Demystifying Digital Transformation

Ever since I left my role as a federal prosecutor 15 years ago, I’ve continued to refine my skill at separating fact from fiction, reality from wishful thinking and authenticity from you know what.

That’s a big part of why I’m so excited to launch a new podcast series titled, “Outfoxed: Demystifying Digital Transformation,” in which I’ll interview thought leaders and industry executives about the most critical and, oftentimes, underestimated business reality facing practically every company today.

Technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data analytics, machine learning and others now enable upstarts with next to nothing but a crazy, ultimately brilliant, idea to totally remake industries. (Think Airbnb, Uber and Amazon.)

As a result, enterprises are jumping into “digital transformation” with both feet—and too often falling well short of expectations. My podcast will uncover why, what works and what doesn’t.

We will discuss the realities of digital transformation with companies that are proactively looking at their business models and outdated technologies. These are companies that want to understand what’s possible and drive change through their organizations’ business via data, customer and change management, complete business-process overhauls, robotics, AI and more.

Tales from the Trenches

The value of the podcast will come from real-life examples from companies like Great American Insurance Group.

The organization faced a data nightmare, and “things were grinding to a halt,” says Jon Osborn, AVP Enterprise Architecture and Cloud Native Development at Great American Insurance Group. In the podcast, he explains how his organization had to let go of long-held beliefs about how things work in insurance, re-engineer its data management system through effective collaboration and take a look at everything from culture to skills and workflow.

While enterprises such as Great American transform from the inside out to avoid being disrupted, Suffolk Construction will talk about making the proactive decision to be the disruptor, rather than the disrupted, in what some might think of as the staid construction industry.

Suffolk is one of the biggest construction companies in the nation, and times are good. So why does it need to do anything? EVP and CIO, Doug Myers, explains that it doesn’t want to be the next newspaper or taxi industry torn asunder by digital upstarts. And, guess what? It sees data as key to driving disruption in the industry and “turning things upside down,” as Myers says.

These first podcasts are just the beginning. Digital transformation will be in our lives for years to come, and I hope this podcast helps executives and IT professionals find the road to success, with as few potholes as possible.

Listen to the first few episodes here, and subscribe for alerts to new episodes.