Covid-19 has accelerated the digital transformation process in companies where previously was challenging. Digital transformation is notoriously difficult because it requires extensive resources and support from all top-level managers.
One of the companies conducting digital transformation and participating in developing the digital ecosystem in Indonesia is Telkomsel. Although the digital transformation started in 2015 and has shown many achievements, Telkomsel is committed to continuously transforming into a digital telco company.
“Although Telkomsel is the largest company in Indonesia, it needs to transform. Previously, Telkomsel was only a telco company. Now, it becomes a digital telco company,” said Yose Rizal, Commissioner of Telkomsel, at a guest lecturer session at the MBA program SBM-ITB, Saturday (18/9/2021).
Despite the transformation process not being straightforward, Yose emphasized the importance of companies carrying out digital transformation. Yose said that digital transformation would make the company bigger and become a market leader. “To make us bigger and remain a market leader,” he added.
In a guest lecture entitled “Acceleration of digital Indonesia based on Industry 4.0,” Yose explained many factors that require digital transformation within the company, including changes in consumer behaviour, global system connectivity, technological changes, security risks, and changes in the mindset of employees.
Apart from these driving factors, Yose also explained several obstacles often experienced by companies in digital transformation, such as the silo mentality, lack of focus on users, and low employee involvement.
To overcome these obstacles, Yose noted that three critical points must be considered when carrying out digital transformation: people, culture, and business. “People are how we change our mindset and that of our employees to be more agile, adaptive, and innovative,” he said.
Yose continued, culture is also vital in transformation, such as the culture of being brave in facing a failure. And the last one, the important point is related to making business processes more efficient. “We can’t do digital transformation with the old process,” said Yose.
Lastly, Yose emphasized that digital transformation must indeed be the desire and support of all top-level managers. This is because business transformation involves all aspects of the company, so support from the company’s top brass is essential. “All digital transformations must be a desire and endorsement from the top level because it cannot be realized without support from the top level,” highlights Yose.
