My discussions with organizations looking to “digitally transform” themselves is yielding some interesting observations. I expect that when these discussions move into the execution phase, we will start to create some “Laws of Digital Transformation” that will guide organizations digital transformation journey. So with that in mind, let me start by proposing these “4 Laws of Digital Transformation”.

Law #1: It’s About Business Models, Not Just The Business
Digital Transformation is about innovating business models, not just optimizing business processes

Organizations are looking to leverage these digital assets to create new “economic moats.” Warren Buffett, the investor extraordinaire, popularized the term “economic moat.” “Economic moat” refers to a business’s ability to maintain competitive advantages over its competitors (through process and technology innovation and patents) in order to protect its long-term profits and market share from competing firms.

As highlighted in the McKinsey Quarterly article titled “Competing In A World Of Sectors Without Borders,” organizations are embracing digital transformation to knock down traditional industry boundaries and disrupt conventional business models (see Figure 1).

Figure 1:  Digital Transformation Driving New Ecosystems and Business Models

While organizations that are looking to “digitally transform” themselves need to look long term, they can, and should, apply their digital assets to optimizing today’s key business and operational processes with machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities.

Law #2: It’s About Eliminating Barriers Associated with Time and Distance
Digital Transformation is about coupling digital technologies with digital assets in order to eliminate time and distance barriers in your business model.

Let’s say that you are in the retail industry and looking to identify opportunities to combine digital technologies with digital assets to eliminate time and distance as barriers to your business model. The scenario outlined in Table 1 provides an example of that process.

Customer Need:  Order More Cap’n Crunch Cereal
Traditional Business Model	Digitally Transformed Business Model
Scour the Sunday paper and look for Cap’n Crunch coupons	Yell from your kitchen table:  “Alexa, order me two boxes of Cap’n Crunch”
Search local grocery stores with Cap’n Crunch on sale
Get dressed to go out into public (can’t just wear underwear to the store)
Carve out the time to get in the car and drive to the store
Stop at the gas station to re-fuel your car that you daughter never fills up!
Aimlessly drive around the grocery store parking lot trying to find an open parking spot
Trek through the labyrinth of aisles in the store to find the Cap’n Crunch
Stand in line waiting to pay for your Cap’n Crunch
Patiently wait for your credit card transaction to be accepted at check out
Trudge through the hot parking lot trying to remember where you parked your car
Fight traffic to drive back home
Lug your boxes of Cap’n Crunch into the house

Table 1: Traditional versus Digitally Transformed Business Models

The scenario in Table 1 isn’t just optimizing the ordering process. The scenario in Table 1 requires the complete re-wiring of the organization’s business model and value creation process: from demand planning to procurement to quality control to logistics to inventory management to distribution to marketing to store operations to customer experience.

There are a multitude of opportunities for organizations to couple digital technologies with digital assets to remove time and distance barriers across the organization’s value creation model. Let’s go old school (“there’s no school like old school”) and check out the blog “Michael Porter’s Value Chain Creation Model” to start that brainstorming process (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Michael E. Porter “Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analyzing Industries and Competitors

Law #3:  It’s About Creating New Digital Assets
Digital Transformation is about creating new digital assets (data, analytics, and insights about customers, product, operations and markets)

Organizations need to create new digital assets around customer, product and operational insights. Organizations need to capture the analytical and behavioral insights about their customers, products and operations including tendencies, inclinations, predispositions, propensities, biases, preferences, trends, performance and usage patterns, associations and affiliations.

But these new digital assets can’t be built all at once.  Organizations need a thoughtful process for building out these analytic and behavioral insights one use case at a time.  See the blog “Analytic Profiles: Key to Data Monetization” for more details on how to leverage the Data Lake and Analytic Profiles to build out your organization’s new digital assets (see Figure 3).

Figure 3:  Leverage Analytics Profiles to build New Core Competencies

These customer, product and operational data and analytics are corporate assets like we have never seen before. These digital assets never wear out and never depreciate. In fact, the more that you use these digital assets, the more their value increases. And these digital assets never deplete so they can be used across an infinite number of use cases at no additional cost.

Consequently, organizations need an entirely new approach to properly manage and leverage these digital assets. My recent University of San Francisco research paper “Applying Economic Concepts To Big Data To Determine The Financial Value Of The Organization’s Data And Analytics Research Paper” lays out a process for not only determining the economic value of your data and analytics, but also how to use these new digital assets to fuel your digital transformation process.

