Orden Innovation och Förändring används ofta på ett sådant sätt att man enkelt kan byta ut dem mot varandra. Ibland används båda orden till och med i samma mening. Det är kanske inte så förvånande att båda orden väcker tankar på modernisering och omorganisation, och att båda är viktiga resultat av förändrade ledarstilar.

Bortsett från detta, vad har de mer gemensamt? Eller vad är skillnaden? Vad ska vi göra – vara innovativa eller kanske förändras? Vad sägs om både ock?

Att ta beslutet om utveckling av Digital anpassning av företaget är bara det första steget på resan, och i många fall även det enklaste. Efter detta måste du ta beslutet om hur du ska förändra din organisation. Vilken väg som är bäst blir i många fall grunden till segdragna diskussioner inom företaget. Ska du göra om företaget i grunden och skapa en helt digital organisation? Eller borde du fokusera på förändringar utåt som är mer synliga för dina kunder?

Digital Transformation has changed the established way of operating a business across plethora of industries – and banking is no exception. New start-ups keep challenging traditional service providers with a more personalised and innovative service. And although, traditional banks have been slow to adapt, they need to change it now, especially if they still want to be relevant in the industry.

Challenger banks are digital banks with no high-street branches. They are much more flexible, more user friendly, quicker to adapt to users' needs, and more personal than any traditional bank. But their biggest advantage over other well-established financial institutions is that they have been founded in the age of digital literacy, that means starting fresh with a digital offering and the use of the latest technology available. For this reason, challenger banks can incorporate new products more quickly, and with less friction through their platform business model, which can easily connect customers with new products developed by third parties. And this greatly increases customer choice.

So, which UK challenger banks are shaking up the industry? Let’s find out.

Digital Transformation is not a matter of choice, it is a matter of survival, and it’s everywhere. Every single business and organisation in every industry is shifting towards technologies in some way, and even if some of them don't realise it – this is what we call Digital Transformation.

Nowadays, storefronts of almost every retail brand are replaced with online shops, consumer services amplify their reach via web, mobile, even in virtual assistants; manufacturing goes high-tech to improve efficiency and productivity, and reduce cost. Some of more innovative companies reinvent their business and launch digitally native products, like Amazon’s Alexa.

Many people don’t realise it, but collaboration is crucial for your business.  It can be the key to success, a way to boost innovation as well as productivity, and enhance your credibility, and in some cases even investment potential.

When collaboration takes place, the entire organisation can benefit from it. We talk about increased engagement within employees, retention and attraction of talent, increased velocity, and profitability!

But apart from that, collaborative culture is essential element for an organisation’s survival.

Developments in mobile and digital technology drive forward plethora of companies interested in benefits of Digital Transformation, however while doing so they completely forget about opportunities, which can be capitalised only if barriers to collaboration were broken.

In May, Southeast Asia’s largest bank, DBS celebrated its 50th anniversary by unveiling its new, refreshed brand identity.

Believing it was about time to introduce ‘a new kind of banking’ in order to stay relevant in the era of Digital Transformation, DBS has decided to replace its ‘Living, Breathing Asia’ slogan, which has been known to people for more than 10 years, with the new ‘Live more, Bank Less’ positioning.  

Making decision of deploying Digital Transformation into your business is just the first step of the journey, and in most cases - the easiest. Then, you must decide how you are going to transform your organisation, and the right path to do it is a subject of great debate for many businesses. Should you completely overhaul your company and create a distinct digital entity? Or should you focus on front end changes, which are the most visible to your customers?

On Thursday, the 30^th of August, Apple sent out invitations for an event on the 12^th of September at the Steve Jobs Theatre in Cupertino, California. And while the invite did not specifically say that the event is to announce the next iPhone, it is extremely likely that the newest iPhone will be launched on the next Wednesday. Apple’s past tendencies of announcing new phones in September make us even more sure that we can expect great things on the September, the 12^th.

So, being almost certain that next week will bring us new devices from Apple, possibly the newest iPhone - what are the predictions, news and rumours you should know about?

The world we live in is constantly evolving, and so are the businesses. They are becoming more customer – centric, more accessible, and most importantly - more digital.

But what does it mean for banks? Almost half of banking customers are using only digital channels for their transactions. In the last three years, over 2,800 branches of banks have been closed. So, looking at these facts, are we right to assume that changing preferences of banking customers are going to influence the way banks operate and inevitably lead to the great Digital Transformation within financial institutions?