Pratim Datta, Ph.D., associate professor of Management and Information Systems at the College of Business, believes the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for digital transformation. Visit the ongoing series, Contemplating COVID-19.
Datta has also co-authored a paper about the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to Technology Management and Cybersecurity. The unprecedented global lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted an interesting ethical dilemma. While lockdowns are central to saving lives, economic malaise from business and social discontinuities is the opportunity cost.
In order to maintain this fragile balance during a crisis there is an obvious need for digitally transforming socio-economic operations to maintain continuity. Unlike traditional digital transformation initiatives that rely on relatively closed organizational operations with established lines of control and communication, digital transformation for crisis continuity planning (CCP) relies on a variety of global actors, from independent entrepreneurs and institutions to businesses and ad-hoc collaborative agencies.
The proposed CCP digital transformation framework outlines five distinct digital transformation characteristics that can improve CCP - from pandemics to disasters. .