Law #4: It’s About Predictive Intelligence
Digital Transformation is about predicting what’s likely to happen, prescribing actions and learning from the results faster than your competition.

Digital transformation is about creating an organization that continuously explores, tests and learns. Every customer engagement is an opportunity to learn more about the preferences and behaviors of your customers. Every product activity is an opportunity to learn more about the performance and usage of your products. Every employee, supplier and partner engagement is an opportunity to learn more about the effectiveness and efficiencies of your operations.

Leading organizations do this at scale, continuously exploring new ideas and testing new concepts in order to fuel the continuous learning cycle. Leading organizations master the “Art of Failure” where the “fail fast but learn faster” mentality permeates the entire organization. These organizations embrace the power of “might,” because if organizations don’t have enough might moments, they won’t have any break-through moments.

In the end, these organizations look to build “smart” or “intelligent” products, services and processes that self-monitor, self-diagnose, self-correct and self-learn; that strive to continuously refine and fine-tune the organization’s digital transformation journey.

The post The 4 Laws of Digital Transformation appeared first on InFocus Blog | Dell EMC Services.

Internet of @ThingsExpo, taking place October 31 - November 2, 2017, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, CA, is co-located with 21st Cloud Expo and will feature technical sessions from a rock star conference faculty and the leading industry players in the world.

Download Show Prospectus ▸ Here

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the most profound change in personal and enterprise IT since the creation of the Worldwide Web more than 20 years ago.

All major researchers estimate there will be tens of billions devices - computers, smartphones, tablets, and sensors - connected to the Internet by 2020. This number will continue to grow at a rapid pace for the next several decades.

With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing IoT strategies, now is the perfect time to attend @ThingsExpo in Silicon Valley. Learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is as "IoT-Ready" as it can be!

With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing Cloud strategies, now is the perfect time to attend 21st Cloud Expo, October 31 - November 2, 2017, at the Santa Clara Convention Center, CA, and June 12-14, 2018, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is on the right path to Digital Transformation.

Track 1. Enterprise Cloud | Cloud-Native
Track 2. Big Data | Analytics
Track 3. Internet of Things | IIoT | Smart Cities
Track 4. DevOps | Digital Transformation (DX)
Track 5. APIs | Cloud Security | Mobility
Track 6. AI | ML | DL | Cognitive
Track 7. Containers | Microservices | Serverless
Track 8. FinTech | InsurTech | Token Economy

Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo 2017 Silicon Valley
(October 31 - November 2, 2017, Santa Clara Convention Center, CA)

Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo 2018 New York 
(June 12-14, 2018, Javits Center, Manhattan)

Download Show Prospectus ▸ Here

Every Global 2000 enterprise in the world is now integrating cloud computing in some form into its IT development and operations. Midsize and small businesses are also migrating to the cloud in increasing numbers.  

Companies are each developing their unique mix of cloud technologies and services, forming multi-cloud and hybrid cloud architectures and deployments across all major industries. Cloud-driven thinking has become the norm in financial services, manufacturing, telco, healthcare, transportation, energy, media, entertainment, retail and other consumer industries, and the public sector.

Cloud Expo is the single show where technology buyers and vendors can meet to experience and discus cloud computing and all that it entails. Sponsors of Cloud Expo will benefit from unmatched branding, profile building and lead generation opportunities through:

• Featured on-site presentation and ongoing on-demand webcast exposure to a captive audience of industry decision-makers.
• Showcase exhibition during our new extended dedicated expo hours
• Breakout Session Priority scheduling for Sponsors that have been guaranteed a 35-minute technical session
• Online advertising in SYS-CON's i-Technology Publications
• Capitalize on our Comprehensive Marketing efforts leading up to the show with print mailings, e-newsletters and extensive online media coverage.
• Unprecedented PR Coverage: Editorial Coverage on Cloud Computing Journal.
  
• Tweetup to over 75,000 plus followers
• Press releases sent on major wire services to over 500 industry analysts.

For more information on sponsorship, exhibit, and keynote opportunities, contact Carmen Gonzalez by email at events (at) sys-con.com, or by phone 201 802-3021.

