HKUST Business School Magazine

Measuring success and quick wins Once the whole process of digital transformation begins, organizations must then ask themselves how best to gauge the effectiveness of their efforts. For Xu, the standard measures are straightforward: more, faster, better and cheaper. That is the short way of saying that as they go digital, organizations should essentially be aiming to deliver more services, at a quicker pace, with improved quality, and better value for money. At the outset, of course, there is nothing wrong with looking for a few “quick-wins.” With the prospect of a lengthy and possibly difficult transformation process ahead, some obvious early successes help to build momentum and enthusiasm among all those involved. “Quick-win projects can enhance employee confidence and help to meet changing customer needs; this was our own experience at Huawei,” Xu said. Usually, there are three useful criteria when selecting these projects. One is to focus on high-frequency tasks that clearly require digitization. The second is to target core business areas with significant volume. And the third is to tackle more complex and costly operations that, once improved, can showcase the benefits of digital transformation for all to see. “It makes sense to select some projects that yield quick results, and affect a large volume of the core business,” Xu said. “The aim of digitization is to improve efficiencies. Once a breakthrough is achieved, the company management can show employees the benefits of transformation, which will win more support.” Vision of Huawei To bring digital to every person, home and organization for a fully connected, intelligent world Taking a long-term view At the end of the day, he added, organizations must accept that digital transformation is a long-term commitment. Therefore, it generally pays to take a phased approach, starting with key processes and building a robust structure before adding functionalities and optimizing the details. Looking ahead, Xu predicts that the ongoing transformation is sure to benefit the digital economy. “This convergence will create a market space worth billions, offering opportunities across various sectors,” he said. “Within the ICT industry alone, demand for computing power, bandwidth, and storage will increase dramatically, and thus the pressing need for infrastructure must be addressed.” Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also poised to play a pivotal role in all these developments, whether through the use of algorithms, computing power, or data. “These are three key elements.” Xu said. “Computing power is like the human heart; it must be strong to drive processes. Algorithms are the brain, smart and well-developed. And data serves as the blood, flowing throughout the system.” However, he warns that AI applications also present emerging challenges with issues such as trustworthiness and security very much to the fore. “As technologies such as speech and facial recognition evolve, distinguishing between what is real and generated data will become critical,” he said, noting though that tech-savvy start-ups may be able to offer some innovative solutions. Interview Story in Chinese This interview was conducted in Chinese. Scan the code to read Xu’s thoughts in the original language. Biz@HKUST 10 Cover