IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and

Innovation
Week 1: Introduction to Digital Transformation

Video 1: Module Overview Introduction to Digital Transformation

Welcome to the module of Introduction to Digital Transformation. Here we'll talk about
digital transformation and its related strategy. We'll also talk about components of
digital strategy. We'll talk about types of digital transformation starting from
operational transformation leading to business model transformation and finally, we'll
talk about strategic transformation. Also, we'll cover history of business transformation
starting from first Industrial Revolution to Industry 4.0. We'll cover digital strategy
framework in this module. Further, we'll talk about the difference between digitisation
and digitalisation where we'll talk about the example of analogue and digital watches.
We'll also talk about various drivers for digital strategies.
The drivers could include external drivers as well as internal drivers. External drivers
could be competition, governing agencies or government push, whereas internal
driver could be growth, dynamic leadership and so on. We'll talk about adoption of
digital technologies also in this module where we'll talk about various degree of digital
adoption starting from digitally unaware to digital expert organisations. We'll start with
the basic definition of digital transformation.
Academic definition of digital transformation states that digital transformation is
concerned with changes that digital technologies can bring about in a company's
business model, which can result in changed products or even in the changes in
organisation structure or even in the automation of processes given by Hess et al., in
2016.
In generic terms, digital transformation means shifting your mindset to a digital-first
company, transforming your operations and delivering more customer value to the
customers. Further, thinking digitally enables your brand to be more competitive, more
profitable and more aligned with customer behaviour. In fact, the pandemic aspirated
the shift in consumer behaviour to digital, disrupting market share and customer
experiences. We'll talk about digital transformation strategies. So, all companies need
to have transformation strategy.
Some companies are born digital, or they are also digital natives. We can have
examples like Uber or Airbnb, which are born digital, or they are digital natives.
Traditional companies sometimes transform themselves into digital companies. We
have a very good example: GE. Where they have transformed themselves into a

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 1

digital company. Digital transformation strategy refers to the strategies enabled by
digital technologies.
Video 2: Components of Digital Strategy
In this video, we'll talk about components of Digital strategy. We'll basically focus on
five different components of digital strategy. So, we'll start with the strategy lead
component. So, a digital strategy is led by strategy and not technology. Technology
forms the backbone, whereas strategy is the main thing.
Then, if we talk about innovation driven, most digital strategies involve innovation at
multiple levels. This could include product innovation or process innovation, or in fact,
we can have people innovation. The third component of digital strategy is Business
model changing. A significant impact of digital strategy is that they have enabled new
business models. The lines between product and services are getting blurred as a
result. The fourth component of digital strategy is value chain altering. A digital
strategy impacts all parts of a value chain. It not only changes the nature of the
product or services but the entire chain that supports this particular delivery.
The fifth component of digital strategy is technology itself. Technology forms a
critically, very important component of digital strategies. In fact, it drives the entire
digital strategy for any organisations. So, overall, what we have learned in this
particular video is there are five components of Digital strategy, starting from, Strategy
led organisation to Innovation driven. Further, we have talked about Business model
changing environment and Value chain altering. Finally, we talked about the most
important component of digital strategy that is technology.

Video 3: Types of Digital Transformation

In this video, we'll talk about various types of digital transformation. Broadly, digital
transformation can be categorised into two broad categories. One is evolutionary
transformation, and another is revolutionary transformation. So, let us discuss about
both evolutionary transformation and revolutionary transformation. So, we'll start with
the digital transformation and its basic, and then we'll talk about evolutionary and
revolutionary transformation.
So, digital transformation is about changing the way a company does its businesses.
Transformation is driven by external factors such as customer preferences,
competition and regulatory environment. It can also be caused by internal drivers like
change in leadership or availability of new processes or technologies. It can be
evolutionary in nature or revolutionary in nature.
So, let us discuss what is evolutionary transformation. Evolutionary transformation, as
the name suggests, it is gradual and take place in incremental steps. It is sustained

