What is at the centre of Digital Transformation? The simplistic answer is “the customer”, and indeed the ability to engage with customers – in the ways they want to engage – is pivotal to business success. New technologies keep pushing the boundaries of possible ways of engagement, giving rise to new, disruptive business models and sudden market shifts. Then throw into the mix the increasing expectations and technology adoption of customers, and you have a situation where the supplier-customer balance is tilted very much in favour of the customer.

In Digital Transformation 1.0, the focus has been principally on optimising the front end of the business, building tools such as interactive websites, accessible by both desktop and mobile devices, to enhance the ease at which “I want it NOW” customers can access products and services. The goal became something along the lines of “consistent omni-channel customer experience, anytime, anywhere, anyhow.”

More recently, businesses have turned to Digital Transformation 2.0, with a focus on ensuring that the end-to-end “enterprise” processes within their business are digitally connected. This comes from recognising that it is all very well to make commitments to customers at the front end of the business, but if you do not connect the front-end to your fulfilment and delivery processes, then you risk failure in meeting a customer commitment, a failure which is quite likely to be broadcast on social media. Digital Transformation 2.0 manifests itself in different ways in different industries. Examples include passing information on the specifications that a customer has chosen for their new car, direct to the plant floor; or gathering information from sensors that can be used to predict when the product you have sold to your customer will need maintenance (the “internet of things”); or simply giving the retail staff on your shop floor the maximum information about the products on display, via interactive tablets that they can share with customers.

And now, businesses are creating strategies around Digital Transformation 3.0, which involves planning not just the digital connection of enterprise processes in their own organisations, but ensuring digital connectivity with the enterprise processes of other organisations – partners, suppliers, intermediaries and even regulators. Seamless interaction between a motor insurer and a car repair workshop would be a good example.

In all of this, the customer focus remains vital, but is wholly dependent on tools, processes, networks, and above all “data”. Data which needs to be both secure and accessible to those who need it, and absolutely not left languishing in silos. Data which needs to be digestible and easy to visualise. Data which needs to be real time and reliable. Data which can be separated from the “noise” of big data, and turned into meaningful information and actionable insight. Data which is seen as one of the most critical assets of your business.

If you think about it, data is what is driving your customers too. Consumers are programmed by nature to gather data on what is on offer in the market – on price, on quality, and on what other consumers are buying – before making their buying decision.  They know the value of good data.

So it needs to be for businesses. In taking advantage of all the opportunities that are offered through Digital Transformation, an effective data strategy, across connected processes, is fundamental.

Digital Transformation = DT = DaTa = DATA.