Should we start doing digital stuff?
If you are only asking this question now as a business, it means you are late. Very late. Where do you want to go as a company? How will you stay relevant in this market? One thing is certain. The technology waves we have seen up until now show that no industry is safe from being disrupted. Tomorrow, a new technology, product or service can arise and make you irrelevant.
Am I too late? Should I just wait it out and see what happens?
No! There is no doubt that many organizations struggle with these questions and try to figure out where to begin their digital transformation journey.
What should I do: set up internal initiatives? Hire external experts?
We all agree you have to start somewhere. Somewhere does not mean throwing budget out of the window without having an idea or a direction on where you want to go. Put together a small team of your smartest people and decide on your objectives for the next 5 years.
When drilling down this long-term vision, think about how you can materialize your digital transformation and start your journey tomorrow. Look at your core business and your audience. Where do you deliver value now? These areas are most likely the ones where your customers might think you are actually not delivering enough. Now you have a long-term vision, focus areas and a clear objective to bring your digital transformation to life. Whilst delivering more value towards your customers.
“I don’t have the right skill set in house to make this happen” – you might think.
This question leads to the reason why in 5 years, every firm will have a Digital Studio.
It is a digital hub that boosts innovation and materializes your strategic digital ambitions. This Ideation Think Tank is composed of industry and technology thought leaders, experience design experts. And uses iterative Design Thinking methodology and agile development teams.
Concretely, a Digital Studio allows you to conceptualize new ideas and test them without taking any major financial risk. To eventually identify the most promising concepts that can be developed. A Digital Studio guarantees that the digital solutions brought live to the customer, really answer to their needs and expectations.
Where lies the hidden treasure of such a Digital Studio?
You introduce highly skilled experts into your organization that can train and inspire your own people. We acknowledge that introducing new ways of working can be a rocky experience. But it should not necessarily have to be. It is not because a Digital Studio brings digital innovation, that there are robots working in one. To the contrary, the genuine human interactions, collaboration and co-creation efforts lead to the success of this model.
As Service Designer, I can say that a Digital Studio helps organizations prepare itself for today’s world where customer expectations and market landscapes shift faster than ever. Why believe me? I contribute daily to bringing ideas to life in the very own Digital Studio of the Brussels-Capital Region. It is amazing to see how we spark innovation, positive collaboration and motivate everyone to make an impact.
Do you see this trend reflected in your industry? Have you thought about setting up a Digital Studio in your business? Share your thoughts with us! Also, check out our newest tool we use to accelerate the beginning of projects: the Design Sprint.
