Digital transformation has been an important item on the agenda of business leaders for a while now, and with time, organisations have more clarity on what they really want from it.

Despite a greater understanding of digital transformation, however, they’re not any closer to creating a framework or a model to achieve their specific goals than they were a few years ago.

The reality is, the region needs not just digital transformation but also digital innovation, and it is struggling with both.

CSIRO Australia’s Data61 recently published a report that digital innovation could deliver AU$315 billion (US$228 billion) in gross economic value to Australia over the next decade, but highlighted that organisations are far behind competitors when it comes to innovation.

Data61’s analysis suggests that Australian businesses have only been able to capture two-thirds of the value from innovations as compared to its advanced economy peers. The total economic value derived from digital innovation in Australia represents 7.4 per cent of the country’s total GDP over the past two decades. This compares to 11.2 per cent of GDP in advanced economies.

The inferences are congruent with the demands of the people in the region.

Customers and employees across Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) expect to be digitally engaged. Business that don’t deliver risk losing market share and falling behind the competition.

According to a recent study by IDC, at least 60 per cent of Australia’s GDP will be digitised by 2021 with growth in every industry driven by digitally enhanced offerings, operations, and relationships.

As a result, companies embarking on their digital transformation journey must either seek to make a positive impact on their customer experience (CX) or their employee experience (EX).

Those focusing on CX expect their digital program to have significant implications on customer analytic. If improving EX is their goal, businesses focus on improving the onboarding process as a starting point.

However, organisations must realize that, at the end of the day, it is users who will use the IT platforms they build — and the users are human — which is why human-centered design is the need of the hour for successful digital transformation programs.

The message, therefore, is clear. In order to succeed, organisations must find a way to quickly ramp up their innovation and digital capabilities, and create human-centric solutions that not only engage with customers and employees but create meaningful and positive digital experiences.

On this journey, organisations are likely to face many challenges, from managing legacy systems to scaling up prototypes across the enterprise, but success will come to those who can climb the ladder to digital maturity quickly and effectively.

Since mid-sized businesses don’t often have the expertise to go the distance alone, partnering with a team of talented consultants is a good idea — and can help save time, energy, and costs that might otherwise be wasted.

According to Tech Wire Asia, here are the top three companies that can provide mid-sized businesses with the expertise they need to navigate today’s digital landscape, while also balancing innovation goals:

DXC TECHNOLOGY

DXC Technology prides itself on the deep expertise it has acquired across industry verticals, which enables them to collaborate with clients to build, prioritise, and deliver a digital roadmap for change.

The company’s experts can help clients with their digital innovation and maturity goals, irrespective of what technologies they currently use and where they see themselves going. DXC can deliver the best technologies, offerings and solutions with the scale, speed and agility, all while minimising client risk.

The company has a robust digital framework that simplifies and integrates their clients’ mainstream IT to deliver digital services at the scale, reliably, to satisfy the most demanding requirements.

DXC Technology also understands that, at the end of the day, it is customers who will use any new solution or platform that is introduced, and that the customers are human. Acknowledging this shift, the company helps clients stay focused on adopting human-centered design as a fundamental component of the digital transformation they pursue.

Two innovative solutions that DXC Technology brings to the market — DXC Bionix for intelligent automations and Platform DXC, for managed services — make it easier for clients to invest in their digital future and achieve their business outcomes faster.

For mid-sized businesses seeking to transform their mainstream IT while deploying digital solutions at scale, DXC Technology is a category-leader, helping clients thrive with innovative solutions in the new digital world. To learn more about how they can help you, visit DXC Technology today or read the full profile here.

IBM

IBM is often synonymous with innovation. The company has played a massive role in the digital transformation of some of the largest companies, and seems to always bring something new to the table.

Although not always the first choice when it comes to working with mid-sized firms, IBM has on several occasions proven that the company is able to meet the digital transformation needs of this category of businesses — almost effortlessly.

The current focus on the company, when it comes to digital transformation, seems to be in integrating the physical with the digital, aiming to impact not just the customers and employees of the business, but also radically transform how the business functions.

Given the company’s several patents and strong ties with governments, city councils, and municipal bodies, IBM definitely knows scale. The company has also worked with some of the biggest and brightest companies in the world, which has helped it gain perspective and create frameworks and models it believes will help clients digitally transform their business right out of the box.

Typically, the company is engaged by businesses looking to optimise their digital transformation projects and take them to the next level, although IBM is also able to forge meaningful partnerships with those new to the process.

Oracle

The original software giant from the 1970s, Oracle is the preferred consultant to those that have a built a strong relationship with the company over the past several years.

In recent times, Oracle itself has transformed from a database management company to a business software provider, moving from on-premise solutions to the cloud.

The company’s journey has taught the company a few important lessons about making radical changes to existing business models without disrupting business as usual.

Oracle’s approach to digital transformation is quite simplified, and multi-pronged. The company not only looks at helping organisations move to the cloud but helps them secure digital identities, build connected experiences, and create useful business applications on-the-fly.

For most businesses, engaging with Oracle for their digital transformation needs isn’t just about climbing the digital maturity ladder, but also about making sure that the various software that the company has invested in over time (often supplied by Oracle) are all integrated effectively.

At the end of the day, Oracle is a proven market leader in digital transformations — and, given its decades of experience in the market, is great at managing complicated projects that involve legacy applications and infrastructure.

*Some of the companies featured on this editorial are commercial partners of Tech Wire Asia