The Alumni Service Tecnun recently organized the online seminar room Accelerating Digital Transformation by COVID, in which Francisco Ortigosa, Director of Technological Innovation and Digital Transformation Expert, and Mabel Rodríguez, Academic Director of the new Master's Degree in Technological Innovation at Tecnun spoke. The event was presented by the director of development of the School, Iñigo Gutiérrez, and the expert Francisco Ortigosa defended that the Covid pandemic makes it more necessary than ever to bet on Digital Transformation. If you could not make it to attend to the event, you can watch the video at the following link.

Why do you think the Covid pandemic has made it necessary to accelerate Digital Transformation?

If there were any doubts about the necessity of Digital Transformation for the survival of the corporate world and business, the coronavirus has silenced them. In a new world without contact, the vast majority of interactions with customers and employees must take place virtually. With rare exceptions, operating digitally is the only way to stay in business in a reality of mandatory shutdowns and restricted activity. If appropriate, digital transformation is seen as a necessary element of survival.

Is the digital mandate new?

The mandate to be digital is not necessarily new; it is just now becoming clearer. Before the pandemic, a paradigm shift to the new Economics of the digital age was already underway. Current events have only accelerated the paradigm, as evidenced by the marked shift seen at expense towards digital business. Depending on the sources, there has been an acceleration of the process, and depending on the cases, from six to ten years.

Is the pandemic a wake-up call for companies that have been reluctant to embrace Digital Transformation?

Yes, Pandemic is a wake-up call for companies that have been reluctant to embrace that transformation and now find themselves woefully unprepared. A sudden and dramatic drop in demand and total economic uncertainty has these digital laggards now struggling to migrate their operations and workforce to a virtual environment. While being fast and aggressive was the name of the game when it came to innovation and digital transformation, being fast and frantic can lead to big mistakes.

On the other hand, companies that had not only developed digital strategies, but executed them prior to the pandemic, are now in a position to outperform their less agile competitors. That is not to underestimate the COVID-19-related challenges they now face, regardless of their current level of digital maturity.

What are the ways in which Covid has accelerated Digital Transformation?

The six ways in which Covid-19 is accelerating Digital Transformation are digital supply chains and logistics, Telehealth and smart hospitals, remote working, the rise of digital commerce, retailing, the proliferation of virtual events and, of course, Education. And in this regard, the new Master's Degree in Technological Innovation at Tecnun can be of great help to the students who take it.