Digital Native Enterprise: Journey Of A Digital Enterprise

The world of business has evidently invaded the age of digital natives. The enterprises that are rapidly embracing the digital transformation are witnessing how digital is helping their organization to outperform amongst the competitors.

Marc Prensky coined the title “Digital Natives” and “Digital Immigrants” back in 2001 article entitled Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. In the article, Marc talks about the “the arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology in the last decade of the 20th century”. He referred all the new students of today as the “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games, and the internet. Those who were not born into the digital world but have adopted the aspects of the new technology, he compared them as the “Digital Immigrants.”

Well, the panorama on this thesis has evolved over the years and if you compare it with the conventional wisdom being a digital native remains quite potent for many people. For example; distance is no more a hitch, using the innovation-driven digital technology, people can connect with anyone from any part of the world. Get instant access whether it’s a movie ticket, travel, shop or watch TV shows on your smartphones or connected devices. It means in this digital era the dream has become a part of the reality.

How to Transform into a Digital Native Enterprise?

The rise of digital technology has a potential to create opportunities, and if it’s executed correctly, it can transform the whole organization’s innovation process and convert them to become a “digital native” enterprise indeed. Adapting the change and business priorities are what going to success your organization in this digitally disrupted era. Turning into a digital native enterprise is going to accelerate the advancement and will revamp your digitally empowered business into a reliable source. It is essential to remain tangible, identify the new and innovative business model in this emerging marketplace. Digital transformation is not only critical but necessary for a digital enterprise. Therefore to start a digital native journey, you must know where your business stands and where it aims to be.

Few essential points for the organization to become a truly digital native enterprise;

• It is important for them to be familiar with digital tools.
• They should be able to identify the changing business model within the marketplace.
• Understand the importance of Digital Transformation (DX) journey and then create the strategy by focusing on innovation to create new expansion.
• The major players of this game are the digital leaders who lead the IT and new digital capabilities that offer digitally enhanced products, services, and experiences to the enterprise.

Frank Gens, Senior Vice President and Chief Analyst at IDC, said, “we are at an inflection point as digital transformation efforts shift from ‘project’ or ‘initiative’ status to strategic business imperative. Every (growing) enterprise, regardless of age or industry, must become ‘digital native’ in the way its executives and employees think, what they produce, and how they operate. At the same time, 3rd Platform technology adoption and digital transformation are happening much faster than most expected and early competitive advantages will go to those enterprises that can keep pace with the emerging DX economy.”

We have seen an enormous boom in digital technology which is highly driven by innovation, which has transformed every aspect of our life. Companies to survive in this new digital world will need to vigorously innovate and then make themselves fit into the modern world, or they are going to be closed. So, it becomes vital for a company to be a digital expert who can gently sculpt their business plan and build a robust strategy to stand successfully among the competitors. International Data Corporation (IDC) predicts, “by 2020, all enterprises’ performance will be measured by a demanding new set of DX-driven benchmarks, requiring 20-100% or better business performance.” IDC also expected that “at least one-third of every industry’s top 20 companies will fail to reach these new benchmarks, thereby opening the door to heightened competition and disruption.”

Amazon’s Digital Disruption Journey

According to Gartner’s survey, globally, “IT spending will be driven by growth in software and IT services revenue and is forecasted to reach $3.5 trillion in 2017, up 3% from 2016 estimated spending of $3.4 trillion.” The combat for ownership of digital platforms has just started, and Amazon is already leading. One apparent reason why Amazon is leading in the digital world is that their strategy is digital. Being digital native creates a vast database to analyze and predict the future and consistently meets or exceeds the user’s expectations by continuously reinventing.

The world economy initially encountered the wave of digital disruption back in 2001. Amazon was able to embrace the evolving digital economy and managed to survive, where other million dollar worth retailers had to shut down their businesses. By 2016, it became the world’s largest e-commerce site among the other top retailers in the United States. Amazon Business is one of best examples that they are one step ahead of the other digital native enterprises. Amazon introduced ‘Amazon Business’ in April 2015, to expand their customer-centric platform to a unique forum for B2B transactions. As per World Economic Forum (WEF) report, the platform serves as an example of ‘digital customer’ expectations which transitions to the B2B world. With over 250 million products, Amazon Business unique features include:

• Free two-day shipping on orders of $49 or more, exclusive price discounts, hundreds of millions of products, purchasing system integration, tax-exempt purchasing for qualified customers, shared payment methods, order approval workflows, and enhanced order reporting among others.
• Live Expert program that allows manufacturers to connect with buyers & answer questions about products easily.

Amazon Business took over from Amazon Supply which was launched in 2012 that grew to over 2.25 million to hundreds of millions of products. Amazon now is taking on the challenge with the potential to further disrupt and keep accelerating technological progress by providing the best user’s experience than their competitors.

A successful digital native enterprise should be able to build a journey with the potential to recognize the change in the digital economy and offer a great customer experience by being omnipresent. It should be efficient in leveraging new technologies and optimize customers’ data into a competitive advantage.