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 2

over a period and allows for a business to adapt the change. Evolutionary
transformation can be caused by technology projects or, in fact, process
improvements. It can be achieved through six sigma or through Kaizen projects. It is
usually not organisation wide, and in fact, it is limited to changes within a particular
function.
Let's talk about revolutionary transformation. Revolutionary transformation, on the
other hand, is implementing large change in a short duration of time. This
transformation could be driven by implementing new technologies or new business
models, and it can impact all aspects of businesses. Now, we'll talk about three types
of digital transformation.
First is operational transformation, second is business model transformation, third,
strategic transformation. Operational transformation, as the name suggests, it is about
making fundamental changes to processes and changing the way a company
operates. For example, it could include developing new processes for procuring input
material or a change in the core production processes itself. As an illustration, most
manufacturing companies we see these days have gone through waves of
transformational and as newer production methods were developed. We'll talk about
various factors of operational transformation and the illustration related to each and
every factors.
So first, if I talk about the factor of, one of the important factors of operational
transformation, it could be, what results does the work deliver? The illustration could
be, we should focus on lifetime customer value rather than the value of a single
transaction. Second factor could be, who performs the work? So, illustration could be,
one worker handles all issues related to a customer service escalation rather than
having multiple handoffs. It could be beneficial to organisation if a single person is
able to handle all customer related escalations. The third factor could be, where is the
work performed?
So, illustration could be, outsourcing of work that was traditionally handled in-house.
Fourth factor could be, when is the work performed? Then illustration could be,
specific tasks are moved to non-peak times for better utilisation of infrastructure. Fifth
factor could be, whether the work is performed or not? Illustration could be, in a B2B
sales, goods are shipped directly to a customer without trans-shipment at a
distributors warehouse.
Next factor could be, what information does the work employ? Illustration could be a
sales representative uses prior purchase data to offer solutions proactively. That could
be a perfect illustration. Or the next or the last factor of operational transformation
could be, how thoroughly the work is performed? Illustration for this could be, based
on data, preventing maintenance is used to avert issues proactively.

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 3

So, these factors are not exhaustive in nature. There could be other factors which we
have not incorporated over here. But overall, if you see the factors which I have listed
down here, this could serve as a guideline for any organisation in terms of their
operational transformation. Now, we'll talk about business model transformation.
Firstly, we'll see the definition of business model. A business model defines how a
company creates and captures value. To transform its value creation and value
capture mechanism, a company needs to organise its internal and external processes
differently.
Outcomes of business model transformations are generally riskier in nature, and they
are lesser predictable when compared to operational transformations. One of the most
widely discussed business transformation is how Amazon or Flipkart, for example,
with its e-commerce model, permanently changed the way books are produced and
sold in the market.
Now, we'll talk about strategic transformation. Strategic transformation is about
changing the entire essence of an organisation. It is a combination of operational and
business model transitions. It is the riskiest form of transformations and can have a
catastrophic impact on an organisation. If such a transformation succeeds, then it will
put the company way ahead of its competitors. The perfect example of strategic
transformation could be leading companies like Apple and Amazon.

Video 4A: History of Business Transformation- Part A

In this video, we'll talk about history of business transformation. We'll start from
Industrial Revolution first to the current fourth Industrial Revolution, which is also
known as Industry 4.0. So, what we have seen that industries have transformed
themselves multiple times over the last few centuries. Individual industries were
transformed due to the availability of new technology or equipment, discoveries and
inventions or new processes.
At the macro level, businesses and industries have gone through at least four stages
of transformation over the last few centuries. These stages are generally referred to
as your four industrial revolutions. The first Industrial Revolution started around 1760
and it went till 1840. So, basically the first Industrial Revolution centred around UK
and Europe. It was driven by three factors. The first factor was mechanisation of
industrial processes.
The second factor was harnessing of steam. The third factor was advances in iron
and steel. Till the start of the first Industrial Revolution, industries were mostly manual
and unorganised in nature. This revolution resulted in a significant shift in the way
industries were organised. A good illustration is the textile industry. Cotton was
imported by Britain from its colonies, including India. It was then woven into fabric in

