AVEVA’s Joseph McMullen discusses how digitising operations will help companies to stay successful
Caspar Herzberg |
This article was originally published in the Winter 2018 issue of The Record. Subscribe for FREE here to get the next issue delivered directly to your inbox.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” This quote was first used by Louisiana State University professor Leon Megginson at a convention of the Southwestern Social Science Association in 1963. However, it’s clear to see that if you replace ‘species’ with ‘companies’, it perfectly encapsulates the digital transformation happening today.
Make no doubt about it, digital transformation is occurring in every industry and it is the most important journey that any company can embark on today. As Megginson stated, the survivor is the one that can adapt and change.
Everyone starts their digital transformation by enquiring: “Which technology is right for me?” Unfortunately, this is the wrong question to ask. Instead, companies must ask what problems they need to address, whether they want to start big or small, and if they have executive sponsorship.
There are so many different ways for organisations to start their digital transformation journey, and just as many destinations. The important thing for them to remember is to lead with their needs, not technology. Any digital transformation journey should start by finding a problem that needs to be addressed and matching the appropriate technology to help solve that problem. Picking a technology first and then finding a problem that it fixes is seldom successful.
Choosing the right technology investment requires analysis to ensure successful digital transformation and optimum return on investment. Digital transformation is part of an ongoing journey towards continuous process improvement involving the collaboration of people, processes and assets through the right technology. It doesn’t happen all at once but instead gains speed and velocity over time as these people, processes and assets are digitally fused to bridge the operations technology and information technology gap.
Joseph McMullen is marketing director for Strategic and Corporate Partnerships at AVEVA