'Digital Transformation' as a concept is beginning to grasp the imagination of both, the business and technology stakeholders in most industries today. While the interest in the topic is pervasive, an agreement on what it means and how to leverage its potential remains elusive. At Happiest Minds, we look at Digital Transformation as the confluence of SMAC technologies, biz-processes, current IT systems & insights for enabling sustained differentiation for an organization in the area of Customer Experience and/or Business efficiency. The theme of Customer Experience will continue to be a big driver for Digital Transformation for a long time to come, and will be defined and differentiated by: Personalization of variables like content, experience, pricing, recommendation, service, etc... Real-time and aware applications that leverage preferences, insights, context & location awareness On-going Customer Engagement for deeper insights and for higher loyalty and advocacy Omni-channel support to provide flexibility to customers to leverage any channel of their choice The Business Efficiency theme in Digital Transformation will focus on creating differentiation through one or more of the following: Helping organizations become more agile and responsive in their ability to identify opportunities or protect their interests Taking cost optimization to the next level by further automating mundane and routine tasks that can be more efficiently handled by intelligent systems Decision making that is powered by data & insights, rather than by intuition Unleashing innovation through newer offerings or business models The interest from organizations around Digital Transformation primarily stems from the fact that it offers tremendous opportunity to enable business differentiation and impact. Given Happiest Minds' focus and work around Digital Transformation, we are beginning to see some critical success factors that can help organizations tap its tremendous potential: 1) Like any transformation exercise, Digital Transformation should have an associated business vision, strategy, implementation roadmap and a series of connected initiatives to achieve the goals. A system with no executive management commitment and support is the most common pitfall for organizations. 2) Digital Transformation requires fundamental review of business processes with a view to innovate and optimize them by leveraging digital technologies. For e.g., Digital Transformation enhances Sales Force productivity via mobile devices, and is not just about providing mobile-based information access to sales people in the field. 3) Digital Transformation should leverage the current IT investments & systems. Only focusing on the front-end technologies, without adequate consideration for enablement & modernization of their existing systems would not help leverage its best. 4) A multi-disciplinary approach is a prerequisite for a Digital Transformation initiative to be successful. Creating the position of Chief Digital Officer (CDO) is a welcome step, however, (s)he cannot be expected to deliver this independently. It will require working collaboratively with a host of functional heads like the CIO, CISO, CMO, COO etc... At Happiest Minds, our endeavor will be to help our customers truly leverage this prospect offered by Digital Transformation by bringing a holistic approach, depth of expertise and fresh thinking. In doing so, we will be able to live our Mission – Happiest People, Happiest Customers. Regards, PUNEET JETLI CEO, Digital Transformation and Enterprise Solutions Business Happiest Minds