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 4

the homes of spinners and weavers. Using a traditional spinning wheel, it took around
four to eight spinners to supply to one weaver.
The invention of new weaving tools caused a further imbalance to this relationship.
This imbalance in textile industry was eventually corrected by the invention of the
mechanised spinning wheel. As both these technologies evolved, some entrepreneurs
saw this as an opportunity to consolidate the two processes under one roof, thus
creating the first textile mill in the world. These mills very rapidly evolved from using
manually operated tools to steam power tools thus increasing the output of textiles
being produced.
Another key driver for the first industrial revolution was harnessing the steam power
through stationary steam engines. These engines could generate power thus reducing
the need for less efficient sources of energy or and also manual labour can be
eliminated.
Steam power also led to drastic improvement in machining technologies, such as we
have lathes machine or planning machines or milling machines and shaping machine
which led to further improvement in industrial equipment. The third driver for the first
industrial revolution was technological advances in iron and steel manufacturing. High
powered steam engines led to the development of blast furnaces that made iron and
steel making processes more efficient and scalable. Availability of steel and steam
power drove much of the first Industrial Revolution. The revolution also had a
significant impact on society.
Hitherto society had been primarily ruler and agrarian in nature. Setting up of large
factories led to urbanisation as people moved to cities to work in these factories.
Thus, in turn led to a growing need for additional infrastructure such as housing,
transport, water and food in the cities. Now we'll talk about the Second Industrial
Revolution, which started somewhere near 1870 and goes on till 1930.
The Second Industrial Revolution which is also known as Technology Revolution. It
began in the late 19th century, about 30 years after the decline of the previous
Industrial Revolution. Advancement in manufacturing technologies, large scale
infrastructure projects such as rails, railroads, water and sewage projects and newer
technologies such as electric power and telephones enabled the second revolution.
Another significant development of this age was electrification.
This invention of the AC electric motor in 1890 allowed for the electrification of
industries and factories. Electric lighting in factories eliminated the heat and pollution
caused by gas lights, reduced the cost of operations and significantly improved
working conditions. The Second Industrial Revolution was ended abruptly with the
start of World War I in the year 1940. However much like preceding the revolution, it
sets the wheel in motion for the next set of transformation.

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 5

Video 4B: History of Business Transformation- Part B
Later, we had the third Industrial Revolution, which again started around 1970 and it
on went on till 2050. The third Industrial Revolution began around 1970 with the
advent of semiconductors, computers, and Internet and mass communication. The
third Industrial Revolution leveraged electronics and information technology to
automate production to the next level. The move from analogue electronic and
mechanical devices was digital technology, dramatically disrupted the entire
industries.
Electronics and IT began to automate production and helped companies globalise
their productions and supply chain. Later, we have this Fourth Industrial Revolution,
so which started from 2015 onwards and still we are in this phase of Fourth Industrial
Revolution. A combination of increasing computing speeds, cheaper storage, and
faster transmission has led to several new technological developments. These
developments have facilitated new business models that forms the basis for the digital
revolution. There are three laws which actually drive the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
These laws are Moore's Law, Butter's Law and Crider's law. So, let us discuss each
law in detail.
What exactly Moore's law talk about? Moore's law was given by Scheller in 1997,
which talks about that the number of transistors on the microchip will double every two
years. Every two year it will double, though the cost of computers will half in each two
years. Then we have Butter's law, which is again given by Roses and Richie in year
2013. Where it states that amount of data coming out of an optical fibre will double
every nine months.
Thus, obviously the cost of transmitting a bit over an optical fibre will decrease by half
in just nine months. We can see a very popular example our JIO Telecommunications,
which was launched around year 2015 and it has disrupted the entire
telecommunication industry. Then the third Law which drives the fourth Industrial
Revolution is Kryder's law, which was given by Walter in year 2005. Crider law states
that the described density will double every 13 months. So, all these three-law
combined Moore's law, Butter's law and Kryder's law forms the basis of the fourth
Industrial Revolution in which we are currently living in.
The fourth Industrial Revolution has already disrupted most traditional companies.
The media industry is a good example of the way customers consume media has
changed. Now, we have over the top players. The OTT, we call it OTT, something like
Netflix, Amazon Prime. They have disrupted entire traditional television and movies
industries. Artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, and analytics are changing all the
industries in a one go. For example, in manufacturing also, they are changing. We
have proactive equipment management. We have remote management, automation
through robots, all these are coming into the picture in the fourth Industrial Revolution.

