February 20168 IN MY VIEWStraight Talk About Digital TransformationBy Kevin Noonan, Lead Analyst, OvumOvum is an international analyst house, headquartered in London, focusing on the converging IT, telecoms and media markets.Digital transformation has already become one of the IT industry's hot topics, and will continue to grab headlines through 2016. Ovum has found no shortage of organizations globally that are achieving substantial outcomes from their digital initiatives. Building on these successes, experienced managers with digital credentials are being recruited across geographic boundaries to drive change initiatives. However, in this fast moving market there is no time to reflect on the glory of past achievements. Plenty of organizations are head hunting globally for good managers, and are using industry analysis to leap frog the performance of their competitors.It is no longer a question about whether an organization should consider its digital journey, but about how quickly it can start getting the basics in place. In this article, I will focus on some of the basics for companies setting out on their digital journey.Digital transformation is different to earlier technology initiativesDigital transformation is not just about creating mobile apps or adding "digital" to some project names and job titles. Most organizations have already been digitizing manual transactions for the past twenty years. There is nothing particularly innovative or transformational about putting old business processes online or creating "an app for that". Today, the world is awash with simple but ineffective apps. Customers are routinely punishing companies on social media for their naivety in doing just that.Digital transformation is born out of generational change in both the workplace and in the wider community. In the past, organizations would describe IT as just a tool for achieving particular business outcomes. Today, technology needs to be an integrated part of everything we do. Companies that hope to remain in business into the 21st century must respond to these business realities or risk the prospect of a slow spiral into obscurity.Digital consumers are looking for something differentThe phrase "I'm not an IT person" is fast disappearing from the language of business. Today, everyone is an IT person and comes armed with an array of mobile devices, apps and personal services. The pragmatic challenges of business management and IT management have become tightly intertwined.
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