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<\/a>\u201eDigitalisierung\u201c in Google Trends (D) over the last five years. [Google is a trademark or registered trademark of Google Inc. in the US and\/or other countries.]<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
What we\u2019re witnessing is a black box trending. What people are searching for is as varied as their understanding of digitalization. The term lacks a common definition, taking different shapes depending on what advocacy group, application domain or industry is using it.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve all got a gut feeling what digitalization is about. But the exact focus, the separation from other IT topics, the unique aspects of digitalization are hard to pinpoint. Still the topic is at the top of the agenda and we have to get started. So we visit futurology conventions, read books with trustworthy titles containing \u201c4.0\u201d, start a digitalization committee and leaf through trade magazines. All of which doesn\u2019t clarify how digitalization applies to our day-to-day work. It is no surprise then that Bernhard Rohleder, CEO of German IT trade organization Bitkom, exhorted that half of all German businesses still have \u201cNo real digital strategy\u201d (see german article on Heise<\/a>) leading up to the 2016 German national IT summit.<\/p>\n Despite all this monkey business \u2013 can we grasp this intangible topic? Let\u2019s use the brochure \u201eZukunftschance Digitalisierung\u201c (digitalization – future opportunity) from the German Ministry for Economic Affairs: \u201eModern information and communication technologies facilitate many work processes. New digital technologies turn classic production flows and business processes upside down.\u201d OK \u2013 well, we can work with this. The quote contains surprisingly solid hints even if it seems as nebulous as most other statements on the digital transformation process.<\/p>\n For the reorganization of complete \u201cproduction flows and business processes\u201d digitalization is not a new close combat technique for modern businesses (or aspiring-to-be-modern businesses) but a transformation process that holistically covers all aspects of work. Please note that it covers actual work, not technology, apps or sensors. Those are only pretexts to think about cool apps instead of the apps\u2019 actual purpose.<\/p>\n Proceeding with digital transformation for digital transformation\u2019s sake really is monkey business, as alluded to in the beginning. Nothing is changed (for the better) by building an app, by meshing systems, by automation or by IT-based process optimization without knowing why.<\/p>\n The real business of digitalization is about new ways of understanding context and improving results through new methods and processes.<\/p>\n This sounds like work \u2013 isn\u2019t digitalization supposed to reduce work? The answer is yes – and no. Yes, it\u2019s more work. Digitalization means living through a complex process of change management that overthrows outdated models of work, old content, roles and technologies. And no, digitalization changes work \u2013 hopefully for the better, so that the change management results in a leaner, more powerful and humane company with updated business models.<\/p>\n But what these business models will look like in detail is difficult to predict at the moment. There is a good deal of uncertainty about the role of people inside the construct of digitalization. And without a catch-all solution (\u201cJust do big data\u201d) we\u2019ll have to work and fight our way into the topic. We could proceed data-driven and let the mass of data and information guide our actions. Or we can remember the people at the heart of all this activity. Digital transformation is not an end in itself.<\/p>\nThree quick apps or one good plan?<\/h3>\n
Understanding digital transformation<\/h3>\n
Multi-faceted transformation processes<\/h3>\n