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 6

Video 5: Digital Strategy Framework
In this video, we'll talk about Digital Strategy Framework. So, Digital Strategy refers to
product changes, business model changes, process changes and organisation
changes. We have five key component of Digital strategy framework. These includes
Process Innovation, Product Innovation, Business Model Innovation, Organisational
Innovation and Technology Innovation. We'll see one by one how exactly these
components play an important role in digital strategy framework. So, we'll start with
Process Innovation. Process Innovation is a combination of moving processes to a
digital form and making fundamental changes in operational processes. For example,
we'll take an example of an accounting company.
An accounting company may transition from using traditional paper-based invoice
processing into automating its account payable process by incorporating tools like
workflow software. The next element of the Framework is Product or Service
Innovation. This is where a company innovates its product and service offerings, using
the same above example of the accounting firm which we talked about in process
innovation. Here a company could move its services to the cloud or provide self-
service analytical tools, that will be your Product Innovation.
Next is our Business Model Innovation, which is also known as BMI. This is the third
element in the Framework. BMI or Business Model Innovation is about how a
company earns revenue while providing values to its customers. In the accounting
outsourcing example, the one which we have discussed just before, the company
could innovate its business model by changing its charging mechanism from a per-
hour fee to a more flexible per-transaction fees.
The next component in Digital Strategy Framework is Organisational Innovation. For
any strategy to be successful, people are the most critical variables. Strategy and
transformation start at the leadership level and flow down the entire organisation. The
top leaders need to be open to transformation and they should have the ability to
convey this across the organisation. In any organisation, change management is the
most critical part of digital transformation.
Then we have the last component of Digital Strategy Framework as Technology
Innovation and encompassing the previous four elements, is a digital technology that
consist of automation, platforms and application, networking and storage, and
intelligence, which could incorporate data and analytics. Going back to the same
example of accounting company, automation could include workflows. Platforms could
include ERP with multidevice access and mobile applications also. Networking and

