No matter what you understand by digitalisation: Corona will significantly change digitalisation.
Digitalisation takes place in three areas: technological, organisational and cultural. And guess which area is the most challenging: right, the cultural one. As is so often the case, people are the most challenging variable in the change process.
1. technology.
The technology is there in many areas. It is functionally well developed and affordable in many variants. In extreme cases, it is (temporarily) free. Microsoft states that the number of users of its team messaging service Microsoft Teams increased by over 12 million users per day to 40 million users per day within the second week of March.[1] It is available as SaaS (software as a service). Small and medium enterprises are getting into digital solutions with manageable monthly contributions per user. Technology is here. Technology is affordable.
2nd organisation.
But downloading an app does not make a successful digitalisation strategy. The crucial question is: how do I change my processes and structures in the organisation? Which area has to hand over responsibilities? Which employees get a new task profile? How do my business processes change? Restructuring is complex and in many cases difficult without external support. These projects with external professional support are the actual drivers of digitisation costs and present many companies with financial challenges.
3. culture.
The worst thing is: even if you choose the right technology. Even if you can afford and buy in real expertise. You still haven't solved the most important challenge: are your employees ready in their heads and hearts to implement the changes. And here comes Corona. Millions of people need to work digitally. Managers who have resisted home offices for years will have to send their employees to the living room office. Employees who have resisted anything technologically new for years must embrace technology. Everyone has to establish new processes. And many people must or may experience: it works! At least it works! And in some cases maybe even better. And maybe it's even fun!
4. corona.
The crisis is terrible. Hundreds of thousands of people worldwide have fallen ill and will fall ill. Thousands of people have already lost their lives and more will lose their lives. This is irretrievably a catastrophic consequence of this virus. But this crisis also has an opportunity. Perhaps we will learn to accept that digitalisation must take place in our minds and hearts. Perhaps the way we communicate and collaborate in this crisis has forced us to have a digital sense of achievement. Maybe once we have a grip on the virus, we can move on. Digitally. Culturally.
And maybe at some point we'll just leave out "maybe".
Please stay healthy!
References:
No matter how you define digitalization: Corona will significantly change the implementation of digitalization.
Digitalization takes place in three areas: technological, organisational and cultural. And guess which area poses the biggest challenge: right, the cultural one. As is so often the case, people are the most challenging variable in the change process.
1. technology.
The technology is there in many areas. It is functionally well developed and affordable in many variants. In extreme cases it is (temporarily) free. Microsoft states that the number of users of its Team Messaging Services Microsoft Team has increased by over 12 million users per day to 40 million users per day within the second week of March. [1] It is available as SaaS (Software as a Service). Small and medium-sized companies are entering the digital solutions market with manageable monthly contributions per user. Technology is here. Technology is affordable.
2nd organisation.
But downloading an app does not make for a successful digitalisation strategy. The crucial question is: how do I change my processes and structures in the organisation. Which department has to hand over responsibilities? Which employees will get a new task profile? How do my business processes change? A restructuring is complex and in many cases difficult without external support. These projects with external specialist support are the real drivers of digitization costs and present financial challenges for many companies.
3. culture.
The worst thing is: even if you choose the right technology. Even if you can afford and buy real expertise. You still haven't solved the most important challenge: are your employees ready in their minds and hearts to implement the changes. And now comes Corona. Millions of people have to work digitally. Executives who have resisted home offices for years must send their employees to the living room office. Employees who have resisted for years against everything that is technologically new must use technology. Everyone has to establish new processes. And many people must or may experience: it works! At least it works! And in some cases perhaps even better. And maybe it is even fun!
4. corona.
The crisis is terrible. Hundreds of thousands of people around the world have fallen ill and will continue to fall ill. Thousands of people have already lost their lives and more will lose their lives. This is irretrievably a catastrophic consequence of this virus. But this crisis also has a chance. Perhaps we will learn to accept that digitalization must take place in our minds and hearts. Perhaps the way we communicate and work together in this crisis has forced us to have a digital sense of achievement. Maybe once we have the virus under control, we can move on. Digitally. Cultural.
And maybe at some point we'll just leave out "maybe."
Keep healthy, everyone.
References:
