DIGITAL CRAZE
DIGITAL CRAZE
INDUSTRY DISRUPTIONS : DIGITAL ROLE IN MODERN ORGANIZATIONS
By Timothy Oriedo
A closer scrutiny at LinkedIn platform reveals the rise and rise of job titles with the word Digital . At the end of the divide , there is correspondingly paucity of talent being churned out by higher educational institutions with the same digital qualifications .
Sometime back Maseno University had all their graduants having their degrees embed with IT at the end in their official certificates , has that narrative changed to digital in this time and age ? One would want to know how then are organizations finding befitting candidates to fill in the Digital Roles .
Do Organization ’ s really need a head of digital or a digital department ?
Let me begin by drawing parallels with the industrial revolution age . It ’ s widely acknowledged that we are in the digital revolution era . The first revolution was industrial during which electricity provided the spur of the moment .
Of course in 2017 we don ’ t have electrical advertising agencies or electricity strategists or heads of electricity . It ’ s just a given that every one just gets it . So why not allow ourselves to talk about digital the same way ?
What does Mpesa , Sportspesa and Uber platforms have in common ? They were all started not by
‘‘ Technology is not oil to lubricate ; it ’ s oxygen to grow ideas and change business models . Incumbents need to disrupt themselves at the very core , empowered by what new behaviors and new technology make possible and what people today demand and expect .’’ the incumbent industry players that the said platforms all set to revolutionize , but by parallel players who had an outside view looking in . Otherwise Mpesa would have belonged to a bank , Sportspesa to a casino and Uber to transport company .
This is vindication enough that there is some form of sublime quality and precision in service offering for solutions crafted by players not in the incumbent industry .
Take the recently launched Pesa Link as one case example . I applaud the banks launch of the platform as it lowers the interbank transaction rates , which beyond anything else demonstrated unity of purpose by all banks sitting around the table to craft the solution . The platform however shouldn ’ t be heralded as a great innovation .
Reason being current business reality is shaped by the realization that its a time with scarce attention and abundant connectivity , where phones are our primary access point to everything ; where money
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