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 7

storage could include cloud-based hosting and intelligence could include analytical
tools that provide customers more value.
We see the same example of an accounting company in much more detail in terms of
Process Innovation, Product or Service Innovation, Business Model Innovation or
Organisational Innovation. How pre-transformation, what are their stages and then
after transformation what could be the stages and what are the digital technologies
that assist in this transformation. So, let's start discussing the same example in terms
of Process Innovation, how they were pre-transformation?
There were mostly manual processes in the company. In fact, all processes were
handled in house. Now, using this digital technologies from pre-transformation, if we
move to transformed company, we have now workflow driven processes, we have
implementation of ERP. We have no value-added processes outsourced to the other
companies. The digital technologies that can enable this Process Innovation could
include your workflows or your robotics process or automation, or we have cloud
ERP's We have various collaboration tools. In fact, we have API integration that can
enable this Process Innovation.
Let's talk about Product or Service Innovation for the same company- the accounting-
based company. So, pre-transformation, it was mostly the accounting was handled by
the company itself. There were limited interaction and visibility for its client. Whereas if
I talk about the transformed company, it has become everything online. We have any
time access to report, and even we can have access to status reports. This is also
helpful in self-help for reporting and analysis. What other digital technologies that
could be helpful in this?
Various mobile apps or we can have cloud-based service portal. We can have BI;
Business Intelligence, and Visualisation tool that could assist in this kind of Product
Innovation. Next comes our Business Model Innovation. Going back to the same
example of an accounting firm, pre-transformation, it could be per accountant basis, or
there could be a step-function linkage to the volume of the business. And it is not
easily scalable.
Whereas, if we're talk about the transformed company, it can be subscription-based
services or transaction-based pricing. Digital technologies that can enable this could
be a billing engine or automated transaction monitoring systems. Next, we have
Organisational Innovation where pre-transformation could be accountants handling all
the processes themselves. A transformed company could have an Organisational
Innovation, something like skill-based accounting or non-accountants and machines
handle all routine functions.
Accountants handle only value-added processes and spend more time consulting with
clients, which could be helpful to the organisation. Digital technologies that can enable
such kind of Organisational Innovation could be again workflow tools or single sign-on

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 8

robotics processes or automation or AI-based knowledge base. Digital technologies
overall help us to grow from a pre-transformation to a transformed company.
So, overall conclusion for this Digital Strategy Framework could be no two digital
strategies are similar in nature. Not as a company need to tweak all the five elements
to digitally transform itself. A company needs to leverage elements of the framework
that best suit is need on its customer and industry contacts. The only constant across
all digital strategy is the leveraging of digital technologies.

Video 6: Digitalization Versus Digitization and Digital Technologies

In this video, we will talk about digitisation versus digitalisation. Both are different
terms. We'll see how digitisation is different from digitalisation. This is often confusing.
Actually, digitalisation is your digital transformation, whereas digitisation is simply
automating a manual process. Digitalisation, on the other hand, is strategic change
enabled by digital technologies.
So, we'll take an example of evolution of watches. How digitisation can be seen in
watches and how digitalisation can be seen in watches. Analogue watches had
mechanical moving parts. I am talking about back 1970 where we used to have lot of
analogue watches. They had mechanical moving parts that deteriorated over time.
Also, they had limited functionality and were not very accurate. In 1970, the entire
watch industry underwent this digitisation process.
These digital watches were far more accurate and had no moving parts. Soon they
offered other functionalities such as stopwatch as well as dual time. But by year 2010
onwards, the next wave of watches came, which we are seeing everywhere now.
Smartwatches. They have features like GPS and sensors. Smartwatches could
synchronise with various devices. It can measure physical activities and it can
measure health parameters. They stored the data in the cloud and provided analytics
on an individual's life.
They became the hub of all other devices that an individual own. This move from
digital to smartwatches is a very good representation of digitalisation. Now, you can
understand digitisation is just the manual conversion, whereas digitalisation is a
strategic conversion where we have everything integrated in our smartwatches. Our
GPS is integrated, our sensors are integrated, everything is integrated. So, in this
way, you can relate the difference between digitisation and digitalisation. Let us talk
about some digital technologies. So basically, we can classify digital technologies into
four categories.
One could be customer-focused, another could be operation-focused, third could be
employee-focused, fourth could be infrastructure-focused. So, let us see in detail how
digital technologies can be classified in customer-focused. This encompasses both

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 9

the customer acquisition processes and customer management and retention
processes. Social media platform such as Facebook, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, are some
of the best example of customer-focused. Then we have operation-focused. This
includes process and technologies that forms the backbone for the delivery.
Robotics and IoT-based solution for manufacturing, e-commerce platforms for supply
chain management are some of the examples of operation-focused. Then we have
employee-focused. Employee lifecycle management from hiring to exit forms the crux
of this area. There are transitional elements like payroll, self-service portals are there,
value-added processes such as training, and scaling, all this could be incorporated in
your employee-focused.
Then we have infrastructure focused. This is the area where most progress has been
made with the growing adoption of cloud and virtualisation. So, overall, we can see
that digital technologies are rapidly evolving. Lack of clear standard is making
technology decision very difficult for companies. It is therefore better to focus on the
strategy and remain flexible on the technology choices. So, overall strategy is more
important than the technology which you need.