The World's Largest "Cloud Digital Transformation" Event

@CloudExpo | @ThingsExpo 2017 Silicon Valley
(Oct. 31 - Nov. 2, 2017, Santa Clara Convention Center, CA)

@CloudExpo | @ThingsExpo 2018 New York 
(June 12-14, 2018, Javits Center, Manhattan)

Full Conference Registration Gold Pass and Exhibit Hall ▸ Here

Register For @CloudExpo ▸ Here via EventBrite

Register For @ThingsExpo ▸ Here via EventBrite

Register For @DevOpsSummit ▸ Here via EventBrite

Sponsorship Opportunities

Sponsors of Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo will benefit from unmatched branding, profile building and lead generation opportunities through:

• Featured on-site presentation and ongoing on-demand webcast exposure to a captive audience of industry decision-makers
• Showcase exhibition during our new extended dedicated expo hours
• Breakout Session Priority scheduling for Sponsors that have been guaranteed a 35 minute technical session
• Online targeted advertising in SYS-CON's i-Technology Publications
• Capitalize on our Comprehensive Marketing efforts leading up to the show with print mailings, e-newsletters and extensive online media coverage
• Unprecedented Marketing Coverage: Editorial Coverage on ITweetup to over 100,000 plus followers, press releases sent on major wire services to over 500 industry analysts

For more information on sponsorship, exhibit, and keynote opportunities, contact Carmen Gonzalez (@GonzalezCarmen) today by email at events (at) sys-con.com, or by phone 201 802-3021.

Secrets of Sponsors and Exhibitors ▸ Here
Secrets of Cloud Expo Speakers ▸ Here

All major researchers estimate there will be tens of billions devices - computers, smartphones, tablets, and sensors - connected to the Internet by 2020. This number will continue to grow at a rapid pace for the next several decades.

With major technology companies and startups seriously embracing Cloud strategies, now is the perfect time to attend @CloudExpo | @ThingsExpo, October 31 - November 2, 2017, at the Santa Clara Convention Center, CA, and June 12-4, 2018, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, and learn what is going on, contribute to the discussions, and ensure that your enterprise is on the right path to Digital Transformation.

Delegates to Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo will be able to attend 8 simultaneous, information-packed education tracks.

There are over 120 breakout sessions in all, with Keynotes, General Sessions, and Power Panels adding to three days of incredibly rich presentations and content.

Join Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo conference chair Roger Strukhoff (@IoT2040), October 31 - November 2, 2017, Santa Clara Convention Center, CA, and June 12-14, 2018, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, for three days of intense Enterprise Cloud and 'Digital Transformation' discussion and focus, including Big Data's indispensable role in IoT, Smart Grids and (IIoT) Industrial Internet of Things, Wearables and Consumer IoT, as well as (new) Digital Transformation in Vertical Markets.

Financial Technology - or FinTech - Is Now Part of the @CloudExpo Program!

Accordingly, attendees at the upcoming 21st Cloud Expo | @ThingsExpo October 31 - November 2, 2017, Santa Clara Convention Center, CA, and June 12-14, 2018, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY, will find fresh new content in a new track called FinTech, which will incorporate machine learning, artificial intelligence, deep learning, and blockchain into one track.

Financial enterprises in New York City, London, Singapore, and other world financial capitals are embracing a new generation of smart, automated FinTech that eliminates many cumbersome, slow, and expensive intermediate processes from their businesses.

FinTech brings efficiency as well as the ability to deliver new services and a much improved customer experience throughout the global financial services industry. FinTech is a natural fit with cloud computing, as new services are quickly developed, deployed, and scaled on public, private, and hybrid clouds.

More than US$20 billion in venture capital is being invested in FinTech this year. @CloudExpo is pleased to bring you the latest FinTech developments as an integral part of our program, starting at the 21st International Cloud Expo October 31 - November 2, 2017 in Silicon Valley, and June 12-14, 2018, in New York City.

@CloudExpo is accepting submissions for this new track, so please visit www.CloudComputingExpo.com for the latest information.

Speaking Opportunities

The upcoming 21st International @CloudExpo | @ThingsExpo, October 31 - November 2, 2017, Santa Clara Convention Center, CA, and June 12-14, 2018, at the Javits Center in New York City, NY announces that its Call For Papers for speaking opportunities is open.

Submit your speaking proposal today! ▸ Here

About SYS-CON Media & Events
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