Photography has gone digital, making Kodak a ghost company. Book stores and publishers are worried because of e-books and e-commerce. Travel agencies have been challenged by digital bookings on sites like makemytrip.com and cleartrip.com. What is the difference between IT in the past, and the recent trend of going digital ? The main difference is that the CEOs and CIOs have no control over it — the control rests with the customer, and not the company.

A digital strategy is not just mere presence on the Net. It begins with a new mindset. You have to be in the shoe of the customer. What is it that the customer values ? How to connect with these values ? Much water has flown through the Ganga and Yamuna since the time the mainframes ruled the roost to the appearance of the smart phones climaxed by the entry of the iPhone6. A new relationship has been established among the people, business and information.

Tesco taps the customers in Seoul, Korea by creating virtual stores in the subway, accepting orders from the commuters waiting for the train. These orders will be delivered when they reach home. It is based on insight that people can exploit their free time, who are otherwise busy. It is important to be there to avail of that time slot. A cruise company can give a smart phone to the passengers on ship with an application that tells them about the traffic in the restaurants on board, so that they need not wait unnecessarily for their food.

The digital approach should be focused. It is more important than a big budget. There should be a quick offering — speed is the essence. Those areas are selected which have high value, rather than all-and-sundry approach.