All organisations store data, and regardless of whether it's a recipe or an algorithm, this data is an organisation's most prized asset, which is why hackers make it their target. The Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2019 from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) found that 32% of businesses identified cyber security breaches or attacks in the last 12 months, which have cost an average of £4,180 in lost data and assets

Cybercriminals are only getting more cunning and skilful with their cyber attacks, which is bad news for organisations when it comes to meeting privacy and compliance regulations. There can be significant legal implications for organisations if their data is not secure and regulations are not met. For instance, since the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) came into effect in May 2018, data protection regulators have imposed 114 million euros (approximately 97 million pound) worth of fines under the GDPR regime (GDPR Data Breach Survey 2020 by DLA Piper).

In 2019, we worked with a customer who owns and operates a mine in Mozambique to help them identify their key business objectives and advise them on how to succeed on these. Throughout our discussions with them, we defined the below key objectives:

In today's competitive environment, being flexible is a fundamental part of any business strategy to survive. To be flexible, organisations must make the necessary changes needed to respond effectively to the changing market. One simple way organisations can increase their flexibility is by using the innovative technology solutions and services that are available.

​ Organisations generate millions of system logs every day from the likes of servers, firewalls and network devices. Their ability to process, analyse and react to this information affects how they will manage any security risks and incidents. To help process this data, many organisations implement a Security Incident and Event Management (SIEM) system or outsource to a Cyber Security Operations Centre (CSOC) for their monitoring, which provides a real-time analysis of security alerts.

Although 'agile' has become a hype word, it is an important concept that organisations should strive to achieve in a world of continuous change and uncertainty. Being agile enables organisations to be more adaptive and reactive to the changing market, allowing them to respond quickly to customers' demands to keep a competitive edge. ​

Over the past few years there has been a major increase in organisations adopting digital tools. With serious cost and efficiency gains to be generated, the benefits of transitioning to digital ways of working are no great secret; and companies are now consistently seeking to streamline with varying degrees of success.

With cyber breaches growing in volume and frequency (Carbon Black reported that 88% of UK organisations suffered a breach in 2018) you can guarantee that your organisation will be targeted by cybercriminals at some point.

The short answer is yes - thousands of businesses are grappling with DX, however most do not consider themselves to be completely 'transformed' yet. Many of the largest Pharma organisations have launched initiatives and created entire departments focused on innovation, and are well on their way to operating in the same way an organisation which has completed its DX journey so far, is.

The ramifications of Digital Transformation (DX) go far beyond technology. As George Westerman (author of Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation) writes, DX "marks a radical rethinking of how an organisation uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change Business performance." Any successful Transformation project will make a significant impact on an organisation's people, activity, process and culture - and all of these areas must be considered when planning a Transformation project. ​