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Transforming Digital Services: Apply Digital’s 'How' for Digital Innovation
Thoughts on digital transformation from Apply Digital Co-founder and CEO Gautam Lohia.
- Article
- 5 MIN READ
- Nov 19, 2024
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Gautam LohiaChief Executive Officer
Summary
This article is part of our ‘Connected Thinking, Connected Results’ series at Apply Digital, where we bring to life our unique approach to driving impact for clients.
In this article, we’re diving into the vision of our Co-founder and CEO, Gautam Lohia.
Impactful uses of technology is the new currency for modern businesses. Your ability to connect strategy to results while using smart tech will make or break your ability to compete in the near future.
The digital landscape is changing. Customer preferences are shifting, markets are evolving at a rapid pace — and senior leaders are feeling the pressure. In organizations where team and technology silos are the norm, it can be difficult to adapt to competitive pressures and market needs. Everyone is trying to differentiate from competitors, better serve customers, and drive revenue.
The 2024 annual report from MACH confirms what we’re seeing in our work every day at Apply. Three out of four decision-makers surveyed feel it’s more urgent to innovate now than in the past five years. Organizations that don’t pursue innovation risk failing to deliver the digital experiences today's customers expect.
Thankfully, the tech needed to engage customers is in hand. AI-driven personalization is improving user experience and boosting conversions. Omnichannel integration and seamless experiences are engaging consumers who have rapidly changing tastes, allowing companies to gain valuable customer insights. Composable architecture enables flexibility to power each new stage of innovation, while opening up opportunities for brands to form deep bonds with customers.
While technology solutions are key to succeeding in today’s dynamic market, new tools alone are not enough. To truly stand out, organizations need to embrace change, both internally and externally, in ways that create value for teams and customers alike.
How to drive aligned change
Navigating change in the digital era is incredibly complex. Success requires more than just updating your technology.
It’s about aligning your people, your ways of working, and listening closely to customers to guide your transformation. It’s also about unifying your entire go-to-market approach, and delivering digital experiences that differentiate your products and services.
At Apply Digital, we spend a lot of time working closely with leadership teams to understand their aspirations and challenges. This helps us connect the dots between where they want to go, and what they need to do to get there.
Digital change is not only about updating your tech stack. It’s about aligning your organization’s growth ambitions and strategy with your day-to-day operations — and making sure the change drives the results you’re after.
Our approach: One Team model
Our approach to innovation centers on the idea of “Connected Thinking, Connected Results”.
This means considering:
Vertical layers of your business (i.e. business units across your organization)
Horizontal layers of your business (i.e. operations data and technology that cut across business units).
This approach, combined with our ‘One Team’ philosophy of working closely with client teams, lays a strong foundation for success.
From our initial strategy meeting to post-launch support, our team works as an extension of your team. We operate in the trenches alongside your people, align with your goals, and immerse ourselves in the knowledge needed to operate seamlessly and with shared accountability.
From senior leadership to SMEs, we operate with a ‘pod’ structure. Pods include team members with cross-functional skill sets, all working within a common tech and delivery framework.
Account leadership teams (ALTs) ensure smooth communication between teams tackling adjacent builds, as well as with key decision-makers. This structure is underpinned by well-oiled scrum and sprint cadences, keeping teams in-step to release often, and retrospectives to ensure we’re progressing toward the desired outcomes.
The One Team approach is a game-changer. Establishing strong communities of practice ensures that learnings from other pods are shared openly, enabling fast learning, efficient ways of working, and cost savings. This approach guided our award-winning work with Kraft Heinz.
But don’t take our word for it…
In serving our clients, we are laser-focused on helping change champions craft the right strategies, technology roadmaps, and ways of working to win in the short term and grow over the long term.
But don’t take my word for it. I invite you to explore the work we’ve done for Kraft Heinz, Coca-Cola, and The Very Group.
If you’re embarking on your digital change journey and would like to learn more about what’s possible for your team, let’s talk. We’re here to help you every step of the way.
Partner with us
Together, we can deliver innovative solutions and drive your digital change journey.
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