Accelerating Digital Success

While many companies were in the process of embedding digital solutions in their framework, the global pandemic and subsequent lockdowns pushed nearly all organisations to embrace technology to survive.

Uma Ganesh, the chairperson of Global Talent Track, through her book, 'Accelerating Digital Success' brings to light the scale of transformation taking place worldwide. It is a critical period as organisations "have to make multi-billion-dollar decisions regarding what technological direction they want to take" explains Ganesh. "It is certainly a time for leaders to take stock every few months and decide what kind of risks we are prepared to take" she adds, stressing the importance of digital investments for all, especially tech giants like Google who are onboarding their original founders to help pave the way forward.

"During covid, from schools to colleges to businesses, small to large, all of them began to recognise digital as the way forward," states Ganesh. However, digital means more than communicating effectively through Zoom and social media and for Ganesh, "this is a myth we wanted to demystify."

It is important to note that in this context, IT and digital solutions are very different. "This is because digital has the capability to touch every aspect of a business and its stakeholders when it is intrinsically connected with the strategy of the business," explains Ganesh.

Ganesh discusses Web 3.0 and its implications for the market with Annurag Batra, Editor-in-Chief & Chairman of BW Businessworld Group and Founder of exchange4media, at the Indian Business Literature Festival in the Pune Chapter.

"We are no longer independent of what is happening in the rest of the world," feels Ganesh, as, "we have to constantly be on the move, adapting, learning and constantly deciding what [technology] is right for us."

According to Ganesh, since "investment is not the issue," business owners should "understand the customers, size of the market, as well as the business." The trend now is to decide on the right business model, whether to own assets or to use assets available in the marketplace, as is the business model for Amazon, Ola, Airbnb, etc.

Vasudha Mukherjee

BW Reporters The author works with BW Education