Although innovation is applauded in Nigeria, the level of integration even to drive business growth is painfully at a low ebb.
Even more surprising is the fact that the term ‘digital transformation’ is still widely misunderstood and poorly integrated into businesses globally.
Digital transformation, which is the integration of digital technology into all areas of a business, fundamentally changing the way an organization operates and delivers value to customers, has been described by technology analysts as a necessity for business growth.
Speaking on ‘the evolution of organisations in the digital age,’ at the opening of the SAS Analytics Experience conference in Milan, Italy on Tuesday, Oliver Schabenberger, executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief technology officer, SAS, said: only one in four companies succeeds in digital transformation and some of the common reasons for failure are lack of clear strategy, uninspiring leadership, not pulling all levers and unwillingness to adapt.”
According to him, digital transformation does not only depend on the adoption of technology. “It is the technology, plus people, plus process, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a key role in transformation for a fully integrated business,” he said.
Businesses have been advised to make a timed shift with infrastructure, its culture, product offerings supply chain, and its core business processes.
“It takes time and it is not as simple as just moving data to the cloud. I ask of you to think of digital transformation as a necessity to achieve longevity, to de-clutter, to save. Digital transformation is an opportunity to make a better thing, rather than doing the same thing better,” Schabenberger said.
For Nigeria to take full advantage of the next phase of its digital transformation, experts advise collaboration between industry and government. They say the right government policies would boost technological innovation and productivity.
The US $21billion contributed to Nigeria’s GDP by the mobile market in 2017, which represented 5.5 percent of Nigeria’s total GDP at the time, is a clear example of how beneficial the use of digital technologies is to economic growth. Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) shows that the telecoms industry contributed 10.11 percent to Nigeria’s GDP in the first quarter of 2019. The growth of Nigeria’s digital and mobile economy resulted in the creation of nearly 500, 000 direct and indirect jobs, according to a GSMA report.
Desan Naidoo, vice president, SAS Africa told BusinessDay that digital transformation is inevitable, as industries are being challenged right now, especially with companies like Uber and Airbnb transforming the way transport and real estate are operating.
“Irrespective of the age of the organisation, companies need to think of how to reinvent themselves, setting aside skills or divisions within the organisation where they act and think with a startup mentality, to think about things differently and think of ways to transform the business, otherwise they would find themselves irrelevant in the near future,” Naidoo said.
Industries such as banking, insurance, health, oil & gas, agriculture, transportation, and others are realising the importance of technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, cloud computing, data analytics, machine learning, etc, to increase efficiency and engender sector and economic development.
It is said that companies that fail to innovate, risk falling behind in a highly competitive environment where mergers and acquisitions are becoming ever more common. These M&A moves are being used to solidify the market position, meet growing demand and generally future proof organisations.
As a result, one of the best things business decision-makers can do is embrace the new generation of digital technologies – in particular, automation, as soon as possible to remain on equal footing with these future-minded enterprises.
