style="font-size:15px;"> 5. Unlocking new opportunities and diversifying sources of income
As: creation of new products and services, business models, creation and development of new markets, both in understanding the new niche in the economy of the current market, and expansion to new territories.
For example, contrary to the traditional model of working with the most profitable customers, you can attract a large number of small customers.
That is, we cover the part of clients that was previously unprofitable to include in the work because of too high costs for their support. Together, they can make even more money than the major customers.
Changing the business model with digital transformation
Let me give you an example from consulting. A good consultant will cost expensive: from $ 150 to $ 500 per hour depending on the industry, direction, qualification and type of client (legal or natural person).
As a result, we get 2 main restrictions:
– for a consultant as an entrepreneur: he is limited in his earnings by his time;
– for customers: to get the effect, you need to hire an expensive specialist, and not everyone can afford it.
What if the consulting company created a digital advisor? Mathematically describe experiences and best practices, build relationships and simulate possible scenarios, then form a neural network and through deep learning gradually develop it (more about this in the next part). Then the system, based on input data, will generate recommendations.
After all, in fact, this is how consultants work. Only a few of them are able to combine different tools and deviate from the rules to achieve results. Additionally, this too can be taught to the system.
How much do you think it would cost to have access to such a system? Even if 20—40 dollars a month, it would still be a multiple reduction of the entrance threshold.
As a result, we get:
– The consulting company can multiply its cash income;
– The customer gets a modern tool for reasonable money. So now he can try the service, and if he likes it, use it as a working tool, and if he doesn’t, it’s still far cheaper than a live consultant.
This example shows how the classic consultant service changes to a digital product that benefits everyone: the company reaches more customers and the customers themselves reduce their costs.
Additionally, it turns out that one company can serve, let’s say, not five customers for $1 million a month, but five hundred for $20 million a month. Moreover, this is one of the key areas of digital economy development.
Business Digital Competence
What kind of digital pathways can business do? What can be digitized for digital transformation?
The Boston Consulting Group introduced a matrix of competencies that companies need to become digital. It includes 6 areas:
– digital business;
– digital marketing;
– digital products;
– Digital Analytics;
– digital manufacturing (industry 4.0);
– new ways of working.
Let’s take a closer look at what these are and what kind of people they need.
Digital business
This is a strategic function, which was previously handled by the Director of development, but now the focus is moving to numbers, and 3 more areas have appeared:
– digitalization and business transformation;
– digital venture investments;
– digital laboratory.
Digitalization of business is a change in the business model and the introduction of technologies into the company’s processes. As a result, operating losses should decrease, and business profitability and revenue should increase.
Digital venture investments – search for new business niches and promising start-ups to invest in. Accordingly, the quality of investments in these niches is assessed.
The digital laboratory creates promising partnerships and organizes a factory of pilot projects. The indicators are the number and success of the pilot projects launched.
Within the direction of digitalization and business transformation, the following directions can be distinguished:
– IT infrastructure and its optimization;
– production, including maintenance and repairs, industrial safety, operational analytics, automation of reporting, etc.;
– logistics and logistics;
– organizational efficiency and record keeping;
– sales and current products/services, i.e. customer service;
– economics and finance, including accounting;
– frames.
Required roles in the digital transformation team
The following list is not a record in the employment record, but a list of the roles to be performed.
– CDTO (Chief Digital Transformation Officer, or Head of Digital Transformation).
The main ideologist, who chooses the goals and direction of the movement, agrees the budget and manages the implementation of the transformation, coordinating all projects, interacting with external parties and inspiring his team.
– CA (Chief Architector, or Chief Architect).
It is responsible for the practical implementation of transformation in the form of connecting all components: business processes, applications, data warehouses, interfaces of interaction. It is not desirable for one person to combine the roles of chief architect and project manager, as their roles and responsibilities in the project are very different. The project manager is primarily the manager and the chief architect is the technician.
– CDO (Chief Data Officer, or Data Manager).
Responsible for the timely provision of the necessary data and analytics, coordinates their collection, storage and processing, forms a data processing unit.
– CTO (Chief Transformation Officer, or Digital Design and Process Manager).
Responsible for the implementation of the process approach and the design of new digital services, the study of processes, needs and customers.
Also important:
– lawyer (monitors
