Chasing Digital

Part IIDigital enablers for transformation

The big decisions — strategy, organisational design and culture — are the bedrock of your digital transformation. Getting these big decisions right will be vital in part II, where we unpack the core digital capabilities you need to focus on in your digital transformation to ensure you stay competitive in the new economy.

At a conceptual level, we define digital as a data-oriented mindset — a belief that the applications, insights and business opportunities from data are limitless and, because of this, will redefine entire markets. At a practical level, digital is about the application of certain kinds of technology, by which we mean designing, building and operating those technologies in a particular way.

When it comes to investing in technology, pre-digital incumbents often don’t know what technology or technologies to prioritise. Leaders are besieged by journalists, thought leaders and marketing teams who preach and promise about the future of tech. Further, technology changes so fast that what’s considered cutting-edge today is obsolete tomorrow. When prioritising, we encourage you to focus on structure and purpose, rather than specific technologies. It’s important to get the backbone right. Once you do, the rest will fall into place.

We call this backbone the digital enablement. This is not technology per se, but rather a core set of capabilities that will bolster your business’s digital maturity. If you think of strategy, organisational ...