The Digital Transformation Panel: Tech & AI LIVE London 2024

On 21 May 2024, a fascinating virtual event that fostered connections between players in the tech and AI industries took place- Tech & AI LIVE London 2024. 

Across the day, those who attended were able to gain invaluable insights from internationally acclaimed industry experts from global companies such as Microsoft, Google and EY.

Tech & AI LIVE London led the drive towards digital transformation and encouraged attendees to embrace the evolving digital age we are experiencing. 

During the virtual event, Roger Graell Sole, Chief Digital Officer at Bata and Simon Cox, Chief Transformation Officer at ServiceNow, delivered an engaging panel discussion that focused on digital transformation. The pair of speakers explored the challenges of digital transformation, how it is transforming industries, the critical role of leadership in guiding this change, as well as the future of AI integration.

To explore our next Tech & AI LIVE event, Tech & AI LIVE New York, click here.

Digital transformation’s three pillars

Roger began the discussion by explaining how there are three keys in which digital transformation has had a significant impact at Bata. First, he noted that digital transformation is changing how organisations operate by enhancing efficiency across supply chains, operations, and product distribution. He explained how every aspect of the business is being improved as it “allows us to operate more efficiently” and is “impacting the whole organisation.”

Roger continued to delve into the other two significant areas of change digital transformation is creating- the growth of the business-to-consumer (B2C) channel and enhancing customer relationships through utilising data. 

Reflecting on the three pillars, Roger began to contemplate the future impact of digital transformation, highlighting how there will be “more things to come and more opportunities to to evolve.”

Leadership and cultural shifts

Simon discussed how ServiceNow approaches the challenges of digital transformation. He highlighted how leadership is crucial in enhancing an environment that supports transformation. 

He emphasised how companies can unlock this transformation by implementing “incremental drops of value” and adopting a more agile approach to leadership to catalyse rapid interaction and real-time improvements to create “that transformation incrementally as you go” and encourage buy-in across the company.  Simon explained how companies need to adopt a more agile approach to leadership to catalyse rapid interaction and real-time improvements. 

Navigating technological choices

When organisations undergo digital transformation, deciding on which technologies to use can often be a key challenge. Simon explained how technology is one step on the journey of digital transformation, rather than the entire solution, highlighting how “new technology is great. It's exciting but it's one of the enablers.”

The pair of speakers agreed that technology needs to be chosen strategically to access its full range of benefits. Roger explained how organisations must understand their customers when making technology decisions and pointed out how Bata approaches this-  “instead of looking at technology for technology, we always start understanding which is the customer problem we are trying to solve.”

Flexibility and adaptability emerged as key characteristics of successful transformation initiatives, as Simon explained that organisations shouldn’t “continually try to lean in and fix and fix (...) and then give up a year later. Use those measures and metrics to know when you are improving and moving, and when you're not, and be open about and course correct.”

Looking ahead: AI and data-driven transformations

Concluding the discussion, both of the speakers touched upon the evolution of AI and the influence this technology and data will have on the future of digital transformation. Simon used an example at ServiceNow to highlight the importance AI is having in companies already, explaining how “the engineers realised that actually, this (AI) was enabling them to work on the hard, complex problems.”

Roger agreed that AI is catalysing an incredible impact in many organisations, especially through smarter product descriptions and customer-facing solutions. However, he also stressed the need for caution when using this technology, explaining how “we are in the early days of this transformation,” highlighting how we are yet to be aware of the full range of abilities AI possesses. 

Overall, it can be shown that leadership, culture and customer focus will be crucial in navigating the change that will occur as digital transformation continues to reshape industries. The pair of speakers highlight how organisations need to remain agile, adaptable and focused on the needs of customers, whilst also utilising the power of technology. 

Essential diary dates for 2024 and 2025

Discover the essential diary dates for Technology Magazine and its sister publications Mobile Magazine and Data Centre Magazine.

2024 dates:

• Tech & AI LIVE New York | 20 November 

2025 dates

• Cloud & 5G LIVE | 4 February
• Tech & AI LIVE London | 14-15 May 
• Tech & AI Awards | 14 May
• Tech & AI LIVE: Gen AI | 21 October
• Tech & AI LIVE New York | 18 November
• Data Centre LIVE | 2 December

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