Europe’s digital transformation
The European Union's decision to tackle the coronavirus crisis by distancing itself from austerity policies of the recent past and launching the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) is a pivotal moment in the history of the Union. During The Economist event "EU RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE FUND FOR GREECE: European Green Deal – Digital transformation – Infrastructure", that took place online on December 9th, leading thinkers from around the world discussed whether Greece is ready to respond to the RRF challenge, considered what the impact will be on the Greek economy, business and society and debated about the risk of the green & digital transition leaving behind sectors of society & the economy.
Dr. Nikos Mylonopolos, Associate Professor of Digital Business shared his thoughts about the significance of digital transformation beyond the pandemic during the panel discussion "Europe's Digital Leap" along with
- Kyriakos Pierrakakis, minister of digital governance, Greece
- Roberto Viola, director-general, Directorate General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT), European Commission
- Adonis Georgiadis, minister of development and investments, Greece
-
Haris Broumidis, president & CEO, Vodafone GreecePanagiotis Kouris, CEO, Office Line
Dr. Mylonopoulos highlighted the fact that “the pandemic has shattered the last remaining bastions of denial or resistance: nobody can any longer say that ‘digital disruption does not concern us’, or that ‘digital transformation cannot be implemented here’.”
He then classified industries according to 2 factors. “First, the opportunity offered by digital technologies to react and rebound. And second, according to the external pressure to transform.” For example, “both the hospitality and retail sectors faced enormous stress as a result of the lockdowns, but digital technologies offered greater opportunity for the retail sector to react and rebound.“
Going forward “the next challenge is to avoid complacency and sustain the commitment to building digital capabilities. This will require re-imagining the operating models and the business models for agility and competitiveness after the pandemic.”
Dr. Mylonopoulos concluded, “businesses will hopefully realize that investing in digital skills and capabilities is a necessary but not sufficient condition for digital transformation. They also need new leadership capabilities and a different model of governance if they are to exploit the potential of technology for sustained advantage.”
Alba was the academic partner of the event , that attracted more than 6940 viewers coming from 26 countries.
