Tämä teksti on osa Työelämäblogi -sarjaa, jossa AYY:n yhteistyöyritykset kertovat toimialoistaan, toiminnastaan ja työllistymismahdollisuuksistaan.
Digitalization is a buzz word of today. The word is thrown into conversations and articles, and companies strive to appear as trailblazers in the area. But what does it mean? How does it affect me and my work at Tieto? How does it affect my surroundings? How to make the right decision on what creates value?
Gartner defines digitalization as the use of digital technologies to change a business model and provide new revenue and value-producing opportunities. Following this definition, digitalization is a positive, forward-looking movement creating benefits for consumers and companies alike.
At its best, digitalization adds transparency, shortens the time-to-market of products, facilitates co-creation and collaboration, and improves customer experience. As a consumer, my expectations have shifted dramatically in just a few years. Not long ago, I thought paying my bills online was as good as things would get; now I rarely even visit my internet bank, and use a mobile app as a primary channel. And even now, I feel that service could be improved. Digitalization has become a solid part of my everyday life from WhatsApp to Spotify. At Tieto, digitalization can be seen everywhere in our day-to-day activities developing new and exciting solutions for our customers in virtual multinational teams to help them digitalize their businesses. Digitalization calls for a culture that allows for sharing and collaboration; it helps us as a company to come together and bring people with different backgrounds to come up with truly new thoughts and ideas.
But how can we distinguish the things that create value in the end? The success stories of today, Uber and Airbnb, bring us together to create value to each other. Uber doesn’t own the cars, nor does Airbnb own the real-estate. Digitalization has made this possible by creating a platform, where stakeholders connect. Success, however, is not guaranteed even with a good business idea; we consumers decide who lives and who dies. A company that’s not present online or in social media is perceived as untrustworthy, since we do our homework thoroughly before making a decision to buy. Online reviews can make it or break it for me when I’m shopping, either in an actual physical store or online.
Digitalization can be a two-edged sword for everyone: how can I share enough without sharing too much? What is the image that I want to put out there as a professional and a consumer? How do I decide what content to focus on with my limited spare time? How does this behaviour affect my health, habits and privacy? These are the issues that people face all day long in a digitalized world. Obviously we can gain a lot, but we should always remember that there is still life outside the digital sphere. Next time your colleague or friend shares online content that interests you, maybe talk about it face-to-face rather than in the comment section?
Anna Laaksonen, Project Manager, PCoE, Tieto
Anna Laaksonen works in the Pension Centre of Excellence as a project manager/business developer. She joined Tieto as a part of the Generation-T programme in February. Anna enjoys bringing different perspectives to the table to cultivate new ideas and business cases, and spreading a positive vibe around her.