Digital Transformation

This past year, I’ve been inspired by our customers, partners, government leaders and people driving change in their communities around the world.  Each of them are eager to renew growth and make a greater impact on society, but they’re faced with the realities of today’s markets and constraints. To move forward, businesses of all sizes, in every industry, are pursuing transformation with digital technology.

This week, at Envision, we’re sharing our perspective of where technology is headed — its impact on society at large and on business specifically. Much of that view is centered on asking and answering two key questions: How is your business being changed by digital technology? And how is your core business model being changed by digital technology?

Irrespective of their industry, organizations today must start thinking and operating like digital companies. 

This transformation isn’t just about procuring a CRM, ERP, or office automation system. It requires building out what we refer to as systems of intelligence — digital feedback loops that help you better engage with your customers, empower your employees, optimize your operations, and reinvent products and business models. These systems of intelligence encompass your people, processes and technology. And they will ultimately define your competitiveness and ability to change the landscape of the industries you participate in.

Today, Microsoft announced partnerships in two industries ripe for transformation: automotive and financial services.

With Toyota, we’re partnering in a new venture called Toyota Connected that will introduce intelligent services designed to make driving more intuitive, predictive and safe.

With R3, we’re enabling blockchain as a service in Azure, making it possible for over 40 of the top financial institutions in the world to clear transactions and transfer assets instantaneously and directly.

Each of us are part of our economies and our societies. Long-term growth is directly related to our ability to make our climate more sustainable, our economies more viable and our societies more equitable. Those changes can only happen if we ask ourselves two questions: What difference is our business making? And what difference are we making? 

At Microsoft, we’re proud to partner with and empower all our customers around the world with the leading technology to seize the vast opportunities ahead.