Q: What is the strategy and road map for DIMO’s digitalisation journey as a diversified conglomerate that has spread its wings to many sectors?

A: As a diversified conglomerate, DIMO holds interests in a variety of sectors, and multiple products and services.

As a result, besides DIMO’s overarching digital corporate strategy, there are sector specific digital strategies to cater to the unique synergies of each business industry.

At the core of DIMO’s digital road map is creating value in each and every product and service that we offer, through unique and carefully selected digital components – and digitalising internal processes to optimise the delivery of those products and services.

We believe this is the only way that we can be competitive in the market.

At DIMO, the ‘digital drive’ is much more than a support function – it is the very core of our business, which motivates the group to keep digitalising its offerings.

This digital transformation has become a part of DIMO’s culture and permeates across the group.

Q: And what systems and technologies, and infrastructure, are in place for this transformation?

A: Infrastructure strategies go hand in hand with an organisation’s digital road map to ensure that the implementation of digitalisation keeps pace with the expectations.

DIMO has been pursuing a cloud first strategy not only to facilitate a hybrid workforce to keep them mobile and agile but also to reap benefits of industry specific innovations around the world.

DIMO was one of the few large firms that made a seamless transition to remote working during the pandemic. The group’s state-of-the-art Tier 4 smart data centre is used as a private cloud to service the hybrid workforce. The accompanying systems for disaster recovery and business continuity planning are also key to servicing digital applications.

In DIMO’s almost 80 year journey, its biggest ICT investment has been acquiring SAP as its enterprise resource planning platform. The platform will support all industry clusters and enable DIMO to become a data driven group, which marks a significant milestone in taking DIMO’s industries to the next level while fuelling the dreams and aspirations of the communities.

This is also expected to accelerate innovation, and help DIMO introduce more digitalised products and services to customers faster and in addition, deliver agile cost structures to respond to market dynamics in a speedy manner.

Q: How has DIMO developed or acquired competencies and know-how to enable this digital journey?

A: Enabling digitalisation across a massive conglomerate such as DIMO is no easy task. At the centre, you need industry specific expertise such as ‘AgTech’ for agriculture or ‘EdTech’ for education sectors, and you also have to elevate the IT competencies of staff across sectors.

As a result, DIMO ensures that key staff in each sector is proficient in and holds the necessary expertise as per the required competencies.

DIMO’s road map articulates this challenge by making a conscious decision to acquire cluster specific competencies and place them in the correct position to drive each business.

The group is also building competencies and skills in an ongoing manner while managing group level strategies for a unified approach.

Q: What are the group policies in place to facilitate this journey?

A: Governance is key in our journey to ensure that DIMO maintains its high level of compliance and practice of good governance. Multiple governance policies both at the corporate and the industry cluster level are in place to drive this journey.

Furthermore, migrating to SAP was a key decision to help fast track the group’s digital road map. It’s also important to have policies in place for the recruitment of people possessing digital savviness.

Q: How does this digital readiness inspire employees?

A: In order to attract new talent, any organisation must prioritise digital savviness and support digital technologies. Digital transformation is a prerequisite to keep employees engaged and productive.

Organisations have to create a digital culture to inspire the workforce, and upgrade employees’ digital skills to deliver better service and a better product for customers.

– Compiled by Yamini Sequeira

Telephone: 2449797 | Email: dimo@dimolanka.com | Website: www.dimolanka.com