AI investment is accelerating, but investing in AI is not the same as achieving digital transformation. Many organizations adopt new technologies rapidly but fail to translate them into commercial outcomes. When businesses prioritize the latest tools over the problems they need to solve, digital transformation risks becoming a technology burden rather than a driver of growth.
Closing this gap requires businesses to rethink not only how they use AI, but how transformation is approached across the organization. In our latest video, Eugene Macey, Partner and APAC Digital & Customer Practice Leader, based in Singapore, shares what businesses need to get right to turn AI and digital transformation into real growth levers.
Key takeaways from the video
1. Focus on value, not technology
The goal is to create value by embedding AI where it can improve how the business operates and grows.
- Start with value: Focus on the most material business processes and value levers where AI can improve not only efficiency but also contribute to growth.
- Build shared ownership and the right culture: AI should not remain solely the responsibility of the C-suite or technology teams. Businesses need to empower people across the organization to adopt new tools while fostering a culture of innovation, experimentation, and customer centricity.
2. Treat digital transformation as business transformation
Many transformation efforts lose momentum when technology becomes the starting point instead of the business objective.
- Define the commercial outcome first: Establish what the business wants to achieve, then identify the technology that can enable it.
- Focus AI on high-value opportunities: Prioritize the processes, customer journeys, and commercial levers where AI can deliver the greatest impact.
- Build technology around the business case: AI, data, and digital tools should support a clearly defined transformation ambition rather than become the transformation itself.
3. Make customer experience a core growth lever
Customer experience is moving beyond being a metric on the corporate agenda to becoming an important commercial lever.
- Keep customer experience as the North Star: Technology decisions should improve customer outcomes while strengthening retention, engagement, loyalty, and long-term customer value.
- Use technology to enhance the customer journey: AI and digital capabilities should improve the experience without adding unnecessary complexity.
For organizations looking to unlock sustainable growth, the opportunity lies in aligning technology with business value, organizational change, and customer centricity. AI may be an important part of digital transformation, but it is most powerful when embedded within a broader business transformation agenda.
Watch the full video to hear Eugene Macey’s perspective on how organizations can move beyond AI tools and turn digital transformation into real business growth.
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