Digital Transformation

Digital transformation has been a hot topic in the past couple of years. It’s not only a strategic issue for CIOs, but also for an entire organization as it looks to become more customer-centric and data-driven.

I’ve written about digital transformation from different perspectives, including that of the CIO and the DevOps team, as well as how it is being handled on the manufacturing floor and through the supply chain. I’ve pulled together some samples; most have my byline but in some cases I acted in a ghost writing capacity for client blogs.

Up, Periscope: TVO advances digital transformation via Twitter video platform

TV Ontario (TVO)’s The Agenda is broadcasting on a new channel.

As part of the publicly-funded education station’s digital transformation, its flagship current affairs program is now available on Twitter, via Periscope, at the same time it airs on television. [Read full story on ITBusiness.ca]

B2B firms’ commerce goals outpacing their digital capabilities, study finds

Those pesky legacy systems could be costing you a big business deal.

CloudCraze’s recently released 2017 B2B Digital Commerce Imperative Report found that for many B2B brands, legacy commerce systems are proving to be a barrier to digital transformation, preventing organizations from providing the agile, flexible buying experience customers demand. [Read full story on ITBusiness.ca]

Bimodal IT leads to technical debt that must be paid, with interest

You’re doing IT wrong. Possibly. According to research firm IDC, many enterprises are facing the opportunities and challenges of digital transformation by taking a bimodal approach, which it said in the long run is not sustainable.

In a recent webinar, The Shortcomings of Bimodal IT: Digital Transformation Demands of a Full Spectrum Leadership Model, Joe Pucciarelli, IDC group vice president and IT executive advisor said other firms are recommending a bimodal approach, but IDC believes it’s critical that rather than silo off traditional IT and internal, innovative incubators, they must be integrated. [Read full story on IT World Canada]

CIOs need to be ready for digital transformation in 2016, says IDC

A digital revolution is upon us, according to IDC. And while that doesn’t sound like much of an original forecast from a research firm, it noted 2016 will herald a number of developments that IT leaders will have to deal with.

Innovations long-talked about but starting to become a reality this year include self-driving vehicles, social retail marketing and the 3D printing of human organs, said Mike Rosen, vice-president of research for IDC’s executive program in a recent webcast, Leveraging 2016 FutureScape CIO Agenda Predictions: Research-Based Planning in Critical Domains.[Read full story on IT World Canada

7 Steps that Move Manufacturers to Industry 4.0

Many organizations are facing the challenges that come with digital transformation. For those in manufacturing, the task is to keep pace with the fourth industrial revolution, dubbed Industry 4.0, which requires integrated and automated data and process management if they are to remain competitive.

Industry 4.0 is driving manufacturers to become a “smart factory,” according to DocLogix chairman Aurimas Bakas, where all members of the supply chain can communicate without human interaction. His company works hands-on with customers so they can improve production flow by automating processes and uniting all of their data into a single system. [Read full story on EBN Online]

6 Key Issues for Manufacturers Moving to Industry 4.0

If manufacturers want to successfully transition to Industry 4.0 they must stop looking at information technology (IT) as a cost center. Instead, IT should be viewed as a “profit enabler” that addresses efficiency, asset efficiency, and operational efficiency.

Frost & Sullivan’ recent whitepaper, Manufacturing 4.0: A Playbook for Navigating the Journey to IT Modernization & Transformation, emphasizes the role sustained innovation will play in the factories of the future, while outlining six critical issues manufacturers must face. In a telephone interview with EBN, consulting manager Ram Ramasamy said manufacturing organizations need assistance understanding and navigating the most critical issues in manufacturing transformation today. [Read full story on EBN Online]

Common digital transformation mistakes to avoid

The need to ramp up digital transformation is keeping executives up at night. According to a Forbes Insights study, digital transformation is now the number one strategic priority in many companies. The report found that 50 percent of senior executives believe that the next few years will be critical to driving digital efforts to prepare for the future.

The reason companies are focusing on digital transformation? They see it as the key to unlocking exponential growth, according to Forbes Insights.

As companies apply technology to improve their efficiency and increase their competitiveness, however, they might make digital transformation mistakes along the way as they reorient their business. Here’s a look at three of the most common pitfalls business leaders need to look out for. [Ghost written blog for Vision Critical]

Cloud is at the heart of digital transformation, make sure DevOps is too

If your organization is embracing digital transformation, then cloud is at the epicenter of that transformation. Your DevOps team should be too.

That was the overarching theme of a recent iSpeak DevOps webinar, Building a Cloud Service Platform, that outlined success factors and best practices in creating a cohesive cloud strategy and platform.

Webinar host Jeanne Morain, author and strategist with a focus on digital transformation, said having a cohesive cloud strategy can create a cadence and best practices to address other pressures on the business. “DevOps is a cultural shift, but if it doesn’t enable the overall company strategy, it’s not something that’s going to be embraced by the executive team.” [Read full story on IT World Canada

Digital transformation is about what you aren’t going to do anymore, including DevOps

IDC Corp. predicts $1.3 trillion USD will be spent on digital transformation in 2016, and part of the process for enterprises will be to decide what they are no longer doing.

In a recent webinar, How to transform your IT organization to drive business innovation, Joseph Pucciarelli, the research firm’s group vice-president for its IT executive programs, outlined five main areas of spending: leadership transformation, omni-experience transformation, information transformation, operating model transformation and worksource information, which is changing how organizations find talent. [Read full story on IT World Canada]

DevOps does not negate ITIL or ITSM; they can be leveraged for greater agility

DevOps has become a reality in many organizations, stressing the integration of developers and IT operations staff, but it doesn’t mean existing frameworks such as IT service management (ITSM) are no longer relevant.

“The market is demanding that IT go much more quickly,” said Jayne Groll, president of ITSM Academy in a recent webinar outlining how ITSM can support DevOps, which is intended to respond to that accelerated demand by introducing more frequent, smaller releases  and speeding up the release cycle by improving the flow of work from development to operations and into production. [Read full story on IT World Canada]