Digital Transformation – Undergoing a Few Ages of Change

Kevin Benedict, a Senior Analyst at the Center for the Future of Work defines three phases (ages) of digital transformation that we are going through: disruptive transformation, hyper-transformation, and ubiquitous transformation.

Disruptive Transformation

The age of Disruptive Transformation opened a new era in global business. Emerging digital technologies disrupt existing business models, and enforce the revision of established approaches to serving products and providing services. The trigger for such a leap in transformation is the recent ability of customers to easily adopt new digital technologies, and to spread newly gained user experiences to all the facets of their lives.

Hyper-Transformation

Our current business environment represents the age of Hyper-Transformation, when emerging disruptive technologies move beyond proving their feasibility in small startups and shape into new business models. They are able to spread across the global economy with a tremendous speed in a way that classic enterprises c an’t withstand. The speed of the diisruptors in this category allows them the advantage of billions of dollars and millions of users over those who can’t keep up.

Ubiquitous Transformation

Ubiquitous Transformation is slated to happen in the next 5-7 years, when the spread of digital technologies becomes commonplace, business models mature, disruptors have stabilized growth, and new digital becomes the norm.

Companies need to be able to detect, define, and comprehend new market trends, consumer needs and requirements, and become aware of permanent market landscape changes. If not, they will soon find themselves closing the list of digital laggards.

Market changes and evolving disruptive technologies are a perpetual—natural, even—state of the market. It can’t be stopped or ignored but must be maneuvered to create value out of transformation chaos. This is the way to achieve synergy in your business and create a new market landscape. Embracing the challenges of digital transformation and turning them into a new market advantage is a serious issue that companies face in the digital era. For companies that want to become global economy leaders, the new strategic direction is to shape the inside corporate culture and operational processes to meet that commitment.

Learn the main highlights of digitized world leaders, and how to fit the demand of emerging markets, in our next article.