In my experience, there are two serious mistakes that many business leaders make when they start thinking about digital transformation. Firstly, believing that it's a process that an organization begins, then goes through, and then comes out of the other side in a "digitally transformed" state. The second is that it's all about technology. In reality, digital transformation is an ongoing process that never truly ends. Businesses were just getting acclimatized to computers being an essential everyday tool since the 80s when the internet emerged in the nineties and forced them to rethink technology from the ground up.

With companies operating in a time of unprecedented change, digital leaders are presented with a substantial opportunity. Moreover, this competitive advantage grows exponentially once created. Successful players achieve early digital leadership and continue to strengthen as they attract digital talent. To achieve impact as substantial as a doubling of EBITDA, companies must act across multiple dimensions (Exhibit 1). The impact realized is twofold, boosting both performance and sustainability, which is critical for resource-heavy industries.

It's the holistic approach to developing better processes, improving employee engagement, and optimizing your business for long-term growth by adopting the proper technology. Complex endeavor, you should expect some resistance along the way and be prepared to overcome challenges. Let's start with the basics. A digital transformation uses technology to help improve business operations and customer relationships. It can be as simple as ensuring your website works properly on all devices or as complex as using artificial intelligence to automate specific tasks.

A critical step in digital transformation is to enable the free flow of information throughout the enterprise. But various forms of friction can obstruct this flow. Friction is anything that slows down information access, information retrieval or information manipulation. One of the most obvious sources is the ongoing use of paper, which is still present in a surprisingly large number of business processes. Other sources of friction include inconsistent data architecture and naming conventions, poorly understood or user-unfriendly applications, the need for manual conversions or manipulations, and answering the same questions over and over again rather than resolving them and operationalizing the answer.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has quickly become an essential component for business processes across industries. It's now more common than not for business tools to make use of AI and machine learning technologies. According to McKinsey's The State of AI in 2020 report, more and more businesses are now turning to AI to increase value in their businesses. And 50% of survey respondents report that their companies have adopted AI in at least one business function. Clearly, AI is big news.

Organizations that continued full speed ahead with their digital transformation initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic are able to ruminate on what went right and what they would have done differently, with the benefit of hindsight. Some of what they've gleaned comes as no surprise: A successful digital transformation requires executive buy-in, constant communication with business units, and of course, financial commitment. A newly released report from Deloitte supports that, noting that a straightforward, compelling "north star" narrative is critical to success for 38% of executive respondents. A leader also needs to devote time and energy to drive a transformation forward. When a chief transformation officer contributed an additional 15% of their time, the probability of success improved by approximately 16%, according to the study. In terms of financial investment, half of the survey respondents indicated that their organizations invest between 1% and 5% of annual revenue on transformation programs.

Automation has opened up new possibilities in business development and is considered a significant pillar for successful digital transformation. One such automation technology that enhanced business operations by bridging the gap between manual interaction and full automation is Robotic Process Automation (RPA). RPA can be considered as an opportunity to transform enterprises; a gateway to enhance business automation, a tool to increase human efficiency, at lower costs and with no-imminent risks. Before digging deeper into RPA, let us answer the question all of you have in mind! Robots, are they an opportunity or a threat?

"Digital transformation" is not just a popular buzzword -- it's the standard that many businesses strive toward. But what does "digital transformation" really mean? Through integrating technology, such as internet of things, cloud-based intelligence and artificial intelligence to redefine the operating model, digital transformation allows organizations to reimagine their business operations to improve customer experience and meet emerging market demands. We've seen successful examples of digital transformations across many industries: Amazon's game-changing customer insight-driven platform and business model, DHL's automated stock management supply chain system, and GE's predictive analytic tools that measure equipment data for proactive maintenance. Even banking -- governed by strict security and legislation frameworks designed to protect customer privacy -- has evolved from branches to ATMs to mobile apps.

"Customers research new products and services online, and they expect their insurance experience to be seamless and user-friendly from beginning to end," said Tal Daskal (pictured), CEO and co-founder at EasySend, a SaaS, no-code platform for building and optimizing digital customer journeys in insurance and financial services. "In addition to real-time interactions and seamless experience, customers also expect complete transparency from their insurer. They need to know precisely what is happening with their claim or application at any given moment in time. Customers expect to receive an overall personalized, tailor-made experience, which means fast delivery and reduced friction." EasySend is focused on digitizing and automating existing manual paper-based processes through optimized digital journeys by harnessing artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced analytics.

Books dedicated to Digital Transformation are on the rise in 2020. For that reason, we present a selection of the best Digital Transformation books recently written by talented authors. Every business that began before the Internet now faces the same challenge: How to transform to compete in a digital economy? Globally recognized digital expert David L. Rogers argues that digital transformation is not about updating your technology but about upgrading your strategic thinking. Based on Rogers's decade of research and teaching at Columbia Business School, and his consulting for businesses around the world, The Digital Transformation Playbook shows how pre-digital-era companies can reinvigorate their game plans and capture the new opportunities of the digital world. Rogers shows why traditional businesses need to rethink their underlying assumptions in five domains of strategy―customers, competition, data, innovation, and value. He reveals how to harness customer networks, platforms, big data, rapid experimentation, and disruptive business models―and how to integrate these into your existing business and organization. Rogers illustrates every strategy in this playbook with real-world case studies, from Google to GE, from Airbnb to the New York Times.