What Does “Digital” Really Mean ?

Digital is probably the most over-used buzzword of this decade.

But what does it really mean? And, do we mean it as it means ?

Digital’s literal interpretation is : (of signals or data) expressed as series of the digits 0 and 1.

In other words, it means dealing only with binary digits — and not analog forms of media or communication.

Mainframes were and are digital. So are micro and personal computers. And ERP, Supply Chain Management and “Legacy Applications”.

So, why have we seen a resurgence in the use of “digital” ? What does it mean now that it did not mean earlier ?

I posit that “digital” means two different things and we use these interchangeably and not always conscious of which meaning we imply.

1. Digital means tools, mediums and technologies that are digital NOW but used to be only analog before. Like digital advertising done online vs. print or TV advertising. Like digital movies stored and streamed as data vs. analog tapes. Like digital commerce bought online vs. in-store purchases. Digital X usually involves a significant shift of spending and customer attention from analog X to digital X.
2. Digital is also a marketing concept to communicate the massive transition from the old to the new. Not necessarily from analog to digital. But even from old digital to new digital. It is a proxy for how modern technology can be used to dramatically simplify and enhance the lives of consumers and the operations of businesses. From traditional business models based on pipes to platforms. From on-premise to cloud computing. From PCs to tablets and smart phones. From old-fashioned BI tools to data science that drives business outcomes. From P2P publishing to large, centralized social platforms that are subsuming vast swathes of the internet. From IT and telecom being parallel worlds to an integrated world of computing and communication. From cars with some software to cars driven only by software. And so on…

It is silly to subject digital to arbitrary definitions and categories like social, mobile, cloud and analytics (SMAC) as many of the systems integrators have done.

Many of these companies also engage in financial jujutsu, listing “digital revenue” as percentage of the total revenue. Almost all the time, this turns out to be an exercise designed to manipulate market perceptions vs. reflecting the reality of the business or its customers. It really does not say much and can include or exclude many things based on the message the company is trying to send across.

Digital as a broad marketing concept — used in the meaning of (2)- encapsulates the current wave of productivity and opportunity unleashed by technology, particularly software. And shines the spotlight on the changes under way including the threats of being upstaged or disrupted. It applies to all problem domains, all lines of business and all industries. However, when we get deeper, the implications and treatments are different for every specific context.

We need to know what we mean when we say “digital” in any context and be careful to not over-load the term with specific technologies, hues or meanings that are self-serving or subjective.