"We hope to have at least 100 partners speak the digital language this year"- Sudhir Singh Dungarpur, PwC India

Sudhir Singh Dungarpur, Digital Leader, PwC India

Sudhir Singh Dungarpur, Digital Leader, PwC India spoke about the firm’s plans to drive “true” digital transformation by focusing on the customer experience and human-centered design.

How do you define digital transformation?

For many in the industry, digital transformation is simply about investing in the latest technology to help improve productivity and increase efficiencies in the supply chain. Most consider it synonymous with  IT and therefore, the CIO’s primary mandate. However, it is much more than this. Companies are beginning to realize the importance of aligning digital transformation efforts with the business side, to consistently unlock value from their digital investments and stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.

Digital transformation is really business transformation powered by the user or customer experience and enabled by technology. It is a fundamental shift in the way we do business. Whether it is about creating solutions, which are human-centric or creating innovative products to bring down costs, digital transformation is about adopting a non-linear way of thinking to produce results never imagined before.

PwC has converted years of experience and skillsets of global experts into a digital transformation methodology called BXT - an acronym for Business, Experience and Technology. BXT helps organizations pursue a more balanced approach to digital transformation that is equal parts insight driven business consulting, creative eXperience and practical technology. It enables companies to use the power of perspective to deliver digital initiatives with human experiences as the focal point.

What is the cloud environment PWC is practicing?

Cloud is an integral part of the Digital Services practice, where implementation of various scalable and flexible solutions is needed.

Cloud obviously is a significant part of the process of digital transformation. We look at the entire process of enabling transformation through cloud infrastructure.

Depending on the strategic vision of the organisation and its immediate needs, various models of cloud are adopted. In many companies, there’s a high affinity for hybrid cloud models. This is especially true of the mid-market segment.

In strategic transformation efforts, we see cloud becoming an integral part of a larger ecosystem. We do believe that in India, the scope of hybrid cloud is increasing rapidly, especially in the enterprise and mid-market segments.

What are the parameters that decide digital transformation in a business?

In this day and age, all business transformations are essentially digital transformations. We cannot ignore the fact that the world is advancing at an incredibly fast pace and it is being driven by technology.

However, it is critical not to lose sight of the most important aspect of any transformation – the customers. We need to first walk in their shoes to understand their real problems before offering solutions. At the end of that journey, the outcomes would obviously be achieved through digitization.

We believe that the usability and adoption of a solution drives the success of a digital transformation project. While the conceptualization of digital projects must be based on the business needs and economics behind it, the human centricity of the solution is the key principle behind the success of any such project.

How many transformation programs are there right now?

We have several ongoing projects where PwC is involved right from strategy to execution. We are also in discussions with some of our customers in India on larger strategic transformation projects that are expected to pan out within this year.

Globally, PwC has been leading the way for digital transformation and has been ranked number one in multiple reports. We are working on various types of projects ranging from digital maturity assessments to large-scale transformation programs. All programs are led by business thinking, enhanced by our design thinking expertise and realised by the emerging technology team.

What is the road map for India now?

In India, we are focused on large strategic transformation projects for enterprises using our BXT methodology. Our focus is primarily on six sectors – Government, Retail, Pharma and Healthcare, Manufacturing (including automotive), Utilities and Financial services.

The roadmap is to create value for our clients by means of the BXT methodology. We want to be the driving force behind positive and impactful disruptions in the country.

What is the adoption rate in the SMBs sector that you have achieved?

We have defined the SMBs sector as mid-market segments, as clients are mainly from this layer. We are addressing the SMBs through our alliance with technology majors. The first such alliance is with Microsoft, where we have signed the cloud solution partnership, which allows us to expand our services on their cloud infrastructure to different segments of customers.

We are providing solutions in the mid-market segment around cyber security, risk management, analytics and GST compliance – all of which are PwC’s proprietary products.

We have made a start with more than 30 clients in the last two months. We are looking forward to  healthy growth in this space.

How many modules are there in solutions?

Our biggest focus this year has been on GST. We have many GST compliance solutions hosted on CSPs. These are available to all, from mid-market companies to large enterprises. Once the customers are on board, we will become managed service providers for them. The idea is to solve the client’s most pressing problem first, which is at this point GST, and subsequently let them see the value of the platform and pick up other products that are relevant to them.

We are also consulting on various government projects specifically related to the Digital India program.

Between the mid market segment and large enterprises, what is the ratio you have?

Traditionally, PwC has served large enterprise firms, but now with CSPs, we see tremendous opportunities in different market layers via micro solutions enabled through  subscription models.

Mid-market is a new segment for us and we see growth potential here. In terms of large enterprises, however, we will have a greater footprint in the coming year.

We currently have presence in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities, but have plans to go beyond this. We will launch campaigns around different segments and customise solutions for each of them, i.e. different strokes for different folks. Digital transformation is a newer area for PWC, but we are powering full steam ahead.

WRT digital transformation how is the man power handled at PWC?

We have a dedicated digital team of over 150 people, but we are working towards making digital the agenda for the entire firm. Our endeavor is to make sure that every partner in PWC is digital savvy.

We have invested in an Experience team - a group of design thinkers who would handle these conversations. There is a lot of internal communication that is happening and by the end of this year, we hope to have at least 100 partners speaking the digital language.

We believe that in this age, digital is everyone’s agenda. Knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, everyone gets involved in digital. Therefore, we have a core team of more than 150 members that enables the entire firm to think, advise and implement digital. The team includes business, experience, technology and innovation experts.

What is the key focus for coming months?

Leveraging our BXT method to deliver large strategic transformation programs is the main focus. We want to reinvent ourselves as the ‘go-to’ firm for strategic business transformation. Traditionally, the Strategic Consulting firms have played in the area of transformation. However, today customers want a consulting organization that can not only design, but also be a partner through the execution. This is where PwC has an edge with our acquisition of Strategy& (Booz Allen), investment in an eXperince team globally and years of broad and deep sector expertise.