Taking a Business-First Approach to Digital Transformation at Agenda15

Today, across all industries, organizations are using digital technologies, but few are taking a comprehensive, business-first approach. That’s the net result of a survey on digital transformation Dell Services recently conducted with IDG.

I shared an early look at these findings during a presentation at Agenda15, titled Taking a business-first approach to digital transformation.

The research indicates that approximately 70 percent of survey respondents are still in the process of making operational, process and technology changes to adopt digital transformation.

 Bar Chart: 70 percent of organizations surveyed are in the process of making operational process and technology changes to support digital transformation

After the presentation, I participated in a panel discussion with leaders from Delphix and ServiceNow. There was a great deal of audience interest on the Internet of Things (IoT). Attendees were concerned with how to best apply digital technologies—such as IoT—in their strategy and operations. The focus was clearly on how to leverage digital to improve business, not just implement technology for technologies’ sake.

Panel of speakers from Dell, Delphix and ServiceNow discuss the Internet of Things (IoT) at Agenda15

I believe the greatest benefits to business can be gained by taking a comprehensive approach to digital. Typically customer experience—the more “glamorous” part of digital—is thought of first. But digital transformation is also about enabling new business models, enhancing employee engagement and improving operational excellence. For example, digital transformation can accomplish the following:

  • Open up new business models by enabling innovative, business-changing strategies, products, services and processes. Dell’s Digital Business Services is currently working with a major hotel chain to develop a new mobile concierge application. For the chain, the application represents an opportunity to drive incremental revenue.
  • Enhance employee engagement through multiple channels, supplement decision-making with analytics, and help improve employee wellness, using mobile applications. Dell Services is in discussions with a major health system interested in using social media to drive higher nursing staff retention rates.
  • Play a major role in improving operational excellence. Automation driven by digital forces is becoming more common. Mobile process enablement, IoT-driven, real-time fail fix and analytics-driven operational optimizations are some of the examples Dell Services is observing, and helping enable, in the market.

So digital is clearly multi-dimensional. And a business-first approach can enable faster, more comprehensive results.

Learn more about what Dell Digital Business Services is doing to help enable digital transformation for companies around the globe.

About the Author: Raman Sapra