Although phrases such as digital transformation and customer experience are over-hyped, many organizations are making significant investments in these areas. Such transformation efforts help companies meet evolving customer expectations and (at least) maintain parity with new and established competitors.
Because these shifts usually involve business model changes that rely on technology, Chief Information Officers have moved to the front lines of digital transformation.
One of these CIOs is Walter Curd[1], Chief Information Officer at the semiconductor manufacturing company, MAXIM Integrated[2]. I spoke with him to learn how a CIO can drive digital transformation and improve customer experience.
Also read:
The discussion was part of the CXOTalk series[3] of conversations with innovators in business and technology. We recorded the video as part of the SAP Select[4] program, which SAP holds for its largest customers during its annual SAPPHIRE NOW user conference.
MAXIM has $2.5 billion in revenue and about 7100 employees. According to Curd, the company has "over 45,000 active parts, 20,000 customers, we ship billions of units a year. The result of all of that is 65% gross margin, 35% operating margin. Thanks to some of the tax changes, we can return 100% of our cash to shareholders, which makes them very happy, which makes our employees happy because the stock price goes up."
Changing processes to drive customer experience is hard for any business. It's particularly difficult in a business that historically was focused on product engineering rather than customer experience. In these companies, such as MAXIM, changing the business model, technology, and processes goes against an established culture where "engineers are king," as Curd says.
When culture changes, there is a risk of alienating long-standing customers