Video 7: External Drivers for Digital Strategies

In this video, we will talk about drivers of digital transformation. There could be
external drivers. There could be internal drivers. External drivers could include
industry and competition or customer expectation and needs. Governing agencies
could also be an external drivers. We can also have availability of third-party
platforms. Government push is also another external driver.
Then in an internal driver, we can have dynamic leadership, growth opportunities,
operational efficiencies, need to globalise itself is a internal driver or attracting the
right talent could be another internal driver. So, let us see in detail how these external
drivers versus internal drivers differ from each other. Or if I talk about industry and
competition, how exactly it is striving the digital transformation.
So, overall competition plays a critical role in developing digital strategy. A company
requires a digital strategy to either get ahead of the competition or in many cases, just
to keep up with the competition. A company may reactively embark on digital strategy
based on what its competitors are doing, or in fact what its competitors are not doing.
Or in fact, it can proactively initiate it based on the current states of its industry. In
turbulent times, companies are forced to be agile and embark on the strategic
changes to survive.
During industry growth periods, all companies are profitable and adding customers.
The need for differentiation is less during these periods and company will invest in

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 10

digital strategies only to the extent that it keeps them on par with the rest of the
industry.
Then, we have the next set of external drivers as customer expectations. Customers
who use digital in their personal lives are expecting the same technology and
strategies in their business transactions. Companies are implementing digital
strategies to provide customers with the right product at the right time and at the right
place to meet all these expectations. Digital has enhanced customer expectations
from their suppliers and merchants. This includes the availability of the products
online and across multiple channels, integration of supply chain or delivery, order
tracking mechanism, multi-channel and real-time reports as well as customer support.
The only way a company can achieve all this is by going digital.
Then, the next set of external drivers could be governing agencies. As part of the
board of companies, governing agencies include private equity or in fact venture
capital. All this play a significant role in challenging the management to find ways to
grow and transform while also approving broad funding decisions.
These agencies play a significant role across the digital transformation process of the
start-ups and when they are scaling up also. In fact, governing agencies generally
have a luxury of being involved in the digital transformation of multiple invested
companies across industries. Thus, they provide companies leadership and
management with strategic insights as well as best practices from this multiple
industries which could be beneficial for the organisations.
Also, we have another external drivers which could be availability of third-party
networks. Most companies have begun to leverage external platform for sales,
marketing and input sourcing also. Perfect example for this could be Amazon and
Flipkart. These e-commerce platforms are following this model. Then we can have
another external driver which could be governmental support.
To boost the country's economy and generate employment, governments are
encouraging companies to adopt digital strategies worldwide. It is not only in India.
We can see this type of boosting everywhere in the world. Example could include
technology hubs created by Singapore government. Or in fact, in our India, we have
Bharat craft, which is B2B e-commerce platform. In fact, in Kenya, they have
empowered forum.
Then interventions by the central government are critical for digital adoption. These
include policy support, providing funding and subsidies and also digital trainings.
Government these days are also adopting themselves to become digital. And in many
countries, we are already witnessing the co-evolution of digital in government
agencies along with the industry itself. Perfect example for this could be Digital India,
where all the world services, government provided services, are now online. They are
done using government services.

