As a developing country, we have, of course, developing organizations within our walls. And, organizations that don’t pay special attention to how they will develop, will soon fall behind as technological changes keep happening.

Focusing on digital transformation is key, but what is this profound transformation that everyone seems to be following suit with?

WHAT IS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

Within any organization, there are processes, business models, certain activities, and competencies, that need to be adhered to. By integrating digital technologies into these systems one can accelerate the impact of your business across the community, the country, and the world.

THERE ARE ESSENTIALLY 3 DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION MODELS

The first is vertical integration, whereby you take on a monopoly sector to fuel your own business. By way of an example – the Ford Motor Group is a good one, whereby they bought the rubber plant to supply tyres.

The second is known as the “core to context” focus, whereby the organization focuses on its core offering and outsources the “context” items.

The third model is also best explained via an example – AirBNB and Uber come to mind. Whereby, they have harnessed the benefits of technology to run an enterprise that, essentially, does not own any of the physical components that make their business work.

The latter being the focus here in that this model relies heavily on the cloud, IoT, and mobile technology, the real future of a disruptive organization.

WHERE DO ORGANISATIONS OFTEN STUMBLE IN THEIR JOURNEY TO A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION?

Old-style legacy models can hold them back. We all had to start somewhere, and generally, a start-up will rely on a comfort zone, such as excel or paper to run their

businesses through. Converting from a legacy system to cloud-based software can be both scary and expensive, but is a necessary evil in order to stay afloat in this tech world. Most of this department is sadly far from where the rest of the world is.

The lack of time

Businesses are running at full tilt and to find the time to learn a new system and allow staff time off to tackle new skill sets, just isn’t plausible or practical.

Education is lacking from word go

The lack of specific and dedicated education units and growth models within the school system and tertiary leaves most lacking, especially in South Africa. While there is progress in this department, it is sadly far from where the rest of the world is.

IS IT REALLY ALL DOOM AND GLOOM?

Certainly not! South Africa is on its way to expanding its digital footprint and cloud-based technology is on the rise. It is not so much that organizations don’t want to change, it is that they struggle with the time factor involved in the change.

So, this is where innovative means are required:

Creating an easy platform for learners – micro-learning – digital learning – on-the-go learning and many other forward-thinking platforms can be utilized to learn faster.

Customized learning is huge. Where a learner can choose how they want to go forward with their studies, dependent often on their skill set and mode of learning preferred.

Using L&D to attract talent and retain said talent is key for organizations. It is an expensive process to recruit good people nowadays and it makes sense to find ways to bring in the right ones and keep them. Education is that way.

At Affinity Group, we are big believers in the future of innovative digital technologies. Whether it comes down to a system that can make yours or your clients’ lives easier or a process that assists your staff to carry out their job more efficiently, we are always looking for ways to develop.

We urge you to explore digital technology to its fullest, and speak to us should you have any questions.