Do
you still remember our childhood story of Ali Baba and 40 thieves?
“Open
Sesame” was the magical phrase that a poor woodcutter Ali Baba uttered, to open
the door of a secret cave in which 40 thieves had hidden bags of gold and
treasure. The power of his voice, and using the right words, gave him access to
that fortune, and changed his life forever.
We are in the same
cusp of open sesame to Digital Transformation and changing our lives. It’s a
fact that our lives are becoming more digital. We buy, we work, we store
information, and we even communicate with other people through media and
digital platforms.
A laptop was not an item in my
life until the age of 35, whereas for my daughters, they have always had a
laptop in the house, and learned how to use it, earlier than me.
Whether we like it or not, digital transformation is creating a new era…
changing how we do things, how we live … and we are already fully immersed into
it. We have a great opportunity to be more effective, efficient, fast and
agile.
We, as consumers
expect ultra-connected experiences. Whether it’s in-store, on the web, using a
mobile device or through wearables, we want every interaction to be simple, effortless,
relevant and lightning fast.
The Internet of Things have already started changing our lives!! The connected car we use may know the
temperature we like at home so adjust accordingly. The mobile app is connected
with all Smart Home devices to alert us of anything suspicious happening while
we are away. It can notify when we approach grocery store, of the items we need
at home. With Drones, we can get a tour of properties listed so we can choose the
right one.
To
reach 50 million users, radio took 38 years, Google took 6 years, and Google+
needed just 88 days while Smartphone “Pokémon Go” game reached that count in
just 19 days!!
Our
lives have become a collection of mobile moments in which we pull out a mobile
device as if it was a magic wand to get something done wherever and whenever we
want. We
use smartphones for more than just making phone calls. From online banking to posting
family photos to social media, sending e-mails and text messages, searching for
restaurants and booking movies.
We are alerted of our days’ appointments and
meetings before even we had our breakfast. A weather app alerts us of the rain
forecast. To make our commute pleasant, the built-in GPS in our car alerts us
of upcoming traffic along the planned route and suggests an alternative route
so we can get to work on time and keep our meetings.
All of
us have become so health conscious with wearables like Apple watch & activity
trackers like Fit bit and Jawbone and Google smart contact lenses etc. With
wearables like Oculus Rift VR, we can enter into an exciting new realm of
augmented reality, with an enhanced experience of what we see, hear and touch.
Big Data Analytics is
an ideal entry point to get into digital transformation. It is like turning the lights on in a dark
room. Every interaction we have with businesses, point-of-sale transaction
details, loyalty card information, surveys, and social media postings to Facebook,
Twitter, Pinterest, and more.. which provides deep insight into our behavior,
attitudes, and opinions that businesses are leveraging to improve relationships
with hyper-personalization.
Voila! Life is simplified …..
Was this all
available to us 20 years before? Ali Baba’s “Open Sesame” was a story of
childhood, but Digital Transformation is reality – and from now on nothing will
be same again.
