By Matt McClarty – Mulesoft
There is a data revolution driving the digital transformation movement. Organizations can reap plenty of business benefits in the back office by digitizing data and automating their processes. However, the companies setting the bar in the digital economy are the ones that maximize their use of data to deliver captivating customer experiences. These companies recognize the value of raw data, know how to refine it, and how to disperse it throughout their digital touchpoints. To enable this process, they combine data with AI and APIs. For enterprises looking to emulate these digital pioneers, is it enough to just define a digital strategy that encourages the adoption of data management, artificial intelligence, and API management?
Well, not completely. The thing about digital transformation is that it has become an umbrella term encompassing almost every trend in technology and every innovative approach in business. When confronted with the challenge of defining a digital strategy, IT leaders of an organization in isolation might aspire to go cloud native through microservice architecture while establishing agile methodologies and DevOps culture. Those techniques could improve delivery output, but they are not a sufficient starting point for a business strategy. Defining the digital transformation strategy should be a collaboration between IT and business leaders. However, even the collective perspective of these leaders could become enamored with the innovative possibilities offered by data, AI, and APIs and subsequently descend into dogma, losing sight of business outcomes. Just think about the many unrelated ways that AI and APIs intersect, from machine learning-enabled API security solutions to RPA-enabled APIs to API-enabled AI algorithms. If you try to define your strategy by focusing on the technology movement first, you will probably lose your way.