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 11

Video 8A: Internal Drivers for Digital Strategies - Part A
In this video, we will talk about what are the internal drivers that can drive digital
transformation. Internal drivers could include dynamic leadership or growth or
operational efficiencies or we can have need to globalise itself or attracting the right
talents. These could be internal drivers for any organisations which can drive them in
digital transformation. So, let us see in detail how dynamic leadership could be an
internal driver for an organisation leading to digital transformation. So, digital
strategies are high on the agenda of the senior leadership of companies and such
leaders are critical for triggering this digital journeys.
Multiple studies have shown that digital front-runners have leadership with the strong
vision of a digital strategy. As digital strategies are multi-functional in nature, they
need a fulcrum or focal point. Organisations these days are also having the role of
CDO, which is Chief Digital Officer who will be leading the entire digital transformation
journey for an organisation. CEOs also play a significant role in the journey of digital
transformation. Another characteristics of leadership that influences digital innovation
is their age. For example, millennial-led companies move faster to embrace new
technologies.
Millennials and digital natives readily embrace technology in both their personnel as
well as their business lives. Another trigger for going digital is that traditional company
suddenly see themselves competing against born digital companies or companies
where the leadership had transitioned to millennials. The threat of being left behind,
which is also known as FOMO: Fear of Missing Out, increases their own need to
transform digitally.
Next, we will talk about growth and customer connect as the internal driver for digital
transformation. So, one of the primary drivers for digital is increased customer
connect and business growth. Digital strategy increases customer connect by
providing the right product at the right time and at the right place. For example, using
Big Data or the Data Analytics and AI, a retail company, can provide customised
products to its customer at the right time.
Omni channel strategies make the buying process seamless and enable customers
find the product at the place of their choice. Digital also place a significant role in
enhancing customer satisfaction and retaining customers. It helps in developing
customer orientation as well as the customer response processes. Customer
orientation refers to listening while customer response is more focused on actions.

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 12

On the flipside, digital has dramatically increased the number of customers'
touchpoints and it has become complex toss for companies to manage all those
touchpoints. Growth and scaling in the digital era have taken a new dimension. Digital
has allowed for lean growth at speeds that were earlier not possible. Another key
difference from the past is that digital provides growth through flexibility. This
flexibility, in turn, provides agility for innovation.

Video 8B: Internal Drivers for Digital Strategies - Part B

Next, we'll talk about increasing process efficiency as the internal driver for digital
transformation. Digital technologies help in increasing the efficiency of a company.
They, in fact, help in standardising and integrating various parts of the value chain
seamlessly. Digital technologies also help in eliminating inefficiencies in process
workflow, automate manual interventions, provide reporting and monitoring
mechanisms. IoT, robotics and virtual reality (VR) are some important digital
technologies that are implemented to enhance process efficiencies.
The data that emerges from a digital implementation can be used to drive further
process efficiencies. In fact, Industry 4.0 has been used to describe the digital
transformation of a production and manufacturing involvement technologies, which
includes technologies like cloud computing, blockchain, IoT, big data. They are being
integrated to build smart manufacturing. In fact, Industry 4.0 brings value creation
opportunities for all types of companies. For the supply chain processes, Industry 4.0,
sometimes referred to as Procurement 4.0. They provide agility, dynamic cooperation,
and ability to operate beyond organisational and national boundaries.
Digital has allowed for companies to rapidly set up new supply chain networks and
gain a first-mover advantage for new products. Digital transformation of supply chain
has helped increasing current efficiencies and enables companies to build agile
processes to develop, launch and market new products. At production level, increased
productivity and flexibility allow for smaller batch sizes and automate production
decisions.
And big data and analytics combined with IoT help in proactive detection of errors and
defects. This helps in increasing better customer connect, as well as better customer
satisfaction. Implementing a standard digital strategy across an organisation including
an ERP or supply chain management system can be complex as well as time-
consuming. However, once implemented, it can lead to greater efficiencies and agility
for organisations. So, thus, it has a greater benefit for the organisations.
Video 8C: Internal Drivers for Digital Strategies- Part C
Next driver could be need to globalise. Going global and exploring new market is one
of the key trigger of a digital strategy. Digital enables instant cross border trade. E-

