Digital Transformation
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Digital Transformation or Digitization Process?

Luís Filipe

Luís Filipe

Managing Partner YouX

During this pandemic period, a lot has been said about digital transformation and how nothing will remain the same in the most varied sectors, from companies, to education, health, work and other sectors of society. 

And many examples are pointed out, from teleworking, to distance learning via videoconference platforms, to the increase in electronic commerce, among others. And every day we hear the phrase in this last year, we anticipate 10 years of evolution.

But we are really talking about digital transformation. or will most of these cases be mere examples of process digitization?  

Digital Transformation

In order to answer the above question, it is advisable to start by specifying what “digital transformation” is after all. 

Taking a definition from the Gartner Group : “ Digital transformation can refer to anything from IT modernization (for example, cloud computing), to digital optimization, to the invention of new digital business models. ” This definition underlies the idea of ​​creating new business models. However, continuing with the Gartner Group: “ The term [digital transformation] is widely used in public-sector organizations to refer to modest initiatives such as putting services online or legacy modernization. Thus, the term is more like “digitization” than “digital business transformation.””

Digital Transformation or Digitization?

There is thus a clear distinction between digitization of business and digital transformation.

In the case of digital business transformation, it is not just a matter of implementing technology, but rather of transforming the entire business. What is at stake is the reinvention of the business, something disruptive by nature. Digital transformation implies an organizational transformation that encompasses from the organization itself, its values, its culture and its vision: All this supported by digital technology that plays the role of mandatory facilitator. The result of this process is the creation of new solutions. It is not about doing something better or in a better way, but rather doing something completely different.

Try to think about the various examples that are highlighted in the digital transformation media. Do you find many that are actually disruptive and go through the creation of innovative solutions?

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