Techtonic 2021

Why going digital is no longer about just making your products or services accessible to customers online

From accommodating remote-working through artificial intelligence to exploiting new business opportunities arising out of a digital ecosystem, there is a lot to digitisation that we can expect

In many respects, the pandemic has been a bane for humanity but in one way it has been a catalyst — in accelerating digitisation across industries. Granted that every company was already on the path to digitisation but it was a slow, dragging walk till the virus came along and cranked up the speed. It proved to be an inflexion point transforming the way consumers are engaging digitally, and companies are leveraging this phenomenon.

Be it retail or healthcare, banking or beauty services, it is no longer about just making your products or services accessible to customers online. Going digital today is a lot more than that. From accommodating remote-working and driving efficiency through artificial intelligence to exploiting new business opportunities arising out of a digital ecosystem, business is being redefined in profound ways. Thus, every single company, from the local kirana to the largest retailers, and the doctor-next-door to the biggest hospital chains, is rushing to adapt.

Historically, few companies have survived technological shifts. But in the current ‘techtonic’ digital shift, traditional companies may fare better than others in the past. While a few of them are likely to become irrelevant and see their business models fail, for most of them digitisation is an enabler and could be a significant differentiator too.

And yes, traditional businesses can no longer treat IT as a support function. IT is becoming the core of every business and therefore these companies are taking bigger leaps, be it with shop-floor automation or with remote-controlled manufacturing. The digital natives on the other hand are speeding towards new vistas — retailers are embracing advanced customer-enticing technologies such as artificial emotional intelligence or emotion AI, for example.

In this edition, we detail the tweaks companies are making and the vaults they are taking to cross over to everything digital. Plus, we have a roundtable with leading voices from the tech industry to give you a sense of the ongoing digital transformation. Hold on tight, 2021 will be a ‘techtonic’ ride.