Introduction: Defining DX
Before diving into the full definition of DX, it’s important to set the stage first with a quick overview of the worldwide technology shift from the 2nd Platform to the 3rd Platform. Put simply, since its inception, IT has moved through two primary platforms and is in the process of moving to its third. The 1st Platform was hardware centric, the 2nd Platform was software centric, and the 3rd Platform, where most companies should be moving now, is services centric. DX is the application of the 3rd Platform’s four primary technologies — cloud, mobile, big data, and social — to improve all aspects of society. For companies, that means transforming decision making with technology. From the perspective of the executive chairman of a worldwide technology company, “At least 40% of all businesses will die in the next 10 years… if they don’t figure out how to change their entire company to accommodate new technologies.”
What does it mean to transform decision making with technology? It means utilizing new sources of innovation to enhance experiences and improve financial performance. Simply modernizing your company’s technology doesn’t count; new hardware, software, and services rollouts must fundamentally drive new and better business outcomes. This transformation occurs when the business starts to capture and utilize data to drive an evidence-based culture. And the key underpinning for all this change are those four primary technologies.
