Podcast | Steering The Wheel Of Digital Progress In The Automotive Industry

Written by Jason Craker on 10 Nov, 2023

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by Attila Tóth for The Cogniverse Podcast, in which we explored digital transformation within the automotive industry, covering everything from the stages of digital maturity to the future of mobility. You can listen to the full episode here, but in the meantime, check out some of the highlights below.  

"I think digital transformation has three different stages of maturity. You start at stage one: 'Let's digitalise'. And, really, you're talking about changing how we interact, you know, let's digitalise information, let's move from analogue to digital data entry. So that's early-stage maturity.  

Then you move to a second stage in maturity, which I think lots of organisations are doing now, and that's digitalisation, where you're automating processes and you're changing the way you operate - so, can we automate our existing processes and become more efficient?"  

"In my view, true digital transformation is taking the opportunity to transform the business. So evolving and actually changing who you are and creating the capability to pivot. And I think that's fundamentally the difference between digitalisation and true digital transformation. You're looking at whether you have the capabilities to transform the business - and it's much bigger than an IT solution. True digital transformation requires a real joined-up approach across so many different diverse stakeholders." 

"Driving real digital transformation can only be done with a great vision and great stakeholders; someone who can stand up and talk about the direction and the reasoning with real substance and energy is just as important as the people who make it happen.  

In the future, I really predict those real visionaries will get great followers and great engagement based often around a purpose for doing something. And that unites people, and that unites the desire to change. And I think that's the bit that really generates the greatest opportunity for change." 

"I've been lucky enough to work in a major market in a global organisation, and the realisation was that we were coming up with projects and initiatives that were 80 % correct but they needed localisation. And actually, the importance of making sure that localisation and real differentiation were done properly and effectively was critical to success. So you need that local expertise and understanding - you can't do this from an ivory tower. You've got to get an understanding of what drives consumers across the world, and I think when you look to the future, that's going to be one of the next big stages of digital transformation." 

"The more we can find in common, the more we can accelerate change. And I think the more I see organisations standing back and saying, "We can't do this ourselves; we need to collaborate", I think actually, that's for the benefit of the sector, and to be honest, probably more so the consumers.  

I think there's a massive challenge when you think of automotive because we're seeing a move towards thinking more about services and driving services out. And I believe that those services then generate the need to collaborate. We're now in a situation driven by electric vehicles, and there is a need for the automotive industry to integrate with infrastructure and energy, and I think that's accelerating real collaboration. And there's going to be more and more of that. For example, smart cities and connected cars and all of those things are going to generate new business models, new opportunities to collaborate and a need to collaborate. And, to be honest, I think it's built around the fact consumers are starting to demand more. They want a seamless life. And where I'm going with this is getting from A to B needs to be as seamless and as easy as possible, and in my view, the only way you can do that is by integrating and collaborating." 

"What we're seeing now - and it's not just with the automotive industry - is the need for organisations to pivot. And I think we're seeing this at a higher rate than we were before. Fundamentally, I think it's because we're a lot more joined up now across the world, and we've got to look at ways to work smarter together to add real value to the consumer." 

"I think the future of automotive will see a move from product to service. I think we're going to see a real challenge with new disruptors coming in and turning the world on its head. And I can't say with any real certainty what it's going to look like in 15 years, let alone 25, apart from knowing it's going to be a lot more service-orientated, moving away from product and becoming a lot more connected with a view of adding value to the consumer, particularly around autonomous vehicles and entertainment in and out of the vehicle. I think it's going to be an interesting sector and one that I believe my grandchildren won't need or desire to learn to drive in. So, we're getting closer and closer to some of those science fiction films we've seen where the vehicles are flying." 

Don't forget to listen to the full interview to unlock more insights and be sure to follow us on LinkedIn to keep up with our latest news and updates.