| |SEPTEMBER 20189CIOReviewdairy farming into a high-tech dairy industry through the power of data. Cows at the Chitale dairy are fitted with RFID tags to capture data that is held in the cloud. The relevant analy-sis of this data is then sent to the local farmers via SMS and the web in real-time, to alert farmers when they need to change the cows' diet and arrange vaccinations, among other things. The timely delivery of this information is increasing the cows' yield by 10x, ena-bling Chitale to manage a huge part of the supply chain seamlessly which normally fraught with uncertainty. In-teresting to know how the power of technology-enabled everyone to win: the farmers, the company, the com-munity -- and, yes, even the cows. The power of software is also cru-cial - as it creates new digital services that in turn can generate new revenue for any brand. According to the Digi-tal Transformation Index study, al-most three in four companies in APJ are now expanding their software development capabilities, which is, in turn, changing the playing field for tech companies. India is not behind in this race, with eighty percent of respondents agreeing to expand their software capabilities.Securing a digitally transformed future Although tech companies have had a head start on the digital transforma-tion journey, there is room to push the boundaries further. To gain competi-tive advantage from disruptors in their industry, they need to focus on four key areas: Enhance customer experiences. Tech companies should use the skill-sets available to them to analyse data on customers' needs and behaviour ­ analytics tools can extract meaning-ful insights that will help raise the bar on customer service and go beyond tweaks to existing systems or process-es. For instance, Intel has been a major proponent of the IoT and is providing scalable, interoperable solutions for a range of businesses to help them accel-erate deployment of intelligent devices and end-to-end analytics. By making it easier for customers to launch IoT so-lutions, Intel has cemented its position as a trusted partner in its customers' digital transformation journey.Choose technology that sup-ports business agility. Buying pre-engineered stacks designed for spe-cific business outcomes, instead of integrating them from scratch, sig-nificantly shorten the implementation process. Cloud-based file-sharing and collaboration tool box support enter-prises such as Schneider Electric with off-the-shelf solutions for their mobile and global workforce, without any compromise on security standards. This approach offered Schneider Elec-tric 30% cost savings and addressed its need for external collaboration and mobile access.Modernize IT. Dynatech, a sys-tems integrator in Japan focused on the hospitality industry, is one exam-ple of successfully modernizing infra-structure to better enable speed and scale. It updated its infrastructure with a goal to improve business continuity and availability, and as a result, it has increased sales by 20 percent from im-proved customer experience through the faster and more reliable system. Legacy infrastructure and applications are simply not built for the speed or scale required for today's digital busi-nesses. IT infrastructure must suc-cessfully deliver on the agility and elasticity of public clouds as well as the predictability and service levels of on-premise systems.Adopt a culture of learning. Cul-ture plays a big role in the digital transformation of an organization: the mindset of employees guides how much it is embraced and capitalized on. Focus on developing a culture of learning, experimentation, and it-eration with customers. Enabling a culture of `failing fast' is key ­ allow the organization to make mistakes, and learn from them quickly to improve offerings.India leapfrogs into the digital ageWhilst agility is a common concept for tech companies globally, those in India are typically more agile, making them much better placed to digitally transform. Many new-age companies in India were established relatively recently, so they have less legacy in-frastructure holding them back. They are often more willing to embrace new technologies as well. Just Dial is one such example. Without legacy infrastructure holding it back, it increased agility by adopting high-performance all-flash drives from the beginning, enabling it to deliver immediate online response times, a critical element to its success. The im-pact on the business was clear as it re-ceived bids nearly 12 times the shares on sale for its IPO.Tech companies are most likely to experience the disruption in their industries, yet in many ways are best positioned to secure their future in this environment. If they choose their technology partners carefully, settling on ones that can demonstrate that they truly understand digital trans-formation, tech companies will be more than ready to ride the new IT innovation wave. Whilst agility is a common concept for tech companies globally, those in India are typically more agile, making them much better placed to digitally transform
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