Over the next few years digital technologies will further transform the economic sector. Numerous world, and Croatian managers, are intensely discussing the importance of digital transformation and the next step is to set the strategy for the development of digital businesses.
Aware of the importance of digital business for further growth of the economy in the world, including in Croatia, local ICT company InfoDom presented the Initiative for Digital Transformation, in which they were joined by the Faculty of Organisation and Information Technologies and Innovation Center Nikola Tesla from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing. Presentation of the Initiative was led by Professor Slavko Vidović, CEO of InfoDom.
Digital transformation as a precondition for rapid growth
Initiative was joined by a team of world experts in digital marketing, Ira Kaufman, who is a professor at Lynchburg College School of Business and Economics, and his company Entwine Digital. Professor Kaufman is the author of the program Digital leadership for digital transformation. At the presentation of the Initiative for digital transformation, he stressed the growing impact of technology on business of companies, and their communication with customers.
“The transition to digital is a prerequisite for companies to survive and secure a sustainable future. Companies of all sizes today face major challenges trying to adjust their market performance to social networks and economy in which word of mouth or a like on social networks bring concrete business value. In today’s networked economy key elements are integration, communication between users and companies, and users with each other, as well as the foundation of strategies and tactics on the actual value – the trust of consumers,” said Ira Kaufman, adding that a company can’t transform digitally by itself, as one of the key factors here is the environment.
Changes require support of the environment
“The digital transformation of companies must be supported by the government, the universities and the media. Only then can we talk about the successful turn towards the future,” said Kaufman, adding that the digital transformation of companies is an extremely complex process that requires support from the outside in terms of professional training and “best practice” models.
“Many companies think they can do such a transformation on their own, but many of them need guidance from the outside,” said Kaufman, who advises numerous companies, including some of the biggest Croatian companies.
Professor Kaufman continues lectures in Croatia
Kaufman’s advice will also be available to all students of the Adult education institution in the field of innovation, leadership, business and agility – ILBA, whose start work was also announced at the Westin gathering. As part of beginning of work as an institution for lifelong learning, ILBA will organize a series of activities related to digital transformation.
Through programs such as digital leadership, digital enterprise, innovation management, social networks and Community Management, and Smart City, ILBA will focus its activity on the development of new competencies, knowledge and skills, in accordance with EU’s eCompetence Framework.
“The goal of ILBA’s program is to help top managers, middle managers and professionals from different industries to develop new competencies, and thus prepare for the inevitable digital transformation that awaits the entire economy. It is an opportunity, in the reshuffling of cards, to take better position and achieve the competitiveness of our entrepreneurs on the demanding European and world markets,” concluded Boris Blumenschein, director of ILBA. Blumenschein on this occasion pointed out that he expects the initiative for digital transformation in the coming period to be joined by other major ‘players’ in the field of business, public administration, science and universities, as well as the media, culture and art representatives, according to the so-called 5-helix model.
