According to Wikipedia, Digital Transformation (DT) is the novel use of digital technology to solve traditional problems. These digital solutions enable new types of innovation and creativity, rather than simply enhance and support traditional methods.

If someone tries to analyze DT's meaning will go through the image of the complex and constantly evolving situations of the market, politics, economy, and of course the technology itself. Above all, however, he will become a companion of the evolution of human history at one of the most impressive stages that one might discover.

The development of information technology has been a holistic technological revolution in all aspects of human life and evolution. From the 20th century to the 21st, technological progress is so impressive that if someone was absent from the planet for 20 or 30 years, it would be difficult to adapt on his return.No other technology sector in human history has been adopted by the society, in international basis, as to the extent of the use of digital technologies.

At this point we are faced with a new phase of the evolution of technology, this time being a simultaneous development of all aspects of mankind's life to such an extent, at such a speed and with such consequences, that there is no precedent in human history.

By giving a definition of Digital Transformation we can define it as the transition from the traditional ways of daily operation and problem solving to the new tactics that involve the use of technological tools and applications. And this itself is a very complex situation.

Digital transformation (DT) is not about digital technology, but the technology that is digital allows people to solve traditional problems of an organization. Thus, the members of a company prefer to solve the problems of the organization using technology despite the old traditional method.

And all the above are guiding us to the following conclusion:

The GOAL of DT is to make business relevant in a digital era. As simple as that.

There can be no Digital Transformation if we do not define it as something that unites people and technology in two ways, with control, vision and moral terms to upgrade and develop the quality of life on the planet.

The chain reactions caused to a society at the beginning of a new technological era, such as the 4th industrial revolution that we are experiencing, create an initial sense of fear in human societies, since traditional modes of production need a greater presence and contribution of the human factor to perform. During the Industrial Revolution, people who lost their jobs were turning against those who used machines to cut jobs. With the passage of time, however, the emergence of machines has not only created multiple jobs worldwide but has also increased the quality of life of people. The societies that were left behind in this process were then deprived of all those goods that we now perceive as a humanist approach.

The Digital Transformation, in a wider explanation, is the global phase of humanity's transition to the next form of civilization.

The relationship between business and society is two-way. A continuous recycling of ideas, needs, products, services, knowledge, experiences and potentials is in progress from the creation of the first human society in which there has been entrepreneurial activity to date, all of which are at their peak.

Bill Gates stressed in the Technology Review at MIT University that the goal of technology is to continuously offer more and make it as effective as possible so that more people can benefit directly. He even gave the example of the arater, a technological discovery of 4000 BC, which changed forever the history of mankind.

We conclude from this that DT is not a pursuit, but it is about the unique visible development that will allow human societies to survive developing. And observing the technological, social, cultural and economic developments we are leading with absolute certainty to the conclusion that we are at the heart of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

It is obvious that the course towards DT is governed by rules, as they emerge from the world experience. This is precisely the point at which attention is needed so that investing time, money and energy in the transition to a digital model is successful. A good illustration of the factors leading to a successful WM project is the following:

Today the acceptance of digital technologies is socially universal, and the development of smartphone communication with the development of artificial intelligence, and the plethora of applications available to the user, has contributed to this. Thus, the user's existing experience helps in the acceptance, assimilation and successful use of technologies that an organization chooses to use by employees.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=21&v=-qCanuYrR0g

Trying to capture the existing footprint of the digital penetration around the globe, which is helpful to picturize the necessities that are arising in the path to DT, it would be useful to have in mind the following facts and figures:

In Greece the society’s acceptance of Digital Technology seems to be in a much higher level, surprising nicely, as this can be a base for the incorporation of the Digital Transformation, helping business to be developed and people’s life quality to be upgraded.

So we realize that we are not just going to a different world, but the compliance of a business with world market imperatives (based on the needs of the global community) will be the decisive factor in whether there is a sense of whether or not it exists.

The very technological developments lead us to conclusions about the way things will get and the image of IT through the evolution of Digital Transformation.

ü IT Managers turn into CIOs and CTOs and their role is now more strategic than functional.

ü Employees work on completely new environments, with more outdoor exposure over the internet.

ü Information security has a completely different character, now available as a cloud-ready service, through integrated platforms.

ü Technological achievements such as the Cloud now enable businesses and organizations to detract from the existence of machines with commitment to investment and human resources, as well as spatial constraints that this entails.

ü Distances have been eradicated since both the existence of inconceivably fast means of transport and the Internet have changed the concept of distance.

ü The concept of space has changed by drifting with it work structures and practices. Virtual communication environments offer features that a few years ago seemed like science fiction scenarios.

COVID-19 and the acceleration of Digital Transformation.

In 2020, the world is facing a unique phenomenon, a life changing event for the entire population of the planet, the pandemic of COVID-19. Never has been an event on the planet that affects the entire world population at the same time. In all previous global events, there has been a geographically rolling appearance of the problems of a similar event, and they have been treated in the same way.

The initial result in the current crisis seems to be the sharp increase in the need to use digital sources of communication, remote teamwork, but also the awareness of the so-called digital divide, ie the difference between the existing and the desired degree of maturity of digital transformation.

This need to virtualize work due to Covid-19 is driving digital transformation and deepening differences across people and across firms at an incredible rate. In a period of days, almost any process that could be rapidly digitized has been virtualized — think of video conferencing enabling a case discussion and telemedicine enabling remote diagnosis and treatment. We are seeing the digitization of many ancient bastions of traditional business; the New York Stock Exchange just closed its trading floor and has moved to electronic trading.

