Some thoughts on digitalization (Digitalisierung), Part 2
The talents we need
Digitalization needs lots of talents. But unlike the Internet industry and Software industry, many industries need the talents that are not only good at designing and coding, but are also able to understand the business and deal with bureaucracy. To be honest, I don’t think the “brogrammers” from Silicon Valley are good fits for digitalization. They are skilled coders, but they normally have no interest in learning business and are impatient with people who can’t code.
Digitalization is more about business and how to serve the customers with digital products. If the team just focus on using the coolest tools and technologies (“Silicon Valley is using XXX, but we’re still using Email!”) instead of solving business problems, the digitalization tends to fail, no matter how cool the team is.
Most companies don’t need the newest technology for digitalization. The standard solutions are sufficient and we don’t need the best engineers in the world. The most needed talents are those who are willing to learn about the business and industry, work patiently with colleagues, deal with chaos, understand technical challenges, and compromise when it’s necessary. Great digital products are possible only if digital team could work seamlessly with other teams and get supports from the whole company.
Slower might be better
In Germany there’s a sentiment of worrying about being left behind by China and America on digitalization. They admire the mobile payment, face recognition, AI, and other advanced technologies developed in China and detest the primitive Internet industry in Germany. As a former developer who worked in China, I don’t agree with that, although I do think the mobile Internet in Germany is very slow and too expensive.
In last few years we all witnessed Facebook sold data to advertisers, hate speeches are all over social media, and China applied its technology to censorship. Digitalization may benefit the economy, yet it’s not proved that digitalization will definitely lead to well-being and a more civil society. If Europe could learn from China and America and not repeat their misuse of digitalization, slower might not be that bad.
Personally I hop Europe could offer more good things like GDPR to the world and always keep human rights in mind while making digital products.
Think long-term
Digitalization is not a small project which can be done in a couple of years. It’s a dynamic process that requires continuous work and may take several generations. Therefore we have to think long-term. If we could look beyond the shortsighted goals, we would recruit an in-house team instead of outsourcing all projects. We would invest more resources in research and training. We would also rethink the public education and help the young generation getting prepared for the digital world and encourage them to think critically about digitalization. It would also be necessary to help the old people to learn the essential digital skills because no one should be left behind.
If we do it well, we’ll have many creative companies, a sustainable industry, outstanding digital products, well trained young talents, and lots of new opportunities for all citizens. If not, we will be constantly tortured by dysfunctional digital products, chaos inside the companies, too many presentation-oriented agencies, and a confused, jobless, and angry young generation.
