The Tenth Edition of the BE-terne Conference on Digital Technologies in Business Held

The jubilee tenth edition of the BE-terne Croatia conference, this year’s titled „the Digital Leap“, brought unique examples of the impact of technology on business. The traditional conference organized by one of the leading companies for business solution integration in Europe was held on November 10, 2021, at the Esplanade Hotel in Zagreb, where leading experts and representatives from some of the most successful IT companies in Croatia provided an overview of the latest knowledge in the fields of digital transformation, digitization, artificial intelligence, and change management that have affected the entire world in the past year and a half.

– The pandemic has enabled trends that were supposed to come later to arrive early, but there is a significant gap between companies’ expectations when entering this process and the final results. The total amount invested in digital transformation by companies worldwide has exceeded $1 trillion, and numerous studies show that as much as 60 to 70% of such initiatives have not achieved the expected results. Companies that successfully implement digital transformation are realistic in their expectations and know the answer to the question of why they initiate this process, but they also clearly distinguish between the concepts of digitization and digital transformation. Transformation is a change in the entire paradigm of business and company culture, and it is impossible to execute it without the involvement of all business stakeholders. Without focusing on customer experience, the success of digital transformation is questionable, while digital content is at the center of customer experience –  said Krešimir Mlinarić, director of BE-terne in Croatia.

Guided by such thinking, the consulting firm Deloitte conducted research on the digitization of companies among 2,750 companies from 33 countries worldwide under the name ‘Crisis as a Catalyst: Accelerating Transformation.’ Even today, 34% of global companies see the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus as the primary risk to their business, while they place the fear of cyberattacks and IT security in second place. Croatian companies also recognize the introduction of the euro as a potential disruption to their business. However, as emphasized by Gordan Kožulj, director of Business Consulting at Deloitte, when presenting the research results, ‘with the slowing down of the world, successful companies accelerated internal activities to adapt and take advantage of the situation presented to them. Deloitte’s analysis showed that with the onset of the crisis, most companies focused on the growth segment, emphasizing productivity (48%), while the least on corporate social responsibility. Only 21% of global companies covered by the research had a developed strategy and considered the seven dimensions crucial for survival (strategy, growth, technology, the possibility of accelerated digital transformation, workforce and adaptability to work in crisis situations, capital, and corporate social responsibility). The most resilient companies (27%) placed digital transformation at the forefront, and 52% of them are confident in their success in the next 36 months. On the other hand, only 15% of companies with lower resilience, i.e., those with the least of the seven key characteristics, are confident that they will be successful in 36 months.

Following the conference, leading IT companies shared their knowledge and experience. Luka Čiča from Infobip, the first Croatian startup unicorn that last week completed its fourth acquisition and took over one of the largest American virtual telecom operators, Peerless Network, emphasized the importance of customer experience for a company’s success.

– Brands that are more successful are those that communicate at the right time on the right channel and have an excellent product. Our research has shown that 86% of users are willing to pay more for a good customer experience and that 21% of users changed brands precisely because of a poor customer experience. In this context, digital transformation is key – it brings a 115% increase in revenue, a 50% reduction in the workload for customer support, a 50% reduction in costs, an 82% increase in customer satisfaction through communication via various channels, and a 78% increase in agent productivity –  Čiča stated.

As part of the conference, Matija Žulj, co-founder and CEO of Agrivi, the first Croatian agritech startup that developed one of the most successful global applications for managing agricultural production, shared his inspiring success story, for which he received the prestigious United Nations award for innovations in agriculture. In addition to the aforementioned speakers, Petar Pavić, co-founder of S.T.A.R. Digital Group, a leading company for “ad tech and digital marketing” in the region, who has gained the status of an expert in digital marketing and marketing technologies due to his experience, also shared his knowledge with the conference participants, as did Ognjen Bagatin, co-owner of Bagatin Polyclinic, a leading clinic in Croatia and Europe for top service in the fields of aesthetic surgery, dentistry, and dermatology, as well as for the development of experts.

Along with inspiring lectures, the conference The Digital Leap also featured a panel titled “The ROI of digital transformation,” moderated by Milan Listeš from BE-terne, with participation from Magda Milas Gržetić, responsible for business development at the Zagreb fintech Electrocoin do.o., which deals with cryptocurrency trading mediation and processing crypto payments for merchants, Ratko Mutavdžić, regional Technology Officer of Microsoft for Central and Eastern Europe, and Tihomir Šibalić, director of digital development at Energija Naturalis. Although all panel participants deal with technology and the digital world, they emphasize the human factor as a key element in the success of digital transformation and return on investment. It is necessary to adapt to the market and customer desires, as well as to educate the market and its stakeholders.

– The most revolutionary product in the world means nothing if people do not believe in it and do not understand what they are doing. Technology will return the investment, but if the organization in the company is poor, people are not motivated, and leaders do not understand the purpose of that technology, a big problem will arise – concluded the panel participants held as part of the conference the Digital Leap.