Magazine BEAST #16 2019

60 #Technology | Digital
© Dominique Gaul
THE WHY, WHAT
& HOW OF DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
BY ALEXANDRE KEILMANN
As the Chief Digital Officer and Chief Information Officer of IEE,
Olivier Beaujean is responsible for the digital transformation
of the global manufacturer and supplier of advanced sensing
solutions. After convincing his peers last December, which
earned him the CIO of the Year award, he recently shared
his best practices with hundreds of seasoned ICT experts.
He notably focused the three main questions that need to be
asked prior to launching a digital transformation program:
«Why», «What» and also «How».
As explained by Olivier Beaujean right from the start, three
questions absolutely need to be answered before even starting
to the implementation of a digital transformation strategy in
order to help companies dive into today’s digital world and later
thrive: why do we need to change? What actually needs to be
changed and finally, how can we do it? He also insisted on the
necessity to follow this specific order – Why, What and How – to
allow the company to successfully enter the current digital era.
Why go through a phase of digital transformation?
First focusing on the reasons to start such a digital transformation,
he first commented: «Markets conditions are changing, but are
these external changes enough to convince us to change old
habits? Actually, companies should not only explain the necessity
to change and adapt as a constraint imposed by this external
market but as a change of internal perception with a meaning
related to the DNA of the organization».
There are several examples of companies that did not
transform enough to survive and rapidly saw their business
disrupted by new entrants, offering new services and
products – with new business models and revenue streams
–, by leveraging the power of digital tools. One of the most
recent examples is Thomas Cook which filed for bankruptcy
in late September. The British company had already started
its «digital transformation» by implementing new tools and
creating new customer experiences, but it did not focus on
transforming and even on questioning its business model.
A fatal mistake that will be remembered as one of the
biggest failures of the 21 st century.
What needs to be changed?
Olivier Beaujean then insisted on the need to answer to
the «what» question, which notably concerns the services
and products that require a transformation, or that need
to be created, in order to offer new revenue streams to the
company, in a world of changing customer expectations.
As highlighted by the CIO, «listing businesses but also
services and projects is a normal corporate exercise, and
so is defining and linking their specific value. Looking at
if it impacts costs, transforms the experience or has a
platform value, leaders should then be able to define the
appropriate strategy: what do I want to do with those
products and services? Do I go for a defensive strategy or
should it be more offensive?» Such analyses are key and
could even lead to the conclusion that digital might not
even be needed, meaning that the transformation does
not necessarily have to go through digital.
BEAST MAGAZINE #16