The Missed Digital Leap- 5 steps to become globally competitive

We came across a newspaper article titled ‘The Missed Digital Leap’ by Mr. Wesley Gibbings. In the article, Mr. Gibbings expressed the view that the country is missing the opportunity to transform digitally during this time.  

From the article, it was clear that he feared as a country we are not doing all that we can do to transform digitally, and we are not able to compete or offer better services as a result. From this article, we decided that we needed to create the opportunity to ensure that Trinidad and Tobago does not miss the digital leap.  

OUR MANDATE

Because 800- TECH is so heavily involved in the digital transformation for so many of our clients, we recognized the importance of being the leaders and being one of the forward thinkers in creating this transformation. If you can recall, Prime Minister Rowley, also spoke of this digital transformation in an article some months ago. We wrote a blog in response, called- Digital Transformation continues in 2021  

Mr. Gibbings, also referenced that article in sharing his views. 800-TECH’s overarching mission is to ensure that SMEs especially can compete globally, utilizing technology. In return, we will have repatriation of forex to contribute to the economy and the nation.  

THE NEXT STEP 

How do we make that global competitive leap easier? A lot of organizations think that it’s a herculean task, but it isn’t. Driven by our mandate, we decided to create a series called the 5 steps to become globally competitive. Each week of June into July 2021 we discussed one of the steps that can:  

1. Assist organizations in becoming globally competitive  
2. Show you the quick wins, and 
3. The easy changes you can make to achieve this goal.  

WHO CAN HELP? 

We recognize the importance of presenting subject matter experts that can give us a good, detailed vision of how this can be achieved. 

1. One of the subject matter experts we brought on board spoke about ICT infrastructure, and how important having the right infrastructure is in achieving that global objective. Some customers always overlook this important aspect that lays the foundation for everything. 
2. We are also engaged with a Digital problem solver, who could look at the digital tools, digital technologies, what’s working, what’s not working, and how do we benchmark.
3. A Solutions Developer, one of our partners, showed us how easy it is to create digital tools, utilizing software to get your business where it needs to be.
4. And then, of course, a Project Manager, somebody who can speak about how to move from your current state, into your targeted or future state. They explained the digital roadmap that’s necessary through the lens of an experienced project manager ensuring you achieve your strategic objective. They covered: 

• How to manage with the budget that you have,  
• Managing the resources that you have and giving you that guided approach, and 
• A templated digital roadmap that can show you how quickly you can do it and how easily it can be achieved. 

We recognize that fear is a big contributor to why we are not moving forward as a country. We saw this as an opportunity to create this framework, so that it’s easier for businesses to follow. This will in turn assist where possible in getting digital transformation started, so that we can alleviate Mr. Gibbings’ fears, that we are having a missed digital leap. 

THE EMPHASIS 

As a company, we intend to explore the dos and don’ts of digital transformation. We have identified that a lot of times part of the fear is that businesses don’t know how to transform, especially in this constricted economic environment, they don’t want to spend a lot of money.  

So, in conjunction with our pool of experts we have provided a platform of learning and awareness for business owners and their team on what’s required to create a platform to compete globally. 

This will provide some comfort and increase their trust on the road to success in becoming digitally transformed. 

I want to thank Mr. Wesley Gibbings for writing this article, “The Missed Digital Leap” because it sparked something within us, woke us up, and made us realize that we have a role to play at 800-TECH to ensure that things happen.  

When you’re in that bubble where you are transforming so many businesses, you automatically assume everybody’s on board this train, but that was not the case. There are a lot of persons who have not even recognized that the train is passing. So, this webinar series is heard towards helping business owners understand digital transformation, understand the ease of achieving this transformation, understanding where they are in comparison to where they need to be. And then also have an appreciation of the resources that are required to get this done. 

We know a lot of businesses are in support of digital transformation in theory but in truth and in fact digitizing a broken process does not help business to truly benefit from the transformative experience of digitization. But rather the focus should be on the efficiency and productivity derived, and the rate of return for your business.  

YOUR STAFF 

It is about being able to create a space where your business can be at its most efficient. Creating an environment where you can see the impact your bottom line is going to have, especially during these times. It is also going to show you how you can maximize the resources that you currently have. Instead of having your staff members performing labor-intensive tasks, entering data over and over, you can now have these persons retrained or retooled to add value to the core function of your business, rather than mundanely entering data that would not be analyzed.  

YOUR CUSTOMERS

Instead of having your customers wait two or three days for a process to complete, you’re going to shorten that timeframe and boost customer satisfaction. You then have happy customers, happy employees, and a happy bank account. Then we could compete globally and not worry about the missed digital leap. We could now compete against other companies that are mass producing and utilizing technology. We can be on the same level as these companies, competing and earning revenue. 

It gives your business the global reach that you need because now customers can tap into you very easily. After all, you are in a space where it’s almost as good as a phone call. It is that connectivity that will be created. And this is the endeavor that we have taken responsibility for, to give you that space where you can feel safe, have an understanding, and have a true appreciation of converting your business from its current state into its targeted state of being globally competitive. 

Every company is capable of earning foreign revenue. It is not only for the select larger businesses or the enterprise businesses. Every company can earn foreign exchange, can have repatriation of foreign exchange, and can help the economy because globally SMEs are the grouping that pushes the economy forward. So, we can do it, we just need the right tools.  

Access to this very informative webinar series here - 5 steps to become globally competitive