BUSINESS STRATEGY: COMPETITION VS INNOVATION
On the 10th of October 2017, BPI Network tweeted “Is the main driver for #DigitalTransformation competitive threats rather than a desire to innovate?”
This implies that companies feel pressured to adapt into this new digital age, otherwise they will lose out to competition.
What exactly is ‘Digital Transformation’? A simple summary; organisations today have realised that enhancing traditional methods does not lead to being market leading, so instead, they employ new types of innovation and creativity in a specific domain.
This tweet has attempted to reword the definition, stating that if companies want to survive – then they will have to join the movement. Nick Ismail from Information Age, backed up this theory by quoting “competitive pressure is driving 70% of digital transformation projects globally.” This pressure was created due to over a third of organisations believing that if they do not employ a new digital strategy, then their competitors will take advantage of this, thus leading to further market concerns.
In the future, it has been predicted that over two thirds of businesses will use the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine to Machine (M2M) services, to enable predictive ordering; 68% will see sales completed using mobiles; 67% will use virtual reality to personalise the buying experience; and 61% will use driver-less cars and drones for delivery.
It is important for any business to stay competitive, but to say that Digital Transformation is mainly driven by this is not true. Evolution of technology, smart consumers and innovation are examples of other factors that drive Digital Transformation too.
The concept is not black and white; and that’s the point. We are complex beings and using our knowledge, while continuously learning, enables extraordinary change.
