Barbara Yuste -- Digitisation, irreversible and without hot air

The crisis caused by COVID-19 has forced organisations to implement digitalisation processes to face a new context, in which technology has played a key role. We have witnessed what could be described as a forced advancement of the digital transformation that many companies had been putting off for a long time.

The management of the pandemic is confirming some evidence that until now were only ideas more or less accepted by society. Technology and digitalisation are and will be key elements in tackling any economic, health, ecological or social challenge, as some of the best international practices for controlling COVID-19 have shown, but also for implementing teleworking systems that guarantee the work activity of organisations.

Following the reflection of Roberto Ranz, director of the ASTI Foundation and head of Talent at ASTI Mobile Robotics, the brutal challenge to which "the coronavirus crisis is subjecting our systems and models of social and industrial organisation is going to open new windows of opportunity for an industry and society 5.0. This is not a fiction, but a model already anticipated in Japan by its government and which explains perfectly why this country was prepared for this pandemic and managed it excellently. This model of society and industry 5.0 is based on two aspects: on the one hand, the accumulation of massive data in real time from all sectors and, on the other, a culture monozukuri of excellence and habits of lean manufacturing".

In addition to healthcare, there are many sectors that, due to the crisis caused by the coronavirus, have had to abruptly adopt digital tools to continue to carry out their daily tasks. This is the case of education: schools, colleges and universities have rapidly implemented virtual platforms to organise daily videoconferences with students and thus continue with the academic calendar. Despite some technical alterations, more linked to connectivity, students and teachers have had no choice but to accept the reality and adapt their traditional methodologies based on face-to-face in the classroom to a completely digital environment. online.

But it is not only education that has had to reformulate its operations; many companies and organisations of all kinds have been forced to rapidly implement digitalisation processes in order to face a new context, in which technology is playing an essential role, as we can see in our daily lives. In fact, we are witnessing what we could consider to be an obligatory advance in the digital transformation that many companies have been putting off for some time.

We do not yet know how this urgency in the digitisation of internal organisational processes will translate, but it is very likely that it will help Spain's position in the different European and world rankings on technological and digital adoption to rise and consolidate. We shall see. But what will no longer make sense is to approach the transition to digital with hot air or half measures if the company wants to survive in a competitive ecosystem that is increasingly permeable to constant innovation.

Level of digitisation in Spain

It is not a question of bringing here all the statistics that have so far placed our country in a poor and stingy situation. Studies of all stripes have produced very negative data on the state of digitisation. This is the case of the report Spain Digital Nation 2019The report, prepared by the Spanish Association of the Digital Economy (Adigital), concludes that Spain remains on the border between second-tier economies and the most advanced group of economies in terms of digitisation, both globally and in the European context. The document reveals that, despite the progress that has been made in recent years, our country is still unable to take advantage of the full value associated with digital transformation in terms of growth, but also, and above all, in terms of social welfare.

According to the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), produced by the European Commission, Spain was in tenth place in the European ranking in 2018, largely due to the improvements implemented in the country's technological infrastructures. However, these improvements have not translated into the level of digitisation of companies, which is still far from that of the European leaders, especially SMEs and, within these, those with fewer than 10 workers, which represent 99 per cent of the Spanish business fabric.

The intensity with which digitalisation has accelerated in this time of coronavirus must continue as we move beyond this health crisis and return to normality. The misgivings and resistance that have hindered a positive transition to a world full of opportunities for business must be left behind. However, it is curious that it has taken a pandemic with devastating effects to drive the digital transformation process of many companies and institutions, which have had to make decisions at breakneck speed to equip their organisation with the technology and digital tools necessary to continue their business.

This change of attitude, although forced, can no longer be reversed. Digital technologies will continue to be indispensable for the future of businesses, institutions and, of course, citizens and public administrations. The challenges they will face in the years to come require an open, creative and, of course, innovative mindset. Organisations will have to implement and take advantage of emerging technologies that are already transforming the world. This is the case of artificial intelligence, the big datathe cloudThe Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G will continue to evolve and provide multiple uses and applications. All of them will continue to evolve and provide multiple uses and applications.

The business world must continue to focus on the digitisation of its internal operations, its production processes and its professional workforce, addressing different areas and needs, but putting the focus on some priority aspects that will guarantee success in the transition:

• Betting on the cloud and, therefore, making access to the software The Internet is the most important tool for the organisation's needs, in addition to the benefits related to data storage. An Internet connection is all that is needed for employees to perform their tasks, and all at a much lower cost.
• Teleworking systems and mobile platforms that make it possible to work from anywhere.
• Exploit the potential of artificial intelligence to acquire more knowledge to make better and more accurate decisions on sales, marketing, product and service development or other strategic areas.
• Use the big dataThis is the large volumes of data they receive daily from different sources, in order to improve processes and respond more accurately to customer or user needs.
• Automate all routine processes that may hinder the development of other tasks more linked to innovation and to giving companies a greater competitive advantage in the market.
• Adopt videoconferencing tools that make meetings and work sessions more effective. But, beyond that, they allow events to be held, even replacing face-to-face events.
• Train their teams in digital capabilities, adapting their professional skills to those in demand in today's market.

This article was originally published in Fundación Teléfonica's Telos Magazine. You can access it by clicking here here