Digitalization vs Digital Transformation: do they both have the same meaning?

The word ‘digital’ is found all over the internet, as well as in newspapers, businesses and workplaces. Every day we have to be in touch with digital devices, talk about digitalization and change our dynamics in the light of the latest technological advances. In fact, the term digital transformation has become popularized worldwide. Constantly hyped by the media agenda, it seems like the ongoing digital revolution has not stopped since 1950.

Well, let’s start with Gartner’s definition: “Digitalization is the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities; it is the process of moving to a digital business.”

This concept is primarily enterprise-oriented; thus digitalization is applied in business processes. However, it is also connected to our social life and so it means how people interact in their everyday life.

In this sense, J. Scott Brennen, Doctoral Candidate in Communication at the University of North Carolina School of Media and Journalism, and his colleague Daniel Kreiss, who is Associate Professor at the same educational establishment, define digitalization as: “The way in which many domains of social life are restructured around digital communication and media infrastructures.”

Hence, digitalization can change any scenario of human life, including how we interact, talk, communicate, and definitely how we work, and it does this by integrating digital technologies into daily dynamics.

Digital transformation: disrupting the core of a business

Digitalization refers to the material implementation of technology. This is quite different from digital transformation, which is intangible by itself.

Digital transformation is the overall strategy in which a business model can be changed. It basically modifies the core of enterprise operations in order to disrupt or generate a higher impact on clients and workforce. There are several digitalization processes that can accomplish this transition.

Now, let’s be clear about this. Digital transformation is not only about digitalization; it requires end-to-end business transformation, including customer experience, IT, architecture, API’s, Big Data, DevOps, automation and more, according to the enterprise goals.

McKinsey has proposed this ten-step roadmap for a successful digital transformation process:

Finally, if your company needs a digital transformation process, get a free quote here!