Abstract
The current era is witnessing many changes on various levels. The information and communication revolutions are considered one of the important changes which has cast a shadow over how different institutions in society work via the phenomenon of digitization. As some of the most important institutions of society, industrial companies have been responding to this phenomenon of digital transformation to improve products and customer service while achieving a significant profitable return. This response by these institutions to the digital transformation has resulted in the emergence of the so-called fourth industrial revolution. In this context, this chapter reviews the definition of digital transformation as well as its dimensions, benefits, and obstacles. It also comments on the future of digital transformation and its relationship with industry. Ultimately it presents the fourth industrial revolution in terms of its definition, history, criteria, benefits, and the challenges it faces moving into the future.
TopBackground
The digital transformation is one of the areas that attracted the attention of many researchers in various fields due to the growing role that information and communication technology plays in various sectors of society.
Several studies and literature have reviewed the concept of digital transformation:(Mazzone, 2014), (Schallmo, Williams, and Boardman, 2017), (Ismail, Khater and Zaki, 2017), (Schwertner, 2017), (Bloomberg, 2018) did so with regards to its dimensions; (Seres, Pavlicevic and Tumbas, 2018), (Verina and Titko, 2019), (Turchi, 2018) its application; and (Matt, Hess and Benliam,2015), (Ismail, Khater and Zaki, 2017), (Schallmo, Williams,and Boardman, 2017), also analyze these items. The research indicates that the different definitions of digital transformation center around the use of technology to improve institutional business, and that the dimensions of digital transformation are varied between strategy, implementation, technology (Turchi, 2018), activities, processes, data, business models, clients, leaders, and employees (Verina and Titko, 2019). But the different classifications converge into four main dimensions: technologies - data - processes - individuals.
As for the strategies for implementing the digital transformation, most neglect the aspect of analysis in the light of strategic planning, where the factors of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats must be identified.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Industry 4.0: An equivalent term to digital transformation but are used mainly in the industry and described as a further development stage in the organization and management of the entire value chain process involved in the manufacturing industry.
Emerging Technologies: A set of technologies that are being generated and tested as a result of the successive innovations. It forms an important part in the digital transformation journey.
Digital Transformation: A process whereby companies converge through different new digital technologies, improved by communication everywhere, with the goal of achieving superior performance and sustainable competitive advantage.
Strategy: An important layer in the digital transformation journey that includes the business model and defines the impacts and opportunities of the business to create value-added services after employing digital technology, and data-based products and services.
Boundaries: As digital transformation is reshaping the boundaries of utilizing various emerging technologies are being shaped, and this will define the value that can be created out of a digital journey.