Digital transformation is still met with resistance from those who run a company outside of the IT department. “It’s a war between old-school, technophobe leaders and the technology innovation that represents a completely different way of doing business,” according to the report.
However, traditional business strategy can’t survive when technology is increasingly putting the power in the hands of customers by relying on constant feedback and activity.
For example, older companies like Unilever and Procter & Gamble are finally gaining ground against newer companies like Apple and Google. The household brands are outperforming digital giants simply because they possess 80% of the world’s commercialized data.
Unilever and Procter & Gamble can market themselves as innovative industry incumbents and have essentially “reached the pinnacle of personalization” with their accumulated data. Harnessing data and using it in a way that propels a company ahead of its competitors is a root causation of digital transformation.
By cultivating a business model that puts data in the forefront, companies can expect to outpace their lagging competitors. But disrupting a business model that may have existed for decades before the cloud is a daunting task especially when AI, ML and blockchain can all be incorporated into the redesign.
Just like data, software, the cloud and other emerging techs will “become business assets, not just technology enablers,” according to the report. Because of this more, lofty investments should be expected.