Today, all businesses know that they have to transform digitally if they want to keep moving forward and growing. It's inescapable. Chris Volschenk, chief executive officer of StorTech, says, "We're guiding our customers on their digital transformation journey so that they can create a differentiator in business, giving them an advantage in the market.
"Businesses need to move beyond just running data analytics on their internal data. The old way of aggregating, storing and analysing data has evolved. Companies need to transition analytics into a competitive advantage. They need to harness the benefits of gathering information from the outside world and combine it with their internal data to create a key differentiator for themselves that sets them apart from the competition."
However, this next evolution where businesses transition analytics into a competitive advantage requires the right kind of data scientists who are able to see how the data can be used differently to benefit the business, says Volschenk. "Analysis isn't enough, we need to use the data to create a benefit. And that competitive edge is different for each customer. The only way to know whether the approach has been successful for that particular customer, is when the customer wins the digital race."
It's all about the customer
"The challenge of how to get ahead in the digital age is a problem across all industries. It's no longer sufficient to expect customers to come to you. It's all about the customer, how do you help your customer to work smarter and how simple is it for your customers to transact with you? There has to be a whole ecosystem of enabling customers to do things better in a digital age. So, for example, StorTech digitally transforms its customers so that they can, in turn, empower their customers. It's a chain reaction that we set in motion."
In order to improve efficiencies, it may be necessary to redesign the customer experience or to develop entirely new revenue streams. Whatever the direction you choose, it will require creating a whole new business model centred around the customer.
Volschenk suggests that businesses have to almost divide themselves in half, with one part of the company being efficient and effective in running the business as usual, while the other part of the company is innovative in continually creating models around using data in new ways that can benefit the business going forward. However there needs to be a balance between the two in order for the business to succeed. "Historically, some companies got away with not adopting the new digital world that we transact in. Today, nearly everything we touch has a digital element, so transitioning to a digital way of doing business to some degree is unavoidable for most industries."
A global transformation
According to Forbes, by the end of 2017, 67% of the CEOs of Global 2000 enterprises will have digital transformation at the centre of their corporate strategy. However, according to Volschenk, the majority of CEOs around the world have already identified digital transformation as a priority. He says, "We're helping them transition their data analytics into a competitive edge over a period of time. They know that they need to get their systems ready for big data, do the analytics and identify their differentiator, and we embark on that journey with them."
Volschenk says StorTech has put digital transformation at the centre of its own business strategy, so StorTech is ready to accompany its clients on the journey towards digital transformation.
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