Era of Mobile Transformation

It’s been a long while since my last post, and a lot has changed in digital hasn’t it? Digital is here to stay, so much so, I’ve identified three particular areas where this is true:

1. The meaning of digital transformation has changed
2. New paradigms have emerged
3. What was new before is now business as usual

1. Meaning of Digital Transformation Has Changed

What it means to become a digitally driven enterprise has changed in the last year and a half. Being a digital forward organization used to mean shifting more marketing/communications budgets/approaches towards digital and/or digitizing what is “offline” to digital. We now know that there will always be challenges along the way yet even that mindset has to change.

In order for large businesses to accelerate digital acumen, the answer isn’t to ignore the business problem, existing non-digital assets and infrastructure that’s driven businesses to growth today, but rather understand how to shift to consumer first, tackle the customer pain points and then calibrate the strategy, operations and processes accordingly in a smart, continuous and agile way.

2. New Digital Paradigms Have Emerged

Cloud based products and the IoT (Internet of Things) is taking full shape in our lifetime. Companies are struggling to keep up with the changing landscape. It’s inconceivable that before 2012 Snapchat didn’t exist or that Netflix would be in the movie business. These forward thinking companies are following the consumer, understanding the behavior and solving for their needs.

3. What Was New Is Now Business As Usual

There isn’t a digital revolution, it has come and we are past the digital chasm. More prominently, mobile is the new revolution, it’s consuming all that is digital and bringing it to the physical. Smartphones are how we consume, read content, view movies, communicate, work and even pay each other.

Mobile has been a catalyst to changing consumer behavior. Small businesses receive direct feedback from consumers and even collect payments directly. Consumer behaviors have given mobile companies a huge leg up and of course the ability to naturally apply continuous learning.