During the Covid-19 pandemic, businesses had to look for innovative ways to operate remotely. To ensure business continuity, organisations turned to tech and went all in on various tools and platforms. Now that the pandemic is fading, this technology remains a vital workforce accelerator.

At a recent event hosted by Altron Systems Integration, in partnership with Digicert, tech experts unpacked how businesses can unlock the full potential of digital transformation. The overall sentiment from all speakers was clear: technology does not innovate, people do.

Caryn Vos, senior manager at Altron Systems Integration, kick-started the event highlighting the need for digital transformation through partnerships. “Technological advancements have far reaching implications. But we need to understand how the digital transformation can affect different industries, further cementing the importance of partnerships,” Vos said.

Among the speakers was author and digital transformation thought leader Nicky Verd. She mentioned that digital transformation puts technology at the core of every business strategy, therefore every effort should ensure that people – who are an essential part of a successful transformation – are prepared.

“A tech-first approach leads to failure,” said Verd. “Even though technology does so much, and digital innovation is the destination you’re heading for, it’s humans who make it happen.”

Speaking to the fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and technological disruption, Verd said: “The 4IR is not only about new technologies, new software and new apps – it is about the birth of a new era which coincides with new ways of thinking, leadership, working and doing business.

Future-proof enterprise

“When digital transformation is applied to its full potential, the result is a data-driven, agile, customer-centric, future-proof enterprise,” Verd said. “The benefits of an agile, data-driven business with scalable access to cloud technology are attractive. Digital transformation allows companies to understand customers at a deeper level. As a result, this improves the customer experience.”

According to Verd, although adapting digital transformations in organisations presents numerous benefits, digitally transforming is not as simple as it seems. “Putting people and culture at the heart of digital transformation allows an organisation to innovate and transform quickly. Instilling a new mindset in any environment always seems insurmountable. However, if you take care of the culture, then the customer experience and profits will take care of themselves,” she said.

Brandon Malambo, platinum client manager at DigiCert, highlighted the importance of digital trust in a world of digital transformation. “Public key infrastructure is the backbone of digital trust for organisations that value cybersecurity resiliency and is what enables us all to have confidence in the multitude of digital connections we make every day,” he said.

“With the DigiCert One solution, we provide organisations with automation and integration tools to allow for a more seamless deployment of a robust public key infrastructure, capable of scaling to meet any enterprise use case, while allowing for a user-friendly experience in the adoption of public key infrastructure best security practices.”

For Verd, technological transformation within organisations is more than just getting new software and it should be approached holistically. “Leaders often make the mistake of jumping on the digital transformation bandwagon, investing in new technologies without first equipping their staff effectively,” she said. “It is necessary to prepare them early and find out and get their feedback on the transition process. This requires leaders who are agile and innovative. It is important for leaders to understand digital systems and processes, even if it means learning from the tech-savvy millennials.”

In closing, Verd said: “The conversation about technology is no longer reserved only for tech experts, policymakers or IT guys. We’re all being impacted by tech, and everyone should be part of the conversation.”

About Altron System Integration
We are a specialist provider, leveraging world-class technology and leading practices to architect, implement and support sustainable ICT-based business solutions that are strategically aligned, fit for purpose, cost effective and optimised for performance.

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