Rolando Y. Santiago Jr.

2021-13683-MN-0
Master in Communication

REFLECTION PAPER

Topic: Strategic Digital Transformation

Discussion Week 14

Look around you. The world we live in today is not the world we were born into.
In these past few years, technology has changed the way we interact, the way we
conduct business, the way we shop and the way we live and work. It has become an
integral part of our routine and now forms an indispensable part of life. The importance
of technology in business cannot be understated. Companies worldwide are relying on
emerging technologies to help improve their competitive advantage and drive strategy
and growth. Today, we cannot even consider doing business without the Internet, video
conferencing, project management apps and more. In fact, the role of technology in
business will only continue to expand. This fact necessitates incorporating technology into
your processes if you aren’t already doing it.
According to the book Why do strategic digital transformation? Written by Alex
Fenton, Gordon Fletcher, Marie Griffiths from Strategic Digital Transformation: A Results-
Driven Approach, Routledge, 2019, at least 40% of All businesses will die in the next 10
years if they don’t figure out how to change their entire company to accommodate new
technologies claimed by a former CISCO CEO in 2015, Ross, (2015) as cited by Fenton,
A. Et. Al., 2019.
Some of examples of companies who failed to innovate and who struggle to adapt
in the innovation are;

A. Kodak - a technology company that

dominated the photographic film market during
most of the 20th century. The company blew its
chance to lead the digital photography revolution
as they were in denial for too long. A former vice-
president of Kodak Don Strickland says: “We
developed the world’s first consumer digital
camera but we could not get approval to launch
or sell it because of fear of the effects on the film
market.” The management was so focused on the
film success that they missed the digital
 revolution after starting it. Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The Kodak failure
surprised many.
B. Yahoo - In 2005 Yahoo was one of the
main players in the online advertising
market. But because Yahoo undervalued
the importance of search, the company
decided to focus more on becoming a
media giant. The decision to focus more on
media meant they neglected consumer
trends and a need to improve the user
experience. Yahoo managed to gain a
massive number of viewers to view content
but failed to make enough of a profit in
order to scale.
Yahoo also missed out on a lot of
opportunities that could have saved them.
For example, in 2002 they almost had a deal to buy Google, but the CEO of Yahoo
refused to go through with the deal. And in 2006 Yahoo had a deal to
buy Facebook, but when Yahoo lowered their offer, Mark Zuckerberg backed out.
If the company had taken a few additional risks, maybe we would all be yahooing
right now instead of googling.

From where it was a few years ago, the educational system has experienced a
paradigm shift. Students used to have to travel to the library and look through large
books to find the information they wanted. In the 20th century, a single search for the
same thing would provide thousands of results in a matter of seconds. The technology
has advanced significantly and continues to do so.
In today's world, computers, laptops, cellphones, and tablets have become a need.
These aren't only for the sake of having a good time. Our education sector is now
significantly reliant on them. More than ever, Filipino students need access to education,
especially in times of crisis, demonstrating the power and relevance that technology has
in education. Digital transformation has improved to the point where it is now a key driver
of business growth. As a result, in order to increase their performance, corporations seek
out tech-savvy employees who can contribute to their operations on the other side of the
coin, school is a good training ground for future professionals, It can assist these children
by incorporating technology into their curriculum, facilities, rooms, and even modules.
Students nowadays are digital natives. Using tech for their daily studies can help them
more than it can drag them down.

The most successful innovation initiatives in large corporations are those that
continue to innovate and digitalize their strategy. Never resist innovation as a business.
Make sure to listen to your customer’s needs and keep up with the trends. Make sure that
your leadership and strategies are in place, and always work on improving and trying out
different types of innovation strategy. Take these steps in the fight against becoming a
corporation that failed to innovate.