What does it really mean to be a "digital business"? In 2013, Gartner notably made the claim that "every company is a tech company".i A powerful statement considering where we stand today. That was four years ago; it is amazing how quickly technology can evolve and impact the world. Gartner was suggesting from its analysis that technology had reached into every industry sector of the economy. Was this analysis right?
Technology today is no longer seen as a facilitator of everyday business practices. It has now become the heart, the center of every business strategy, and data can be used by businesses to produce, store and analyze relevant information in order to achieve the competitive advantage over their peers.ii
Digital business, as it relates to business technology, offers companies and individuals new ways to connect, collaborate, conduct business, and build bridges between people. It impacts the basis of business functionality and determines the way business is managed today. Digital business received heightened attention when Forrester’s Nigel Fenwick wrote a post titled "2013: The Year of Digital Business". In this article, Fenwick examined social business developments, stating they would continue to evolve and advance into the future.
There is no denying businesses need to evolve to tackle the changing business landscape. The future of business software is the digital business.
3 Pillars Support a Successful Digital Business
1. Market Insight
Market insight combined with modern technology only give the traditional form of market awareness or business understanding a digital dimension.
2. Collaborative Leadership Team
Combining insight and technology from the beginning serves to guide cross-functional teams of business leaders and tech engineers to address the needs of the consumer. Once these foundations are laid, as with any business, these consumer demands need to be monitored and cared for, for the duration of the business lifespan.
3. One or More Technological Platforms
From a technological angle, digital businesses include one or more software platforms, leveraging the best technology available to suit the company’s individual needs.
The final pillar which is a primary component to the digital business and its success is the platform. These technologies enable businesses to strive for their goals, establishing their vision and accomplishing their objectives.
The use of technology in regards to innovation only serve businesses to continuously improve their performance by accelerating business activities, processes competencies and models. This is the way of the future. Digital business is still in its infancy and has immense room for growth and advancement.
GBSB Global Business School Master of Science in Digital Business program is by far the most pertinent and innovative master program addressing the challenges facing business professionals today. By utilizing an assortment of teaching methods – everything from case studies to industrial visits, workshops and more – students will learn to become transformational agents in the digital arena, with a global vision transferable to markets across the globe.
Program coursework is very extensive, covering topics like e-commerce, digital business model design, social networks, SEO/SEM strategies, web analytics, mobile marketing and more. Electives are provided so students can customize the program to suit their individual needs as entrepreneurs, for those who want support in digital startup techniques, or as corporate professionals seeking to direct the transformation through innovation of a company.
The Master of Science in Digital Business will lead students to develop real-world skills and specific knowledge that will increase their employability upon graduation. The faculty is exceedingly diverse, both in their nationalities and industry experience. Students have the rare opportunity to be taught by highly successful business leaders who have a desire for mentoring students on their journey to success.
Written by Emily Dawn Szajda, GBSB Content Manager
[i] [ii] Lonergan, Kevin. 16 Sept 2014. What does it really mean to a ‘digital business’?. Information age. Retrieved from http://www.information-age.com/what-does-it-really-mean-be-digital-business-123458466/
