4 Leading Voices on the Benefits of Being Digital-First

At the Equinix Digital Leaders Summit held earlier this month, Karl Strohmeyer, Equinix Chief Customer and Revenue Officer, met with Anu Krishnan, Head of Information, Data & Analytics at Shell, for a session titled “It’s a Digital-First World.” As Karl recapped in his recent blog, the two leaders shared how digital transformation can help businesses of all sizes adapt to overcome the challenges facing them and open up new revenue streams. The session was filled with examples of how Shell, Equinix and our respective customers are using digital infrastructure to unlock the potential of new data-driven use cases.

During the session, Karl and Anu discussed exactly what it means to be a “digital-first” business, and what the benefits are. From the Equinix perspective, a digital-first strategy is one that merges IT strategy and business strategy in pursuit of common goals. However, this may look different from one organization to the next.

We asked experts from across the industry to share what they considered the benefits of a digital-first strategy. Read on to learn their thoughts.

Helen Yu, Founder & CEO of Tignon Advisory Corp.; WSJ Best Selling Author – @YuHelenYu

We have seen the benefits of a digital-first strategy in multiple areas. Let’s start with innovations, which are critical to the competitiveness and long-term success of the business. Digital transformation drives more innovations, faster time to market and value realization at scale. Next is talent acquisition, management, and skill upscaling. Keeping employees motivated, connected, and trained is much easier in the digital world. Let’s not forget the efficiency of front and back-office operations. Finally, we expect better and more sustainable financial performance, across top-line and bottom-line.

Bernard Marr, Award Winning Author & Business Advisor – @BernardMarr

In today’s ever-more digital world, having a digital-first strategy is no longer a choice, but a business imperative. Transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, augmented reality and smart robots are redefining businesses across all industries, and customers, employees and investors are expecting companies to thrive in this new digital world. Any company that fails to embrace this in a digital-first way will simply be left behind.

Theodora Lau, Founder, Author & Podcast Host – @psb_dc

In today’s world, you simply cannot afford to be a laggard when it comes to digital strategy. Digital is not simply something that you do; it must be an integral part of your business, delivering the agility, efficiency, and user experience expected in today’s competitive environment. As the digital economy continues to grow and evolve, a digital-first strategy will allow organizations to future-proof themselves and thrive, instead of merely surviving.

Nicole Collins, Chief Transformation Officer, Equinix

A digital-first approach allows companies to stay competitive and relevant with their customers. A strong digital strategy drives transformation across areas of process, data intelligence, resource allocation, operational efficiencies, and customer experience. Simply put, a solid digital-first strategy executed well should unlock significant value for a company.

Review insights from digital leaders like Shell, Microsoft, AWS and more

The Equinix Digital Leaders Summit is filled with insights on how to interconnect your digital core, integrate with your digital ecosystems, interact at your digital edge, and go digital-first for a sustainable future. To learn more from Equinix and our partners and customers, visit the Equinix Digital Leaders Summit archive to view the sessions on demand.