Making a difference starts with digital transformation

Something strange has been happening recently - my kids have started asking me about my work. As most parents will testify, this is not usual behaviour. In fact, I've worked in automation and transportation almost my entire career and it is only now that they've started to take an interest.

" The best way to predict the future is to create it and digital transformation allows you to do that."

Michele Fracchiolla

Executive General Manager, Environment Business Division, EMEA Hitachi Group

And I think I know why. About two years ago I started a new role leading green initiatives across the different Hitachi EMEA business units, a new proposition designed to help answer the key challenges on the road to net zero. If we succeed, then I like to think we will have helped play a small role to secure a better future for all of us - my kids know this better than anyone which is why it's great to see them getting involved. They know how important it is to make a difference and I understand our responsibility to help create a better world for them.

But with such a monumental task in front of us, how do we really make a difference? For me, it starts with digital transformation - this is how we create systemic and behavioural change. My job and the job of 320,000 Hitachi colleagues worldwide is to empower this societal change.

Understanding that is a critical first step but it's also vital that we acknowledge that no organisation can do this alone. We need to work closely with partners, customers and governments if we're going to re-shape the way the world works.

Too often, digital transformation is viewed solely as an IT project that revolves about putting the proper technology in place. In reality, it is an ongoing journey that seeks to continuously provide innovation, new efficiencies and better customer experiences. Technology, while a critical element of digital transformation, is only one piece of the journey that impacts every aspect of an organisation, from its processes to its products and services, from its talent strategy to its culture.

Ultimately, the goal of digital transformation should not be solely to implement digital solutions but to solve business problems. Digital solutions are the means to do that but should not be the sole focus - today it is digital transformation that has shifted a technology exercise to the pursuit of value and purpose.

That's why Hitachi has diversified its business units and broadened its experience to include software product design and development service business GlobalLogic, full scale transformation through Hitachi Digital Services and Hitachi Energy, a business leading the way in electrification. Underpinned by a long-term strategic vision, we are building a business portfolio that can accelerate the digital and energy transition at scale.

We are living in the most exciting time of our lives: a digitized world where everything can be connected - products to people, products to products, products to the cloud, or what we like to call IoT. We need to bring OT (operational technology such as machinery and sensors) together with IT (information technology such as data and analytics, generative AI, and cloud computing).

A good example of this in action is smart mobility, the delivery of digital solutions that improve and optimize the whole transport system - things like smart ticketing, real-time information updates, and integrated multi-modal traffic management. If we're going to encourage a modal shift from private to public transport, then we have to make it an attractive proposition, and we're busy doing that with projects like the Mobility as a Service solution, using our 360Pass App to allow multi-modal transport booking, and our hybrid HMU fleet of Masaccio battery trains in Italy, as well as Digital Asset Management for Copenhagen Metro and our Energy-as-a-Service value proposition for the commercial and industry segment.

To continue the modal shift, we need to bring our transport and energy businesses even closer together as we accelerate society's journey to electrification. As I like to say, "the best way to predict the future is to create it," and digital transformation allows you to do that.

Although it's encouraging to see many important global projects underway, the worst thing we can do collectively is think that somebody else will fix this problem for us. They won't. In 2024, we have an opportunity like no other, and it's time to lead by example. There is much work to do if we are going to transition to a new world where the shared economy shifts the metric of sustainable business from value for money to value for many.

Is it a challenge? Yes. But is it possible? Yes, it is if we work together and harness scale and connectivity. If we do this, then today's internet of goods can become tomorrow's internet of energy in a world where we are all committed to the same goal. If we achieve this and a cleaner, greener planet for us all, then my kids really will want to speak to me on a regular basis.