What am I seeking to achieve by publishing a new article today? This also got me reflecting on my past 18 years in the digital space and why asking the question ‘why’ is always my favourite one to ask.

The reason I was so attracted to the digital space all those years ago and what still attracts me today is the dynamic nature of technology. The ability to use that technology to create, improve, disrupt, streamline, etc. is exciting.

What has changed over the years is the amount of technology that we can now invest in, both as individuals and as businesses.

We are at the brink of what some are now referring to as the 4th industrial revolution. Technology is evolving at an exponential pace with connected devices, an explosion of data and AI set to revolutionise how we can do business as a globally connected community.

Digital transformation has shifted from being a buzzword to all levels of business now actively investing in a program of work to elevate their offering and differentiate their brand. Much of this is now driven by a shift in consumer expectation and certainly brands need to keep their customers at the centre of their transformative approach.

Quite often we see brands asking themselves, ‘how can we use the advances in technology to improve our offering and connect better with our customers?’ And that’s certainly a great question to ask.

Which leads me back to the question that we should always be asking before we leap into investing in the latest tech release. Why.

Why are we investing in a new app, website, predictive analytics, etc?

Why should be the very first question that you ask yourself, your client, your leaders before you invest. It’s the crucial question that should always be answered as part of any effective planning function or cost benefit analysis.

Asking yourself why and being able to effectively provide and answer to that question is the first step to success.