By Ashok Kapoor – VP Marketing, Newgen Software
Remember the ‘Matrix’ – the famous sci-fi movie of the 90s? It depicted a computer-generated dream world – ‘The Matrix’ – a parallel and simulated reality created by machines. The laws governing this world were different – the machines allowed a layman to fly a helicopter at just the click of a button. The machines made globe-trotting possible in an hour. The machines even instituted the cloning and re-birth of entire races. By and large they had the power to control and conclude the development of human beings.
Does Digital India lay the foundation for the new age ‘Matrix’?
No!! Of course Not!! Any level of Digital is so far away from the Matrix. But are there parallels that we can draw on?
In the Matrix every feeling, every emotion, every touch was digital.
Even your imagination was Digital. Digital India is nowhere close, but powered by myriad technology tools Digital India has no borders or boundaries and is full of endless possibilities, both for the masses as well as for the businesses.
Technology has opened up previously untapped areas and markets by connecting the dots (gaps in communication) through a virtual round-the-clock connection via the internet.This has given a whole new dimension to the supplier-buyer relationship. While the buyer today has anything and everything available just at the click of a button, suppliers have found multiple channels to reach their target buyers directly and thereby bypassing the middlemen.
With Digital India propelling Internet highways, digital lockers, e-governance, etc., it will create a new world in which your business will play with new rules.
In the Matrix, each human being was used as a battery to provide power to the machines.
Will Digital India be able to maximize the potential of every Indian citizen?
Aimed at delivering a comprehensive set of citizen services at their doorstep, Digital India employs technology to lay down the frameworks and the mechanisms for effective governance. Technology is at the core of Digital India. Through the nine pillars, identified as growth drivers, the objective is to establish an interminable 24*7 connection between the government and the citizens.
Broadband Highways will connect urban cities to rural areas, Universal Access to Mobile Connectivity will provide mobile coverage to uncovered villages, the Public Internet Access Programme will promote multi-functional delivery points of government services and e-Governance and e-Kranti is designed to ensure Electronic delivery of services. Digital India has the potential to improve transparency and reduce corruption by directly enabling each individual. An attempt to truly harness the power of One!
So, unlike in the movie ‘Matrix’ where humans were treated as batteries providing endless energy to the machines. In Digital India the power of our vast, yet unearthed human potential will be unleashed.
In the Matrix, it’s a dream world where you can get what you want at the click of a button
Will Digital India get you there – will it redefine fundamental expectations of every Indian?
Government departments will scrap their age old pile of paperwork (which had become synonymous with government setup) and instead store all the records on computer repositories (to ensure their safety and easy availability). Moreover, the file movement will be through e-mails instead of the ongoing practice of manual transportation from the desk of one level of administrative hierarchy to another.So, next time when you go to a government office, let’s say to a Regional Transport Office for issuance of your driving license; you may receive an online form to fill-in your details, appear for an online test, immediately after which you may see your fail/pass scorecard and by the time you reach home, you may have on your email at least the soft copy of your driving license and a feedback form where you can share your experience with the department and also give your valuable suggestions.
Quick, responsive and quality service is what you just enjoyed. The next time you visit any other government department you will expect similar treatment from that administrative arm as well.. So, your expectations have been raised and rewritten. Now, even if you are visiting a shopping mall or ordering your food from a restaurant, your expectations will demand faster service delivery with minimum of effort at your end.
This is what Digital India has the potential to accomplish – to redefine fundamental expectations of every Indian. It can lead to a new world in which businesses in order to meet customer expectations will have to redefine their business rules.
In the Matrix … Neo broke the rules and learnt to Fly
In Digital India … will your business learn to fly with a whole new set of rules?
Like in the Matrix, Neo went through a whole learning curve. He took the red pill and he was reborn. Here in the Digital world, it is your business’s turn to take the red pill and go through the learning curve.Your business will have to adopt Digital and adopt it fast in order to develop equilibrium with the Digital surroundings formulated by Digital India.
Your business will have to imbibe Digital in everything it does. Delivery models, Payment systems, Customer service, marketing operations; all aspects of your business will have to upgrade to Digital modus operandi.
With Digital tools in hand, your business will have a chance to achieve more by doing less. It will be able to focus energy and effort on innovation and leave aside the operational bit for machines. And yet it will execute with far more operational excellence to ensure faster delivery of services to the customers, lending you a competitive advantage.
‘Matrix’ has been redesigned. In the ‘Matrix’, Agent Smith could reach you anywhere and everywhere
In Digital India will you be able to reach your customer wherever he or she is?
Indeed you can. The new age technology tools – Social Media, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud will let you reach your customer wherever he or she is.Digital India makes extensive use of these tools to reach and deliver citizen services up to remotest part of the country. Talk of m-governance through mobile phones or Social Media sentiment analysis for rolling-out citizen need-based policies & initiatives, these tech tools are paving the way for participative governance in the country.
Similarly, for businesses, these tools are opening up new channels to reach customers anytime and from anywhere. Social Media is beginning to serve as a new platform to hunt for prospects, inform them about services, learn from them as to what they are looking for and then build relationships beyond business engagements. Smartphones act as the new file folder. You can go to your customer’s place, brief him about your offerings through the brochures/product manuals stored on your mobile phone, demonstrate live competition analysis via mobile internet to convince that your offering is better than that of competitors, and close the business deal then and there.
In the Matrix, finally there is peace between the machines and humans
In Digital India, will your business survive the change?
As the Oracle said “You’ve already made the choice. Now you have to understand it…Sounds like you’ve found your purpose”.
As Digital India evolves, you can expect a huge amount of turbulence. Rules will change, new business models will evolve, taxation and financial regimes will take new forms, customer demands will change. You will adopt Digital to stay relevant. But the bigger question is what you need to do, to be flexible and to adapt.
To not each time throw the baby out with the bath water,how do you adopt new technology without throwing away your legacy systems that have been an integral part of your business for years? How do you learn new business rules without completely unlearning your traditional methodology that has formed the foundation of your business’s existence?
The answer is simple … you will have to connect the systems, processes, people and things of your business in innovative ways.
Remember, the ‘Matrix’ has reloaded. And this is your last chance to take the Digital pill and be part of this Digital India Wonderland.
