Gathering and using data to improve the speed, agility and accuracy of processes are resulting in companies changing their ways of competing in a range of industries, from restaurants to industrial operations, says integration and analytics multinational Tibco Software analytics strategy senior director Shawn Rogers.

For example, a US kitchen equipment manufacturer had to compete against cheaper imports that threatened its business. As part of its strategy, the manufacturer focused on harvesting data to improve the performance of its machines and the value derived by clients.

“The manufacturer integrated social media data with data from smart deep fryers to provide immediate and accurate advice on the use and condition of fryers for client restaurants, helping them to improve their services and customer experiences,” says Rogers.

This enabled the company and its restaurant clients to gather feedback constantly and adapt to client demands quickly.

Tibco assisted in executing the manufacturer’s digital transformation strategy. When Tibco checked on the project a few years later, the manufacturer said that the impact of the digital project had supported and improved value for clients, and that it was no longer concerned about the cheaper imported machines because they could not compete against its value proposition.

“Data and analytics enable any business to be innovative and more competitive, and businesses that are not gathering and using available data may become less competitive and lose market share,” he says.

Highlighting the example of the kitchen machine maker, Rogers emphasises that it is important to have a strategy in place for digital transformation, and that merely deploying the latest technologies is not as effective as having an environment, the culture and the personnel to support innovation and transformation.

He notes that many of the digital transformation projects start when replacing existing and legacy systems, but that the focus of nascent digital transformation projects should be on using them as a foundation to broaden transformation of the business.

“Project leaders must not lose sight of how important the culture and people are for success. Implementing the digital transformation strategy as part the business strategy requires purposeful leadership. “Often, this will require not only in-house resources and key personnel but also external partners to address all the aspects of these projects.”

Rogers adds that there are patterns to successful innovation projects, including empowering employees with digital tools and information that eliminate time-consuming processes and enable them to respond more quickly to clients or work processes.

He cites the example of US low-cost airline JetBlue Airways, which took the decision to provide each of its employees with analytics and business intelligence tools, and not only its managers.

“The project’s aim was to place intelligent tools and information directly in the hands of 21 000 people so that they could each make informed and meaningful decisions as part of their work processes,” explains Rogers.

However, each organisation’s digital transformation requirements are different and Tibco has focused its research and development on augmenting human intelligence through gathering, orchestrating and using data and analytics to provide meaningful information for users in real time.