Amazon Web Services, Regional Lead APJ for Analytics Platform Strategy: We Work Backward From Customer Needs

(Asia) Rohit Dhawan, Analytics Platform Strategy, Regional Lead Asia Pacific Japan, Amazon Web Services, speaks with Virendra Dafane, Head of Data Foundation Services, about his role, core factors in digital transformation strategies, and cloud technology as a game changer.

In his role, Dhawan assists large enterprises and medium-sized organizations in creating and delivering data strategies, helping them be successful with data, creating value from their data assets, and transforming based on the data team. 

The definition of digital transformation is wide-ranging, says Dhawan. "It means the fundamental transformation of a business process. It's fundamentally changing how you operate as a business, using new digital technologies. And these new digital technologies encompass cloud, data, artificial intelligence, and block-chain." 

The term “digital transformation” is used loosely today, he adds, and draws a line of difference between digital transformation and automation. The fundamental transformation that is enabled by digital technology is digital transformation, he Dhawan further explains, whereas automation is a technological aspect of digitalization that leads to minimal time consumption, increased efficiency, and reduced costs in operation, making it one of the tools to achieve digital transformation.  

Prioritization and identification of digital transformation initiatives help attain business objectives, he continues. It starts with the needs of key stakeholders, who are the end customers. "In Amazon world, we work backward from the needs of the customer, and these customers or personas are the key beneficiaries of that transformation. They are key stakeholders in the path to fulfillment of those business or strategic objectives."

Taking this a step further, Dhawan refers to cloud technology as one of the key drivers for digital transformation. Cloud technology replaces legacy systems as various businesses seek support from cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, or Microsoft, for building a flexible and agile operational framework. This, in turn, accelerates transformation.

He puts forth the situational crises that arose out of COVID as a case in point, where the businesses that were agile to the changing demands were the only ones that survived. Agility doesn’t necessarily minimize dependence on technology, however.

"You could be the best brains in the world, but unless you have the technology to support your thinking and the way you operate and apply that brain, you will not be able to create the results. And that's where cloud technology comes in to provide that agility, flexibility, and speed to market," he adds.

Dhawan further points out that the materialization of artificial intelligence and machine learning outside the academic domain has been possible with the emergence of cloud. It is much easier to run ML programs at scale as storage has become inexpensive now, compared to how it was a decade ago. He also highlights the radical change brought to the market with complex tools being replaced by purpose-built or simple use applications with AI technology such as Paytm or Paypal.

The availability of technologies in the form of AI, ML, blockchain, and cloud provides the operational infrastructure and drives digital transformation, Dhawan notes. However, to overcome business challenges, a combination of these technologies will be required.

"What is important is to think about the problem that we're solving and the solution could be a mix of these technologies,"  he concludes.