That’s according to Nicolas Glady, director of ESSEC’s Center for Digital Business, who believes that companies need people to master new technological and digital tools, but who are primarily business-driven.
This is a view that is increasingly shared by business, which is under pressure to transform with digital from shareholders, consumers, and tech-savvy competitors such as Uber or Airbnb.
The use of tech to improve performance is a hot topic. Are executives under pressure to transform with digital?
They certainly are. But the pitfall to avoid is to transform with digital because “you need to transform with digital”. You shouldn't focus on the digital tools but on the business objectives. For instance, if you want to adopt digital transformations for your company because you want to be more efficient, then improve your customer experience, or reduce your time to market. Digital is a means, not an end.
Is disruptive competition pushing firms to pay more attention to digital tech?
There is no doubt about it. Many companies are very afraid to be “Uberized”. They do not want to be disintermediated by a pure player or a platform that would make their business model obsolete.
Are the demands of consumers also pushing firms to transform with technology?
Consumers do not really care about technology. What they want is to be served faster, better and for a cheaper price. But digital technologies very often enable us to achieve these objectives.
How important is leadership in driving digital transformation?
Major changes in a company need to have a strong and senior sponsorship. At some point, if the highest levels of a company fail to propose a digital vision, digital transformations cannot happen.
Is there a need to invest in digital-savvy talent?
We need to have talent who understand digital technology, but see those technologies as a means and not an end. Very often, IT or digital projects fail because they are technology-driven, not business-driven. We need people mastering technological and digital tools, but who are primarily business-driven.
What lengths is business education going to, to produce such talent?
At ESSEC, we believe that by combining different training — IT, computer sciences, coding, business, communication, and management — that we'll produce that talent. That’s why we’ve partnered with Centrale-Supélec [an educational institution focused on engineering sciences], on several programs. We want to train hybrid digital managers and leaders.
Despite coming under pressure, few companies are gaining the full value of tech change. What are the key challenges?
Since you need to approach digital transformations from a customer-centric and business-driven perspective, it means that you need to have a cross-department and transversal approach.
You need to break [down] the silos within the company. That’s also why it’s more difficult for larger companies to adopt those innovations quickly compared to more agile organizations.
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