Going Digital: What Nigerian Businesses Need To Do More – Accenture

The ultimate aim of digital transformation should be the ability to adapt to any future digital innovation but in Nigeria, though innovation are applauded but the level of integrate even to drive business growth is still at low ebb. 

Akintunde Sawyer, ‎senior manager Technology, Accenture, who shared insight on how Digital transformation is changing the way we work and live, during the just concluded Social Media Week, said yet for many people the term digital transformation is still widely misunderstood and poorly integrated into businesses.

According to the tech expert, there is maximum value from digital technologies such as social media, cloud computing, mobile technology and big data analytics saying reinvention of business practices is needed on a general scale in business organizations.

He further pointed key actions that businesses leaders and policy must take to exploit the growing digital economy, improve their economic opportunities and drive new productivity and growth.

"First, they need to prioritize digital investments based o value opportunities. Second, compete using an industry-specific digital strategy by being clear on which platform, what roles, and which data are fundamental to compete successfully in their industry. And third, create the right environment for digital transformation," he said.

He advised that business leaders and policy makers must understand areas that need improvement so that can recalibrate their digital skills, digital technologies and digital accelerators to enhance productivity and output gains across the economy.

“The power to connect digital size, scale and outcome lies with businesses, industry sectors and government. With smarter investments, digital resources, technologies and assets can have a positive influence on competitiveness and help economies and industries drive greater, more sustainable value," he said.

According to a research carried out by Accenture, digital investments can act as a growth multiplier in the coming years. “Take the United States where adjustments in investments in digital skills, digital technologies and digital accelerators in line with our calculations could see the nation increase its gross domestic product by 2.1 percent-which equates to US$421 billion in 2020”  it noted.

He therefore, said: “Business leaders and policy makers in Nigeria need to invest the right amounts in the right areas; by doing so, they can discover new profitable, scalable and sustainable ways to help their economies grow.”

“Digital technologies include; Mobile connectivity and the economy’s capacity to make use of the industrial Internet. Finally, digital accelerators include wide-ranging parameters such as making use of the cloud or access to finance or the economy’s regulatory burden.”