Golden rules for digital transformation success

By 2030, the Internet of Things (IoT) market is expected to reach $1.5 trillion, according to Transforma Insights and Ericsson’s latest Mobility Report predicts there will be nearly 27 billion connected devices by 2026 – with almost every object around us connected. The transformative potential this holds for business and society is enormous. Denis Brunetti, president of Ericsson Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos shares the learning and insights on successful digital transformation of enterprises for the benefit of industries across Vietnam.

Ericsson recently released its Connected Enterprises report that captures insights from companies and leaders who have already applied digitally transformative technology to change both their business and society. They’re creating safer work environments, improving customer experience by enabling greater customisation and personalisation, reducing their environmental impact, and developing new revenue streams. Leading enterprises have leveraged cellular connectivity to improve efficiency and productivity, while lowering operating costs and environmental impact. There are great learnings for enterprises in Vietnam that are seeking to embark on their own digital transformation journeys with 4G/5G.

Navigate to a better future with mobile technology

In order to remain competitive, create better experiences and services, increase efficiency, and even achieve sustainability goals, businesses need to become connected. This digital transformation can happen through connected devices and products or connected environments like industrial sites. Thus, in order to realise the possibilities, enterprises need connectivity that is global, reliable, and secure.

For example, Globe Tracker is changing food transportation and reducing food loss by using the global coverage that cellular technology provides. They’re now able to track and monitor a complex ecosystem of sensor-equipped containers at every stage of their journey, ensuring they arrive on time and in good condition. Grundfos, the world’s largest pump manufacturer, uses cellular technology to optimise energy consumption and sell maintenance as a service. As a result of making their pumps intelligent, they’ve seen a 60 per cent increase in energy efficiency.

Audi needed a connected solution to help drive safer production processes in their factories. Ericsson collaborated with Audi and sensor manufacturer SICK to connect one of Audi’s German factories with 5G technology, creating seamless robot collaborations, greater efficiency, and enhanced productivity and safety. 5G brought flexibility improvements, enhanced connectivity, and a complete reimagining of what safe human-robot collaboration can look like. All on the same network. These are a few examples of leading companies who have achieved digital transformation.

It’s clear that 5G is ushering in a new era of innovation, and the best way to explore these new possibilities is to learn from those who have already started on this path.

Put the customer first, not the product: In order to help your business digitally transform and reach its goals, you must have a clear understanding of what success looks like and whether or not you are actually solving customer problems. Put your customers centre stage, step into their shoes and speak their language.

Capture the data opportunity: It is important to capture and transport data effectively and securely with cellular, so that it can be analysed and turned into actionable insights, like a warning to farmers that their stored grains are at risk for spoilage.

Start small then scale up: In the early stages of creating IoT projects, enterprises can take inspiration from how startup companies operate. These lessons include: Act fast, act early, and test often. Plus, be ready to fail fast, regroup, and then optimise. Start small, integrate with various systems gradually, and then scale on the back of success.

Embrace new ways of working to stay ahead: Digital transformation leaders must understand that the new ways of doing things will be the only path forward and that being static means being left behind. Cellular connectivity will help you challenge the status quo, scale, and build an agile business.

Don’t do it alone: Understand how to best collaborate with partners and read about the pitfalls to avoid when creating the right ecosystem.

Don’t compromise on security: Dive deep into the importance of security and understand why so many enterprises use cellular technology to provide a coordinated approach, including product security, deployment, operations, and management, incident-handling capabilities, traffic encryption, and protection of signaling and interfaces.

Numerous existing and futuristic 5G use-cases can potentially bring a paradigm shift across enterprises helping them become more efficient, future-ready, as well as sustainable. The possibilities that IoT, 4G, and 5G create for enterprises will not only put enterprises on a fast track to meet the demands of the new world, but more importantly, contribute to the sustained socio-economic development of Vietnam.