No more lip service. Time for a true digital transformation

DESPITE much hype and chest-thumping in recent years, the promise of true digital transformation - a mindset shift as much as it is a digitalisation of data, assets and processes - has eluded the majority of enterprises across Asia.

Corporate leaders have dazzled themselves with the prospect of a brave new world of automation, machine-learning and a gold mine of opportunities from artificial intelligence (AI) waiting to be discovered. But very few outside the tech world itself or larger multinational corporations (MNCs) have embarked on this transformation - until the sudden shock we have all faced in the Covid-19 crisis.

In a matter of months, not one but two problems have paralysed the world - the sudden collapse of oil prices and the pandemic. These global black-swan events have dealt a sharp blow to the way we live and work. They have laid bare the sad truth that the majority of corporations - particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - have been kicking the can down the road with regards to digital transformation.