Digital Intelligence: The Key to Real Digital Maturity

Having access to data is only valuable if you know how to use it.

We’ve previously discussed what Digital Transformation and Digital Maturity are, and what they involve for companies. Taken together, the terms describe a process of understanding, embracing and being able to successfully adopt the constantly evolving possibilities provided by digital technologies.

Today, we’re going to cover another concept that is a key part of the process of Digital Transformation, and integral to reaching the goal of Digital Maturity: Digital Intelligence.

What is Digital Intelligence?

The term Digital Intelligence rose to international prominence when it was formalized as a framework during the World Economic Forum of 2016.

That concept, known as the Digital Intelligence Quotient (DQ), seeks to codify a wide range of competencies that people should be trained in so that they can better navigate the digital world, and its potential dangers.

The topic is large, and covering all of its aspects is beyond the scope of this single article. What we are interested in here is what the concept has to teach businesses in how they can manage their digital transformation and expand their digital maturity in a way that serves them and their customers better.

Businesses with high Digital Intelligence are able to not only collect large amounts of data and analyze it effectively; they are then able to take the conclusions of their analytics and intelligently apply them to the way they serve their customers, optimize their operations, and manage their spending.

For businesses, Digital Intelligence means adopting solutions for understanding data, and using different critical perspectives for understanding how to best use that data.

Three key benefits of Digital Intelligence

1. Improving Customer Experience

We’ve previously written about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing digital marketing and improving customer experience.

A company that has made a concerted effort to boost its Digital Intelligence will be equipped with the knowledge to truly understand how to use the data they receive on their customers in order to improve their services, address emerging needs and provide new digital experiences that make sense on a human level.

In this way, Digital Intelligence can be described as understanding what people want and need, what technology can offer, and bridging that gap.

2. Boosting Competitiveness

A company that is able to understand what their customers want, and equally comprehend how to go above and beyond that in their delivery through the use of digital assets, will obviously have a competitive edge.

Consider the example of two companies that have adopted the use of AI-drive ‘chatbots’ to answer questions from users.

Company A uses a chatbot that responds to a finite set of pre-determined commands that don’t differentiate the user, whereas Company B’s chatbot goes further, and remembers what the user may have previously asked or purchased, and answers questions that adapt accordingly.

Which company will have the edge? Which company has a higher Digital Intelligence? The answer is obvious.

3. Reducing Costs

Digital Intelligence is a form of rationality: it is about understanding what a company and its customers’ real needs and desires are, and making technology work for those needs.

Many companies get caught up in digital transformations that miss this point, and the result is a digital maturity that lacks digital intelligence and wastes time and resources on technologies just for the sake of them.

By understanding how to make technology serve your company – and not vice versa – you will be able to focus on digitally transforming where it is necessary and beneficial, streamlining and rationalizing your costs in the process.

Are you undergoing or planning a digital transformation? Get in touch to find out how Bocasay can be your partner in the process.