying that if IT is Batman that is strong and sturdy, marketing is Superman that has the power to change the world “but can look ridiculous sometimes”. In the clash between the two, much noise is generated, and it is important for companies to look beyond the buzz.
Digital transformation has special relevance in this background. Transformation is constant movement forward towards maturity and evolution in a digital sense.
Mr Payne focused on three key digital strategies that are largely seen today. The incremental ecosystem wherein CMS (content management system), emails, mobile, data, personalization and the likes are added at subsequent stages as functional building blocks that make the organization as it progresses.
The second approach is akin to the idea of a digital Big Bang. This is driven by the objective to want the best and get rid of everything incremental. The cons in this vary from inefficiencies that can emerge from overlapping features between technologies and the cost of digital maturity, which is not only expensive but also needs a very advanced skill set to handle all this to come together. “It is not a great situation to be in,” warns Mr Payne.
He finally refers to digital platforms that focus on creating experiences, where in again as the business matures, various elements are activated naturally. In this approach too, the tools can be incredibly expensive given that timing is a factor, some may not make a business case.
“As everyone speaks about customer centricity, the thumb rule should not be about any buzzword, but about constant change that will lead to being omni-channel, agile, and have forward motion goal. The world around us is exciting in terms of digital technology. It is spinning and online and offline are fusing together. There is a great opportunity and we have to rethink the digital strategy to seize it. The change in mindset required quite simply is looking at digital as a journey and not destination, and buzzwords are symptoms of digital transformation,” Mr Payne said.
