What is this thing that we call Digital Transformation?
I'm sure this is a phrase that you have heard of.
Digital is everywhere.
The internet, smart phones, social media,
cloud computing and cryptocurrency,
to name just a few examples.
To explain,
I want to first answer a classic conversation starter.
In all of history, who are the four people
who you would like to invite to a dinner party?
For me, it would be these four gentlemen.
Each of them titans of industry,
who have written themselves into the history book.
I'd love to party with these fellas because respectively,
they are all leaders in each of the four
industrial revolutions of our modern age.
It was men like these four, and a few great women
along the way as well, who changed the world forever.
These are rare people who were not only great inventors,
but also brilliant entrepreneurs who found a way
to commercialize and scale their inventions,
and in doing so, transformed the world of their time.
The two on the right, you probably recognize.
Bill Gates founded Microsoft
and unleashed the personal computer to the world.
In doing so, he played a critical role in the beginning
of the Third Industrial Revolution of computers.
That era began with the invention of the microchip
in the 1950s.
A time that we also saw the beginning of the space age
and industrial robotics.
So, ended the need for manual bookkeeping
and manual work in general was massively reduced.
The personal computer transformed our global society.
Jeff Bezos founded Amazon and his company
developed the first cloud computing technology
that is the foundation of today's e-commerce,
online workspace, video conferencing,
social media and so many other platforms.
Cloud computing is a key invention
of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
in which we find ourselves today.
This cyber era, began when Bill Gates' computers
were all connected via the World Wide Web
which was first switched on in 1994,
once again, transforming the global economy.
Henry Ford, founded the Ford Motor Company
and developed the first mass manufacturing systems
to build the automobiles that transformed our cities
and nations throughout the 1900s.
This revolution saw an end to the horse and cart trade
that had existed for thousands of years before hand.
And finally, we have James Watt.
This man invented the steam engine.
And I consider him to be the great, great, great,
grandfather of our modern industrial and globalized society.
So what does this have to do with Digital Transformation?
Well, Digital Transformation is the name that we give
to the transformation of our economy and our society
from the technology, structures and philosophies
of the third industrial age into the fourth age
of cyber and the internet.
I'll leave you with this quote Tony Saldanha
and his fantastic book, "Why Digital Transformations Fail".
"Digital Transformation is the migration of enterprises
and societies from the Third to the Fourth
Industrial Revolution era.
For companies, this means having digital technology
become the backbone of new products and services,
new ways of operation and new business models."
As you can imagine,
there is no avoiding Digital Transformation.
It is occurring everywhere.
And like it or not, this is the march of progress.
For those organizations, public or private,
who choose not to engage and take control over this trend
as it applies to them, they will not survive
in the medium to long-term.
For those that do,
there is no shortage of opportunities to thrive.
So there you go,
that's what Digital Transformation is really about.
What do you think?
Do you agree?
If so, give this video a like.
And please, share your thoughts and comments
about Digital Transformation and how it applies to you
in the comments below.
We'll see you in the next video.