Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 44 | Page 33

+ EDITOR’S QUESTION ///////////////// HENRIQUE VALE, HEAD OF NOKIA SOFTWARE FOR MEA AT NOKIA D igital Transformation promises a lot and most of the companies in our industry are in the process of some sort of Digital Transformation. According to a Forbes study, enterprises globally are expected to spend about US$1.3 trillion on Digital Transformation. However, the sad truth is that 70% of their projects fail, resulting in a US$900 billion miss. Therefore, there needs to be a thorough assessment of what is being done and how success rates can be increased. There are various commonalities in the 30% of projects that do succeed. They move in digital time, with a corporate wide approach to digitisation, without fear of disruption. They are bold. They also have a thoughtful approach to digitisation. For that reason, we should not talk about Digital Transformation but rather Digital Reinvention. This involves getting rid of the notion of transformation entirely. Digital leaders don’t transform slowly. They reinvent quickly. They do it by: • Setting a clear digital ambition • Having a clear e2e design point • Launching smart pilot projects that go beyond providing new technology and rather aim at exploring new ways of working. Such pilots are important as they provide the opportunity to either succeed or quickly fail • Then scaling successful projects with the newly created knowledge from the pilot • De-risking through the proper investments in change, resources, models and technology is the final step. Many companies fail here, especially in the human factor of change management www.intelligentcio.com We’re living in an unprecedented age of opportunity for communication services providers (CSPs) that are customer-centric, data-driven and agile. They will seize the day and break through their legacy barriers. Faced with declining traditional revenues, CSPs need to increase customer mindshare “ YES, THEY NEED TO MOVE FAST, BUT SPEED IS NOT ENOUGH; AGILITY IS THE KEY. WITHOUT AGILITY, SPEED TO MARKET IS THE SAME AS OUTDATED IDEAS SPUN OUT FASTER. and share of wallet. Customers are looking for something new, bold and differentiated, but that doesn’t mean CSPs’ focus should be the speed of bringing digital services to market. Yes, they need to move fast, but speed is not enough; agility is the key. Without agility, speed to market is the same as outdated ideas spun out faster. Agility and data often go hand in hand. For instance, most CSPs are sitting on a goldmine of data. The approach to data should be more proactive and reactive, creative and innovative. It’s about being data-driven in their decision-making – connecting insights with actions and predictions with personalisation. And this needs to happen within a fabric that combines the intelligence of technology and people to enhance each other. The totality is what we at Nokia call ‘connected intelligence’. Today’s reality for many CSPs, however, is quite different. Data doesn’t offer an instant insight until you ‘close the loop’, revalidate and continue that cycle. Technologies and teams are often siloed. Legacy systems and processes are unable to cope, and risks are commonly avoided. Therefore, to reap the benefit of digital reinvention, CSPs must take a bold approach to solve these challenges. n INTELLIGENTCIO 33