On this episode of the DevReady Podcast, Andrew and Anthony speak with Saleem Qureshi, investor and CEO of Assessment Fund, based in London. They talk about the need for digital transformation in the wake of COVID, the very apparent digital divide, and the tools (and rationale) for successful digital transformation.
COVID has pushed virtually all companies to consider a work-from-home model, and this is necessarily changing the way we do business. Saleem suggests that companies that want to survive need to lean into those changes and really understand how they can transform digitally. Ultimately, the companies that fail to do this will be left behind.
Saleem also talks about how education is tied intimately to the problems businesses are facing in digital transformation, but there may be tools around the corner. The world is digitizing — and that doesn’t just mean going online — and it’s up to the young companies to have the hard conversations they need to transform.
A new economy is being created, even though we don’t know what it will look like. To best prepare and future-proof ourselves, businesses need to have conversations about who they are, and who they will be going forward. The digital divide will eventually shrink, but only when companies successfully transform into the digital age.
Topics Covered:
- The problems in trying to digitize the world.
- Bringing education up to digital speed.
- The importance of digital transformation in staying alive.
- Focus on the value you deliver to your customers.
- Preparing pre-IPO companies prepare for their IPOs.
- Educating the boardroom on the financial impact of tech.
- Work-from-home models changing the world.
- Unemployment in the future.
- The new economy that is being created.
- Problems in the developing world.
- Some of the issues that work-from-home is bringing to the table.
- Demand to move to the bigger cities.
- The main concerns for digital transformation.
- Volkswagen is transforming itself into a software company.
- Digital transformation is transforming the business model.
Key Quotes:
- “We wanted to understand ‘what is intelligence?’” (01:35)
- “The people are still analog.” (2:40)
- “Turn your data into dollars.” (10:00)
- “Digital transformation actually increases your value.” (12:25)
- “The boardroom is not tech savvy.” (15:20)
- “It’s the vendor’s responsibility to sell the board on the tech.” (18:00)
- “We need to talk to people in the same language that they use.” (21:00)
- “The stock prices of companies are going up.” (25:25)
- “Work-from-home is going to test people’s ability to upskill themselves.” (26:30)
- “You can either stay relevant or you can not be counted.” (28:08)
- “You don’t really need a four-year degree anymore because the education sector is so far behind.” (28:50)
- “It’s easy for small companies to transform; it’s difficult for large companies to transform.” (39:45)
- “The real value is in giving the customer the life they want, and the car is just a tool to get there.” (41:10)
- “Everybody must be transforming the way they do business.” (44:00)
