Digital transformation: four pioneers share their insights

Source: Microsoft Pulse (02/06/2017); Author: Dorien Aerts 

To help businesses with their digital transformation, Vlerick business school and the newspapers De Tijd and L’Echo recently organised an innovative academic programme for 200 selected candidates: Take the Lead. Take the Lead supports pioneers and invites them to share their own insights.

What do you absolutely need to know when it comes to digital transformation? We put that question to four pioneers on the closing evening of Take the Lead: Mieke Neven is the Managing Director of Burocad, a small business that is growing rapidly. Marijke Schroos is the Customer & Partner Director at Microsoft and coaches businesses through digital transformations. Stijn Viaene, a professor at Vlerick Business School and KU Leuven, provides theoretical insights. Finally, Dennis Baar shares his personal experiences as the IT Director of Vandemoortele. Find out what they had to say.

Tip 1: keep it simple

Digital transformation is not just for those with a technical background: the whole organisation needs to feel involved. So speak a language that everyone understands and avoid high-tech jargon that scares people off.
Mieke Neven, Managing Director at BuroCad

Tip 2: focus on the long term

Ask how you can improve your business in the long term and what kinds of technological changes you will or may still need to expect. You might still feel invincible now, but will things be the same ten years on?
Marijke Schroos, Director Customer & Partner at Microsoft

Tip 3: watch what your neighbours are doing

The first thing a business needs to do is take note of the examples set by other businesses, distill the useful information from these and deploy them in working on the digital transformation with the whole team.
Stijn Viaene, professor at Vlerick Business School and KU Leuven

Tip 4: think from the customer’s perspective

Before you embark upon a digital transformation, you need to ask how you can make your customers even more satisfied. Look into the processes, organisational changes and technology that will help with that and implement them as well as possible.
Dennis Baar, IT Director of Vandemoortele

Related Programmes

  1. Digital Leadership August 2017 Amsterdam
    Lead the thinking towards deep integration of Digital in your business. Participate in a world-class Digital Leadership Programme. Find out more here!
    Length: 5 days
    Language: English
    Start: 28 August 2017
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