Openness to digital transformation. Dariusz Kwieciński, CEO of Fujitsu Poland

Have there been any significant changes in Fujitsu’s strategy in 2022, hitherto focused on digital transformation projects?

Both 2022 and the two years before that, all three brimming with market challenges and changes, have shown us that Fujitsu’s long-term strategy is right. The pandemic, the “new reality”, and then the war in Ukraine were all factors that we naturally had to consider in our daily work, but the directions and mechanisms we had developed earlier in our case have also proven themselves in trying times. Of course, we closely monitor the market on an ongoing basis, we listen to what our partners and customers have to say, and thus we adjust our actions to their needs.

From the point of view of a long-term strategy, two areas remain important to us: the ecosystem and digital transformation. In the context of the former, we believe that the world is moving towards building solutions in which the role of the company is not always unambiguous while the tasks smoothly intertwine. This concerns such roles as customer, partner, supplier or producer – it is them who shape the ecosystem, and we are heading towards such a model as an organisation.

Digital transformation, which Fujitsu has been elaborating on for a long time now, is a slogan that has become immensely popular lately. It is to be found almost everywhere in the context of technology and change. According to our definition, it is a company’s approach to change, but one that aims to transform the business, not to absorb technology.

How important is it in digital transformation projects to have on the opposite side a customer who is open to change?

This obviously is an ideal situation that translates into an ideal project, which is a utopia of sorts. In practice, the work of our experts is, among other things, largely about overcoming the initial resistance to change. The natural feeling that sometimes tends to intensify, also at challenging times, that “it is fine the way it is” is something that we oftentimes must deal with when entering a dialogue with the client. We approach this situation with understanding and present arguments enabling us to continue a constructive conversation. We also make use of tools, such as our proprietary Co-Creation method based on the modified Design Thinking methodology. If at the other end of the table we find a partner who is open, we will develop a project based on realistic assumptions and tailored to the client’s needs, highlighting the positive aspects of a potential change that are relevant to their business.

What is the technological awareness of customers like? What is the ideal starting point, and what does it look like in the real world?

Technological awareness is definitely an important aspect, but we must keep in mind that technology is merely an element of digital transformation that can be entrusted to experts. In our case, we each and every time select experts or specialised partners for a given project, so it is on the part of Fujitsu and appropriately selected colleagues where the knowhow lies. From the point of view of the end-user, openness and awareness are most important. Awareness that the latest technological solutions are not curiosities, fads, or decoration worth having because others have them, but solutions that translate into real business results.

For instance, the research conducted on our behalf, “Unlocking the Secrets of the Hybrid Cloud Leaders”, indicates that a strategic approach to the implementation of a hybrid cloud quadruples the likelihood of accelerated digital transformation. At the same time, we already know that such openness directly affects issues of a lot “softer nature”. The data showed that hybrid cloud implementation leaders also coped better with challenges related to the pandemic, collaborated more often with external transformation vendors, and outsourced hybrid cloud management.

So do Polish companies understand what are digital transformation and change?

Some Polish companies already now demonstrate a well-developed awareness when it comes to digital transformation. Others discuss it, yet their actions or plans do not add up to a transformation as we define it. A competitive environment naturally forces evolution, for example in terms of the equipment and technology used, still this is not a digital transformation just yet. A mere focus on technology constitutes only its absorption. While this too is an essential element of a company’s development, without reflection and analysis how new solutions will translate into business, digital transformation will fail to take place.

Personally, I am a supporter of the so-called “rolling change”. It is a tactic facilitates adjustments in the course of a process and enables the re-evaluation of certain factors. I would recommend it to those organisations that are experiencing some resistance in this regard. I certainly encourage you to participate in our Co-Creation workshops, which define the company’s needs to the fullest and provide a strategy of change that will be optimal in a specific, individual case.

Where does the idea of a thorough digital transformation most often “hatch”?

In a model approach, a thorough transformation is initiated by a company’s management who identified the need for change at the business level. At the same time, a diagnosis is made that such a change can no longer be achieved by standard means. Then the question arises what we should do next, followed by the openness to look for novel solutions. Another model, especially popular in the case of large organisations, is one in which the need for transformation arises in a specific area, in a specific department. Change can also be driven by individuals, people with an open mind, but eventually such a grassroots initiative must go higher and be heard by managers open to digital transformation.

Dariusz Kwieciński, CEO at Fujitsu Poland

Business leader and digital transformation expert.

Since joining Fujitsu in 2006, he has held various managerial positions, including: Service Director, Head of Services and Country Head of Sales in Poland. In 2017, he became Head of Eastern Europe, managing the Fujitsu business in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. He is a graduate of the Warsaw University of Technology.

Last Updated on November 21, 2022 by Anastazja Lach