Ing. Joseph Micallef

In a rapidly digital world, information is generated and collected at a staggering rate. As information is transferred and shared at light speed on optic fibre and wireless networks, the volume of data and the speed of market growth are witnessing an exponential surge. However, the fast growth rate of such large volumes of data is also generating numerous challenges, such as the rapid growth of data, transfer speed, diverse data, and security.

Although many companies are at the centre of this vortex of change, several are not aware of the actual volume, variety, type and speed with which data is being generated. It is also the case that there is a lack of awareness of the potential to absorb and exploit information from data that is produced as a natural by-product of a company's operations. This is resulting in lost opportunities to capture and utilise critical knowledge arising internally, which could help companies become more sensitive to client needs, and boost measures to deliver quality and save costs.

Focusing on the business model

Before I can start talking about digital technologies with my clients, I ask them: ''what problem are you trying to solve?'' This goes for every digital technology deployed, being legacy ERP, emerging IoT and AI, to blockchain. Technologies need to be adaptable and customised to meet the challenge at hand, solve real-life problems and drive specific value. It's important to take the time to listen, put yourself in the customer's shoes and really understand what's keeping them up at night. Understanding the problem you are trying to solve - by focusing the discussion on the state of, and potential changes to the business model -  is vastly more important than keeping track of the digital landscape.

Digitalisation is ultimately about the use of digital technologies to change a business model. We need to address real problems and challenges, not only technologies, to truly win and grow. Having said all this, we need to ensure that solutions we do go for, while satisfying our current needs, can adapt and accompany the evolutionary changing requirements imposed on the business from all sorts of internal and external sources.

At this stage, undergoing a digital readiness assessment will allow the company to have a clear picture of its ability to leverage technology to maximise efficiency, effectiveness, and reach, which will determine the ultimate success of its endeavour. The dimensions under scrutiny will range from the leadership's ability to leverage technology to gain advantage, to the risk that the company faces from technology innovation. It is impossible to create a plan for improving a company's digitalisation process without understanding its current state of readiness.

The nuts and bolts of the issue

The discussion on moving to a digital business will eventually turn to the nuts and bolts part of the challenge: the software and hardware requirements. Software considerations will revolve on issues such as support by vendors; handling changes in the volatile software environment; as well as matters concerning connectivity, integration, modularity, adaptability, stability, and the possible mushroom effect of excessive customisation. Your hardware checklist will include looking out for evidence of an over/under engineered infrastructure; the importance of having design with efficiency and reliability in mind; as well as being practical, and avoiding super-complicated infrastructures. An important starting point will be having well-defined and documented functional and technical requirement specifications, explaining to prospective vendors exactly what you want to buy. These would outline the (lean) functional capability you need to have in place, and the technology expectations you would need the solution to satisfy.  

Digitalisation as a source of threat

Not long ago, the main threats to a business were primarily physical in nature: adverse weather, a utility failure, a violent employee. Today, companies must still contend with all of these longstanding threats, while also accounting for the more recent -and most significant-source of potential danger: digital technology. In our digital age, cybersecurity has emerged as a leading concern for both business continuity and disaster recovery. In many surveys, companies tend to list threats to IT as their top source of business disruption. Cyberattack ranks No. 1, while data breach and unplanned IT outages follow close behind. Coping with these challenges requires a shift in mentality: it involves fostering the understanding that business continuity, disaster recovery, and security are all interconnected.

The key to this problem is the implementation of an information security management system (ISMS). This is a set of policies and procedures for systematically managing an organisation's sensitive data. The goal of an ISMS is to minimize risk and ensure business continuity by proactively limiting the impact of a security breach. An ISMS typically addresses employee behaviour and processes, as well as data and technology. It can be targeted towards a particular type of data, such as customer data, or it can be implemented in a comprehensive way that becomes part of the company's culture.  While the establishment and maintenance of the ISMS is an important first step, training employees on the ISMS and building compliance into daily processes and activities at your organisation is a priority if you wish to adequately secure your data.

At the end of the day, as organisations pursue the road to digitalisation, they must ensure that they also design and implement sound and comprehensive information security mechanisms to mitigate accompanying risks. 

Ing. Joseph Micallef is Chief Operations Officer / Partner at BEAT Limited

www.beatconsult.com