Digitization of companies - understanding IT as an enabler

摘要

The digitization of the business world is changing the role of IT: its strategic importance is expanding. The IT can, will ad, should be the central design element for new business elements. This results in new challenges for IT departments, but more than this also for business units and strategic business plan developers. In the past the focus of updated IT approaches was set on cost and stability. However, IT nowadays needs to meet additional requirements as adaptability and agility. When rethinking IT strategies within the context of business digitization the following questions need to be answered: Is IT just a tool to deliver faster business? Or can it be an enabler for new business opportunities and business models. Is it enough to think about how the necessary services can be provided or which methods are suitable for which requirements? It seems that moreover a new holistic strategy including IT and business in an interactive, bi-cyclic development process might lead to new business opportunities and customer satisfaction. But this demands also for a new set of management principles and mind-sets to enforce digitization on all levels of a company and to help the enterprise maximize returns from technology investments. In this paper an employee oriented approach is suggested, leading towards a manamgement attitude that can implement digitization by empowering the own work force. This leads towards an inhouse capability that is inevitably unparalleled to any consultancy solution. Therefore each company, striving to touch upon digitization, should allow itself to reach out towards this self-empowering strategy.