Page 5 - ICDL 2019 - Background Paper
P. 5
Foreword
A small country like Estonia is among the world’s most advanced digital societies today. Estonians cast their
vote online and there’s even a provision for e-residency! Digital transformation is about revolutionizing the
way government organizations, businesses, and institutions are continuously changing internal operations
and activities, addressing the needs of diverse stakeholders, and embracing new trends and technologies.
An agile methodology provides an excellent framework for facilitating a digital transformation. It basically
means rolling out new initiatives across the organization, which will ensure that all team members quickly
adapt and deliver key product-and-service innovations and survive in a rapidly developing digital world.
The process of using digitized information to make established ways of working simpler and more efficient is
called digitalization. One of the foremost benefits of digitalization to businesses is that it simplifies the process
of sharing, preserving, and accessing information, thus transforming business operations by enhancing
efficiency and improving data transparency. It helps change or improvise business models by using digital
technologies such that new revenue-generating opportunities can be opened up. According to a Brookings
Institute report on digitalization, ‘transforming the world of work’ is at the heart of digitalization. However,
digitalization isn’t only about changing how you do business, or creating new types of businesses, but also
about restructuring social interactions around digital communications and changing the ways in which we
communicate with others in an interconnected world.
Predicting the future, better preparing for it, and taking the necessary actions to apply this knowledge
to create the future are the three strategic objectives of a ‘Smart Future’. The ICDL 2019 will uncover the
processes that will help achieve these objectives. Building strategic knowledge about the key trends that
will shape our future might enable us to achieve success and may make a difference in the world—by
innovating, creating, and discovering or fixing something that would touch millions. In simple terms, we are
swiftly passing through the digitization era and entering into a knowledge society. Therefore, it is equally
important to pursue the knowledge of associated technologies and processes. The knowledge of possible
trends is essential in order to manage present risks and facilitate decision-making by converting challenges
into future opportunities. While a deeper understanding of the trends that will shape the future represents
one side of the coin, the other side is about taking actions; designing innovations; formulating plans; crafting
strategies, tactics, and collaborations to shape the desired future. This holds true at personal, organizational,
national, and global levels. The ICDL 2019, themed on ‘Digital Transformation for an Agile Environment’, will
not only create a roadmap to guide us through what will come next, but also help us prepare ourselves for
new challenges and opportunities. It will suggest how to manage the key trends to improve our life in the
future. If you are interested in shifting your worldview and creating new possibilities for yourself, then become
a Game Changer of the Future by participating in ICDL 2019. All the best for your smart endeavours and
digital journey!
Organizing Secretary Organizing Secretary
Dr P K Bhattacharya, Fellow & Associate Director, Dr Shantanu Ganguly, Fellow
Knowledge Resource Centre, TERI Knowledge Resource Centre, TERI
v
A small country like Estonia is among the world’s most advanced digital societies today. Estonians cast their
vote online and there’s even a provision for e-residency! Digital transformation is about revolutionizing the
way government organizations, businesses, and institutions are continuously changing internal operations
and activities, addressing the needs of diverse stakeholders, and embracing new trends and technologies.
An agile methodology provides an excellent framework for facilitating a digital transformation. It basically
means rolling out new initiatives across the organization, which will ensure that all team members quickly
adapt and deliver key product-and-service innovations and survive in a rapidly developing digital world.
The process of using digitized information to make established ways of working simpler and more efficient is
called digitalization. One of the foremost benefits of digitalization to businesses is that it simplifies the process
of sharing, preserving, and accessing information, thus transforming business operations by enhancing
efficiency and improving data transparency. It helps change or improvise business models by using digital
technologies such that new revenue-generating opportunities can be opened up. According to a Brookings
Institute report on digitalization, ‘transforming the world of work’ is at the heart of digitalization. However,
digitalization isn’t only about changing how you do business, or creating new types of businesses, but also
about restructuring social interactions around digital communications and changing the ways in which we
communicate with others in an interconnected world.
Predicting the future, better preparing for it, and taking the necessary actions to apply this knowledge
to create the future are the three strategic objectives of a ‘Smart Future’. The ICDL 2019 will uncover the
processes that will help achieve these objectives. Building strategic knowledge about the key trends that
will shape our future might enable us to achieve success and may make a difference in the world—by
innovating, creating, and discovering or fixing something that would touch millions. In simple terms, we are
swiftly passing through the digitization era and entering into a knowledge society. Therefore, it is equally
important to pursue the knowledge of associated technologies and processes. The knowledge of possible
trends is essential in order to manage present risks and facilitate decision-making by converting challenges
into future opportunities. While a deeper understanding of the trends that will shape the future represents
one side of the coin, the other side is about taking actions; designing innovations; formulating plans; crafting
strategies, tactics, and collaborations to shape the desired future. This holds true at personal, organizational,
national, and global levels. The ICDL 2019, themed on ‘Digital Transformation for an Agile Environment’, will
not only create a roadmap to guide us through what will come next, but also help us prepare ourselves for
new challenges and opportunities. It will suggest how to manage the key trends to improve our life in the
future. If you are interested in shifting your worldview and creating new possibilities for yourself, then become
a Game Changer of the Future by participating in ICDL 2019. All the best for your smart endeavours and
digital journey!
Organizing Secretary Organizing Secretary
Dr P K Bhattacharya, Fellow & Associate Director, Dr Shantanu Ganguly, Fellow
Knowledge Resource Centre, TERI Knowledge Resource Centre, TERI
v
