One way to help silence the critics would be to find another name for digital transformation. We should stop using the term blindly and instead focus on the outcomes we’re trying to achieve with technology.
That approach resonates with the CIO community. Almost every IT chief will tell you that their organization is running business transformation, not technology transformation, projects. That’s certainly the case for Richard Corbridge, CIO at property specialist Segro. “I like business transformation more,” he told ZDNET.
“I think the word transformation has become a bit untrendy; a bit tried and tested. Transformations have been happening for such a long time. Transformation is a word that’s been bandied around for so long, but I think it’s just common now and is part of modern business practices.”
Other industry commentators suggest culling the phrase digital transformation and creating a slightly modified alternative, such as digital landscape, underlying digital environment, or data-led plumbing.
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The big problem with all these alternative names is that they mean even less than the concept of digital transformation. For all its inherent faults, we all have a preconceived idea of what digital transformation means, whether it’s implementing the cloud or using AI to automate manual tasks.
These kinds of digital transformations have shown how technology changes the business for the better. Proving the value of technology has been a tough battle for CIOs and other IT professionals. Yes, the concept of digital transformation has flaws. However, the IT industry should be pleased that the business recognizes the great work the technology team is undertaking, regardless of what it’s called.
Remember that the rest of the business tends to struggle with big IT concepts. Take the example of the phrase “cloud computing,” which used to receive nonplussed expressions from non-IT execs 10-plus years ago. Now, the cloud is a broadly understood and accepted term.
Cloud found its footing by proving its value — and so it is with other digital transformation projects, such as exploring AI or implementing IoT and sensors. The business has seen the value of digital transformation in recent years and wants a lot more in the future.
