The most proven business models in the world today share a transformation digital vision within their structure, people and technology. Winners in the digital age recognize that dealing with digital disruption is not about technology, it is about creating a new customer engagement experience and an entirely new way of doing business. It is a mix of fear and worry that might disrupt their business, and drive them into a new landscape of ambiguity.
In a study published by Capgemini Consulting and MIT Center for Digital Business, two key dimensions for successful digital transformation were identified: the What and the How. The What represents digital intensity, a measure of the strength of digital activities of an organization. The How represents transformation management intensity, a measure of an organization's vision, governance, and skills. Companies that are strong in digital intensity conduct numerous digital initiatives, but only effective transformation management helps them identify and deliver digital investments in a powerful and well-coordinated way. Companies that excel in both dimensions are called the Digirati.
A good illustration of Digirati is Burberry, the 155-year-old fashion company and the iconic UK brand that drove a digital transformation strategy and transformed into a leading luxury brand. Former Burberry CEO Angela Ahrendts once said, I grew up in a physical world; and I speak English. The next generation is growing up in a digital world; and they speak social. Her vision was to turn Burberry to be the first company to be fully digital end to end. Proactive, decisive and futurist, Angela Ahrendts was committed to pursue digital as a core strategy from 2006, inspired by digital leaders like Apple and Google, turning Burberry into one of the most prominent players in the digital space.
Her superior value proposition at that time was creating and integrating a digital strategy starting by the top layer of the company, adopting a top down approach to ensure a successful digital transformation. As a result, Burberry stood out among the global luxury retail giants as one of the best digital performers.
According to McKinsey Global Institute report, Disruptive technologies: Advances that will transform life, business, and the global economy, the applications of the 12 identified technologies that could drive transformations and disruptions could have a potential economic impact between $ 14 trillion and $ 33 trillion a year in 2025.
This induces a state of alert among all business leaders to keep their organizational strategies updated as a response to continually evolving technologies, and to praise disruptive innovation as their guiding star.
