Page 38 - Waterfall Issue 9_2022
P. 38

Waterfall Business

        ROBOTIC PROCESS




        AUTOMATION






        is the answer to Digital Transformation


























                                                                                    FIRtech CEO,
                                                                                    Ugan Maistry

        B      usinesses of tomorrow are    and regulations. But FIRtech CEO,   each of these imperatives will add
                                                                                direct financial benefit, create value
               the ones that can successfully
                                            Ugan Maistry, says whilst none
                                                                                differentiation or build brand equity.
               transition from ‘things and
                                            of these definitions are incorrect,
               people’ to ‘technology and
        networks’. This is evident in the recent   every digital transformation journey   Instead, the yardstick is the size of the
                                            needs to be guided by strategy,
        proliferation of the adjective ‘Digital’   a business model that supports   data lake, the speed of data retrieval,
        in most C-suite titles and businesses   that strategy, enablers that are   data mobility and the reduction of the
        either being ‘born-in-the-cloud’ or   needed to execute the business    ICT opex budget. Before you know it,
        traditional businesses undergoing   model, and the orchestration of     a few years have passed, hundreds of
        some form of digital transformation.  enablers to reach one’s destination.  millions of Rands have been spent and
                                                                                the failed project is attributed to poor
        However, there is no consensus      “In defining the digital business   organisational structures, inadequate
        as to what ‘going digital’ actually   strategy, most executives are     organisational change management
        means. To some executives, it is    taking a blue-sky thinking          and a lack of executive support.
        the deployment of technology in     approach in redefining the
        their current business – also called   purpose of the organisation.     Maistry says perhaps the focus should
        business process optimisation (BPO).   This might seem revolutionary    be evolution and not revolution. “In the
        To others, it is about a whole new   and necessary at the time, but     era of the knowledge worker, the quick
        way of engaging with customers, also   it could create an execution     wins should be around how we free
        called the digital customer experience.   challenge for IT,” he explains.  up business knowledge workers to be
        Then for others, it’s about an entire                                   active participants and leaders in the
        new way of conducting business – the   Unrealistic expectations often   digital transformation journey. After all,
        exponential digital business mind-set.   create complexity in the planning   they are the ones with the knowledge
                                            and execution phases. The           of the organisational nuances.”
        One would presume that the various   project becomes inundated
        definitions depend on the individual   with technology imperatives:     “Before the transformation, they
        business circumstances including    cloud, artificial intelligence,     would be spending their time
        competition, cost pressures, customer   big data and IoT, without due   manually manipulating a melange
        expectations, industry disruptions   consideration of where and how     of structured and unstructured


        36  Waterfall Issue 9   2022
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