Competiveness is the crux of digital transformation. The future state is clear: Industry clouds will dominate. But getting there will not be painless. In a year that reflects the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on economic competitiveness, it is evident that competitiveness is driven by continuous innovation in knowledge economies. The deep challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean is how to build a boat that can compete in a new never ending Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup Regatta. This is a sprint that does not end in seven days. It is — a never ending race. No anchorage to change sails or rigging. You are repairing, adjusting and upgrading the vessel in the stream with the wind on your bow and boats with sails billowing behind you because speed is everything in competition. In this Post-Corona agile sprint, teams will have to upgrade to better and faster infrastructure with a mid-stream swap from one boat to the next. There are no stops — no dry-docks. Only momentum.
Deloitte developed a five-pronged framework for digital transformation around five imperatives: 1) experience, 2) insights, 3) platforms, 4) connectivity, and 5) integrity. The model is a lingua franca that can be used to facilitate enterprise collaboration in pursuit of true strategic transformation. An Industry cloud is a tool that can help advance this five-spiked strategy. Industry clouds offer building blocks for process reengineering and modular technology capabilities that maintain state-of-the-art freshness. Every preconfigured capability receives continuous innovation investment to build out an adaptive digital core to sustain nimbleness, scalability, stability, and optionality. This allows governments to build modular mission-focused solutions with embedded cybersecurity like identity-as-a-service which enables them to rapidly spin-up and scale platforms and applications while leaving room for changes ahead as the regatta rolls on.
Built by cloud purveyors, software engineers and systems integrators, the Industry cloud has a continuously evolving digital core around which differentiated capabilities are built around a blueprint for industry-specific transformations according to Campbell, Hersch, Wright and Merizzi of Deloitte Insights. This enables organizations like the Judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago to modernize and innovate one technology capability or business Use Case at a time using incremental, agile and contemporary approaches to digital transformation. The strategic north star of the operation stands immovable. But the digital strategy responds to pain points and evolves as contexts shift by monitoring what has become differentiated.
The judiciary of Trinidad and Tobago built an industry cloud with segmented blocks where it was not differentiating enough in order to deliver core tailored services more efficiently to specific clients. By layering unique points of differentiation over the core, it was able to hypercharge its value proposition. The approach was not to simply make manual processes digital, but to envisage how the business process changed with digitalization.
Businesses processes were reengineered with modular components for E-Registry, Caselines, Virtual Hearings, E-warrants, E-oaths, E-probate, E-Vrfy, E-signature, E-filing, CourtPay, and the creation of a unique E-Vote Book and E-Invoice tracking portal. Bail Net is now being built. E-Vrfy is a document authentication and verification system. Any person or organization wishing to verify a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration can do so using the E-Vrfy portal.
CourtPay allows clients to obtain a CourtPay voucher available at select NP QuickShoppes and all Massy Stores and to use the QR code on the voucher when they login to their CourtPay Account. The UTurn platform provides real time connectivity among the Judiciary, the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, the Licensing Authority, TTPost and the new Traffic Management Centre.
Digital Transformation requires the cultivation of an engineering mind-set in an organization. Generally, an Industry cloud turns on having an agile vertical engineering pod team that is inventive and product-focused. But sometimes the best path to creating adaptive solutions requires co-creation that explores new business models that have shared goals for business and technology functions, both inside and outside the operation. This is at the heart of the UTurn solution.
Generally, the principal focus of an Industry cloud is vertical integration and vertical solutions rather than horizontal ones, which is the focus of general cloud computing. An Industry cloud is a cloud system that is deeply customized to fit a specific industry in order to create docking platforms and systems that align with the business, operatory, regulatory, legal, and security disquiets of the players.
Industry clouds are the combination of cloud-related services, applications and tools with industry-specific workflows, especially Application Programming Interfaces and other customised products offering novel capabilities at every layer of the stack.
At the platform layer, associates offer accelerators to spread industry capabilities to the end of the line. This includes infrastructure and security accelerators that are harmonised with custom-made regulatory frameworks and AI models tweaked using idiographic Use Cases.
At the software-as-a-service layer, there are workflows and experiences that are fine tuned for specific services. Industry clouds let businesses focus their IT talent on authentic brand differentiation, and flatten the playing field between conglomerates and startups. Additionally, organizations can leverage fresh technologies from industry clouds, including AI, machine learning, IoT, 5G, blockchain, and augmented and virtual reality. The Industry cloud market is swelling over the regatta.
