The stage is set for 2019: IDG’s 2018 Digital Business research revealed that 89 percent of organizations have plans for digital transformation in support of a digital-first business strategy.
Isaac Sacolick, president of StarCIO a consulting services business that helps businesses execute their digital transformation programs, says, “2019 may prove to be the year where winners take all, laggards fall too far behind, and those in the middle are asked to rationalize their programs especially if global economies slow down.”
“For those leading, there will be added pressure to push forward to be top in their industries by taking bold moves with emerging technologies”, he says. “Digital transformation leaders in more conservative organizations may face more pressure from colleagues that remain aligned with the legacy business and operating models and will have to market their wins more aggressively.”
Whether on the leading edge or taking a more conservative approach to digital transformation, Sacolick says all organizations will be investing in customer experience, low-code development platforms, and self-service business intelligence tools.
What Digital Transformation Will Look Like
Jeff Ton, SVP of product development and strategic alliances at InterVision, provides insight into how digital transformation will manifest itself in businesses and enterprises this year:
“Our homes are now connected: smart devices learn our habits, lights turn off and on based on our work and home schedules, our refrigerators can keep our grocery lists, our smart speakers can remind us of our appointments. Now, the same will become true in business.”
“In 2019, we will begin to see artificial intelligence and machine learning operating our datacenters. For years, we have had devices that monitor themselves and send alerts to their original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in advance of malfunctions,” says Ton. “The difference in 2019 is that the disparate devices will talk to each other providing more information about the health and efficiency of the datacenter itself. This increase in information and automation will enable self-healing infrastructure to become a reality.”
Norman Guadagno, SVP of marketing at Carbonite, adds, “IT departments will be looking for ways to streamline the management of data that lives across physical, virtual and cloud systems. They will also look to cut down on the cost, complexity and staffing required when managing backups across multiple providers. For these reasons, we will see IT professionals gravitate towards implementing simple, single-pane dashboards that provide metrics of their data across disparate systems in real-time. After all, there’s too much at stake for IT professionals to risk letting things fall through the cracks.”
The ISV’s Role in Digital Transformation
John Moses, VP of US Partner Organization at Cisco, points out that although businesses are moving forward with digital transformation, they may still encounter challenges and need assistance.
“The technology isn’t always easy to understand, and there are often conflicting priorities across customer lines of business. Not everyone can connect the dots, but the most successful partners and integrators can.,” Moses says. “There is an increasing need for business acumen, business capabilities and full solutions, brought together to help guide customers through this transformation. As customers start to embrace the need for change and improvement through digitization, the biggest opportunity lies in front of the industry leaders turned trusted advisors who can clearly turn investments into outcomes.”
Are You Ready for the Year Ahead?
In 2019, your clients will turn to you to advance their digital transformation objectives such as breaking down data silos, improving customer experiences, enhancing collaboration and communication, incorporating legacy solutions into new systems, and extracting value from data. Make it a great year for your business and deliver. 
