The Great Digital Transformation of 2016 actually started years ago. But as the new reality is dawning, companies are becoming increasingly aware that they had better find a forward path across the great looming digital divide.
Successful digital transformation is no longer a 'nice to have'. It must now be a business practice. Otherwise, your company risks losing customers, suppliers and a whole crop of highly-skilled talent. You will also be increasingly less relevant in a highly competitive marketplace where every advantage counts.
Here's are 3 key changes you should be making now:
1. Collaboration and Social Software in the Enterprise. From Microsoft's SharePoint to Igloo to Slack, companies that acknowledge the need for a non-email interactive collaborative team platform will be ahead of the game. Everyone agrees that email is not working - in face many millennials don't even use email! Collaboration with social tools internally will go a long way in making your teams more productive.
2. Mobile First. Forget mobile maybe. Your outward facing communication, starting with your website must be optimized for mobile and mobile search. Internally, you should have a robust mobile enablement plan that address things like application deployment, content management, and security etc.
3. Real-Time Analytics. In 2016, data is in the driver's seat. This may turn out to be the true market disruptor of 2016. Big data is often too big from which to glean meaningful and actionable insights. This puts machine analytics is front and center. As digital transformation grows, new software will drive entire business models. The need for cloud-scale services, predictive algorithms, and full-stack visibility - all in real-time - has never been greater.
The race is on. Do not be left on the chasm of the great divide.
Beverly Macy is the author of The Power of Real-Time Social Media Marketing and teaches at UCLA Anderson School of Management.