To ensure that he could support 10,000 employees, Equinix CIO Milind Wagle set up a “virtual tech bar,” a Zoom-enabled tech help desk that is available worldwide, 24-7. He also created productivity monitoring dashboards that track everything — from how many messages employees send, to how many meetings they set up, to the number of code check-ins they commit. Equinix also began using Zoom to host daily “gupshups,” virtual water coolers where employees can check-in for casual conversations. “COVID-19 facilitated the creation of these innovations”, Wagle says. “I think the easiest thing — but the worst thing — would be to freeze in this time of uncertainty and not move anything forward. Stopping commitments would be the wrong thing for CIOs to do.”

As an organization's imaginary perimeter expands as users decentralize, the volume and type of needs created in a workgroup change.

The On Premise installation of IT systems has already begun to not meet the evolving needs for the operation of the business. So the shift to the Cloud and for the most part as SaaS is the prevailing trend that in turn will bring many changes including the operating cost calculation model. The acquisition model of infrastructure and equipment is also changing, as opex acquisition models help minimize depreciation and cash flow. So Digital Transformation is a term that ultimately shows that it is closely linked to concepts such as Cloudization, SaaS and Opex.

It is clear that we are facing a whole new landscape, not only because modern business is advancing rapidly in digital transformation, but mostly because this transformation is creating a domino of developments that will radically change the world landscape, both operationally and business-wise, as well as socially. Let's look at some expected concerns for the next day, based on the expansion of the pandemic and the "push" of businesses and organizations into digital transformation.

·        Banks. How useful will a bank branch be with employees to serve the public in the near future? Is it necessary for customers to move to a bank to open an account? It seems to be a matter of time, the existence of only small secure stores without staff, through which the customer will be connected by teleconference with the corresponding employee who will work from home. Accounts will be opened with smart face recognition systems, as the model has already succeeded in mobile banks internationally.

·        Trade. As businesses in the early days of the crisis did not have the capacity to serve the wide range of growing demand through online orders, they are forced to invest to increase and maintain this potential in the future. So the next day, the market will cover the demand from the internet in a better and faster way. The existence of e-Commerce with smart system specifications will be the determining criterion for the existence of such companies, more so than their natural geographical dispersion.

·        Communications. The development of communications will be a new wave of experiences in the near future, as the companies in the industry are called upon to manage the biggest challenge, from the time when the term telecommunications appeared. Expanding 5G, and smart ways to manage lines and data packets will not be the only thing that will happen. Holograms, augmented reality and other concepts will occupy us in the coming years, adding experiences and changing our daily lives.

·        IT Applications. Global reality is leading to the abolition of on premise facilities and their transfer to cloud environments. The applications in the cloud are accessible through the internet, regardless of the user's location, local time or other access conditions. The technologies provided by modern cloud environments (Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, etc.) are in themselves a game changing factor.

·        Security. As human activity increases in the digital world, cybercrime will increase rapidly in ever-increasing ways, increasing the need for security. But because the environment, the way the applications are served, the expansion of the concept of space as we described and all the features of digital transformation will constantly create new data, constantly differentiating the needs for protection in ever smarter and more complex ways.

·        Sales. Sales seem to be a sector that will change shape through new developments. The use of teleconferencing applications becomes conscious and meetings with customers will be largely through them. At the same time, it seems that the combined presence of a company in social networks will play a huge role, introducing a new term called Social Selling, which will be of great concern to us in the near future. All of this eliminates part of travel by ensuring creative and productive (but also quality) time, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

HYBRID IS A SAFE CHOICE FOR STARTING WITH THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION.

Digital technology, unlike conventional technology, provides a huge range of features that are not easy to assimilate through a sharp transition, because they are responsible for a completely different functional model resulting from their use, role change, and different work philosophy, therefore expectations. On the one hand, the DT of an organization is a one-way street, on the other hand, the way it is implemented determines not only the success of the project, but also its own survival in the near future.

In order to be able to take their first steps safely, businesses must first modernize their infrastructure. This is a process that requires careful planning and costs. The choice of switching to a fully cloud environment is obviously a destination, but because it requires adjustments to the function that are not usually immediately possible, and requires a transition period, the choice of hybrid technology solutions, ie a mixture on site and cloud technology is a safe choice.

As the use of the cloud is a service and not an equipment property, the need for detoxification from the traditional acquisition of equipment, which requires large expenditures, is slowly becoming conscious. The provision of equipment in the form of service (that is, in an alternative way) is constantly gaining ground since through such an agreement an organization ensures the possibility to always be harmonized with the technological peak, to activate and deactivate services without first having to amortize them. Machines on which their offer is based, to evolve and enjoy all the benefits of new trends, and all this without having to make a direct and large investment.

The need to assimilate technology from larger populations of businesses, organizations and users has given them a plethora of alternatives provided by manufacturers and providers. Pay Per Use, Operational Leasing, Software as a Service and other options help businesses mature technologically without having to incur costly costs and are a new reality that will determine the market because it serves its digital transformation.

AS A CONCLUSION:

·        Switching to digital operating models is one way.

·        Changing mindset is the key and, of course, the most difficult part of a digital transformation process.

·        Management's will and mindset make up a mine "Corporate Culture", and this is a prerequisite for DT's venture.

·        Adopting a new corporate culture automatically means that Management will adopt new goals for the course and operation of the business, taking into account the constant need for development and adaptation to new data, the technological options offered and the financial options for their adoption.

And the change to create a new Corporate Culture is the point that meets most of the reactions. And for anyone who undertakes to implement a digital transformation program, this is the most difficult bet. Εconomy has entered a truly digital age. And moving to it and exploiting the opportunities that exist is the biggest bet of our time.The body content of your post goes here. To edit this text, click on it and delete this default text and start typing your own or paste your own from a different source.