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 13

commerce platforms have enabled sourcing of material from a global supplier base.
On the other hand, these platforms have allowed for companies to expand their
market outside of their national boundaries. In the pre-digital era, companies,
especially small companies, did not have the resources to go beyond their regional
markets. Digital has enabled them to access this market with very minimal setup costs
and efforts and has reduced the time to do so. Another aspect of digital is assessing
global talent. While this has been primarily in the services sector, digital platforms
such as Flexjobs or WorkMarket have allowed companies to source talent globally.
Next, we have attracting the right talent as the important internal driver for digital
transformation. Digital strategies have a significant impact on the people strategy of
companies. On the one hand, the platform layer of digital including AI, chat box, and
robotic automation eliminates the need for manual intervention and therefore, the
need for larger teams.
Organisations will need to be relatively lean and therefore, procure a large number of
outsource and contract employees. Digital platforms will be used to source employees
and teams as and when required. On the other hand, learning functions within the
organisation must leverage digital to provide training on innovation, change, and
agility in addition to the skills required for digital transformation.
A specialist will be the most sought-after employee in this case. Networking and
collaboration will be vital for growing fostering innovation and agility. Creating a digital
workplace that incorporates digital technologies such as Big Data, Cloud, AI can help
in enhancing individual and organisational productivity.

Video 9: Degree of Digital Adoption

In this video, we'll talk about degree of digital adoption. Digital adoption is a
continuum, and the line between digitisation and digital transformation is very fine. We
have seen that in one of the videos. Let's talk about various phases of digital
adoption. So, basically, we can classify five different phases of digital adoption. The
first stage is Digital unaware. The second stage is Digital aware. The third stage is
Digital start-up.
The fourth stage could be Digital proficient. And the fifth and the final stage could be
Digital expert. So, let's see in detail, what exactly do I mean by Digital unaware? So,
this includes the organisations which are unaware of digital transformation or
digitalisation. Hardly we can find any organisations these days which are Digital
unaware. Then we have Digital aware, which are focusing on those organisations
which are aware of digitalisation. They have considered implementing digital
technologies.

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 14

Then we have the next one which is Digital start up, where we have organisations
which have implemented at least one digital technologies in the past. We have Digital
proficient; they have a digital roadmap. In the process of implementing multiple digital
technologies, they focus on business model changes as well. Then we have lastly
Digital expert, which focuses on fully digital companies. They include typically born-
digital companies or digital native companies. Most technology companies and start-
ups are digital experts. At the other end of the spectrum, there are hardly any
companies that fit into the digitally unaware category. The COVID-19 pandemic has
assimilated the digital adoption.
As a result, most companies are in the digitally aware or start up or proficient phases.
The degree of digital adoption also varies by industry. Specific industry, such as
financial services, healthcare, retail, they have seen greater adoption of digital.
Whereas manufacturing, small and medium enterprises, and Agri-based industries,
they are in the early stages of adoption.

Video 10: Module Summary Introduction to Digital Transformation

In this module, we have covered various aspects of digital transformation. We started
with digital transformation and its related strategy. Thereafter, we have covered
various components of digital strategy. We have also seen the types of digital
transformation ranging from operational transformation to business model
transformation and also, we have studied strategic transformation.
Further, we have talked about the history of business transformation. We started from
first Industrial Revolution till we have seen the fourth Industrial Revolution, which is
currently going. Later, we have covered the digital strategy framework.
We have also covered the difference between digitisation and digitalisation. Also,
what are the digital technologies that enabled digital transformation. We have covered
various drivers for digital strategies. The drivers included external drivers as well as
internal drivers.
External drivers are competition, governing agencies or government push, whereas
internal drivers include growth, dynamic leadership and so on. We have, lastly, in this
module, covered adoption of digital technologies, where we talked about the degree of
digital adoption, starting from digitally unaware organisation to digital expert
organisations.

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 15

IIMI – Certificate Programme in Digital Transformation and Innovation 16