WHY IT MATTERS: Digital Transformation

Early in the 2000s, Google and other web companies forecasted that people would consume Internet mostly via mobile devices (leading in part to Google investing in Android).

In 2014, mobile took over desktop for browsing the web (http://cnnmon.ie/1saCX3b). In its state of Internet report (SOTI 1Q14 http://bit.ly/1saE1UI), this Akamai chart shows that people are not buying iPhones and other mobile devices as phone replacements but as desktop replacements. The chart also highlights the importance of ubiquitous mobile network availability, via cellular or wifi.

But contrary to home or office usage, mobile depends on public networks to give users access to the Internet. For now, private corporations (telcos) have been the only ones providing this essential service. Soon, governments should consider providing the wireless telecommunication networks as part of their infrastructure, in a similar way that they provide roads, sewer and aqueducs.

Kano was a 1.5M$ kickstarter project that now ships its first 18000 computers. It feels like the modern day version of electronic kits for kids such as the 130-in-1 which I played when I was young and that got my daughter interested in technology when she was young.

Kano feels like this amazing kit to help kids learn about programming, in what many believe to be an essential skill for the future.

http://bit.ly/1C7gTZG

http://amzn.to/1p2cEsD 

http://onforb.es/1C7gDKv

http://onforb.es/1p2dNjL

Draws attention to the growing number of CDO appointments in large organizations recently. Then again, does not mean that because everyone is doing it everyone is right either. I just penned a paper to be published soon that describes the 3 choices a CEO has when confronted with a digital transformation not going well. Either the CIO or the CMO takes leadership or a new position is created to bridge the gaps and get people to work together: the CDO.

Not an easy choice to make...

In french. Very good article to demonstrate how industries blind themselves to digital transformation. In this case the professional board of optometrists prevents the sale of prescription glasses online, stating that certain measurements are very specific and must be done by an optometrist. And the regulation was perfect in the age of physical stores, where competitors were across the street or across town.

With Internet, this rule does not apply anymore. Competitors may be anywhere, in the US, Europe or India. And they are not subject to the same rules. This makes the regulation that was once created to protect the public and level the competitive playing field, is now hurting the local optometrists. And the same is true with other professional boards, pharmacists for example (it is not easy to sell prescription drugs online in Quebec, but very easy to buy prescriptions online from US or elsewhere).

We need the professional boards to adapt their regulations to the new reality or face falling off the digital cliff.

A bit long winded for those that follow the topic, this article nevertheless brings forward essential strategic thinking the C-suite executives should ask themselves today. Most important thinking comes at the end, so stick through it.

Think of banking, which essentially a data-driven business, and ask yourself if their leaders have read papers like this one... Or retailers, which often sit on millions of transaction data from their POS and websites without using it to drive their business decisions. 

Most overused these days, omni-channel is often a concept that is difficult to understand. This paper sheds some lights onto the concept as well as provides very useful concrete examples that describe how companies put omni-channel through its paces. 

Moreover, the paper delivers the concept with a focus on data, which indeed appears to be the glue that ties omni-channel together very well. Even though the focus is on retail, I believe this may also apply to banks and other physical locations where customers interact with businesses.

Just realized that I never got around to sharing this most important paper from McKinsey. It is important for anyone concerned with digital transformation because it highlights how digital transforms the way we do things, not just how we do things. 

For example, eCommerce has not only made catalog ordering faster by providing us with a browser on the Internet as opposed to a paper ordering form that must be mailed or faxed in to the retailer office. eCommerce has transformed the way we purchase digital goods such as music and travel, allowing social integration with reviews, comments and suggestions.

McKinsey highlights here how different the process is and moving us away from the funnel metaphor to a never-ending loop that, if all goes well, builds on itself and grows.

Part of the essential reads one must make to understand digital transformation.

Also read:

Interactive tool from Google provides insight into “The Customer Journey to Online Purchase" via @google http://sco.lt/4s8QVd