Here’s how a new regional player is helping APAC firms achieve digital acceleration

When tech consultancy firm Endava first launched in 2000, ecommerce was just getting off the ground at the same time as early enterprise solutions were defining what an internet-era business could be. Today, digitalization has become non-negotiable, but the long tail of history has more to teach us about the impact of digital transformation.

“For many companies, digital transformation is often seen as a one-and-done project,” says Adrian Bugaian, a delivery partner at Endava.

“This was especially true prior to the pandemic, when companies relied on one-time quick automation options instead of complete digitalization,” says Michael Young, the head of Endava’s Asia-Pacific operations.

But the company has a different school of thought: Bugaian says companies need to be more progressive and see digitalization as an “ongoing process” of “digital acceleration.”

The next step in digital evolution

Digital acceleration is different from traditional digital transformation because it assumes that companies are already digitalized to a degree.

“The term ‘acceleration’ itself suggests constant movement forward,” Bugaian says. “As business goals change, so must the technologies needed to achieve them.”

Adrian Bugaian (left), delivery partner at Endava, and Michael Young (right), head of Endava’s Asia-Pacific operations / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

There are a couple of reasons why digital acceleration may prove to be the more beneficial approach. For one, the conventional roadmap tends to result in a kind of “digital isolation,” where solutions from digital teams are at odds with a company’s broader business goals.

“These siloed teams are exploring innovative efforts, but they’re also aiming to avoid disrupting business operations and the risk of failure,” continues Bugaian. “You end up with this gap between teams and solutions, which are difficult to use in practice or impossible to integrate – maybe even both.”

Another issue is that transformation is usually carried out on a project-by-project basis, which firms consider to be cheaper and more manageable. However, such changes would be isolated, short-term, and may not align with overall business objectives. By focusing too much on delivery, teams may fail to factor in agility or they may overspend to fix the results of poor planning.

By comparison, digital acceleration is built on a bedrock of iterative short- and long-term planning, which enables firms to accurately plan and execute the most feasible solutions based on their resources.

Playing the long game

Digital acceleration has therefore become a core pillar of Endava’s work, though the approach’s rise to prominence wasn’t the result of a specific “eureka” moment. Instead, it is the product of years of partnerships with its clients.

According to Bugaian, though many partners had begun digitalizing their companies to some extent, it took them time to realize the true importance of digital acceleration.

Covid-19 proved to be a landmark moment as social isolation and widespread lockdowns led to massive adoption of digital services and huge influxes of new internet users – businesses in the Asia Pacific saw a 77% surge in new customers amid the pandemic.

As businesses scrambled to ramp up their online offerings, many of Endava’s partners and potential customers noticed major gaps in their digital strategies.

“Naturally, this translated to even bigger pressure on the organization – not just from a budget perspective, but also in terms of time and delivery,” Bugaian says.

For Endava, the crisis vindicated its digital acceleration approach – one that enabled its partners to implement solutions through tactical and easily achievable “milestones” governed by an overarching strategy.

Betting on Asia Pacific

Since its inception, the Endava team has expanded its workforce to over 11,000 employees who work with clients across the Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Latin America.

In 2021, the company announced the launch of its first office in Singapore to build on its proven track record with clients in the Asia Pacific. This year, the firm expanded to Malaysia with a new delivery operation center – its first in the region.

Photo credit: ximagination / 123RF

Though Endava’s foray into the region was driven by its “dynamic nature” and the high demand for new tech, Young says most Asia-Pacific companies lean toward traditional methods of digital transformation.

This doesn’t mean that they don’t see the value of digital acceleration, but rather that companies choose to prioritize short-term operational digitalization first. Young points out that Endava’s Asia-Pacific strategy addresses this.

“In Asia Pacific, it is important to consider customer behavior and reactions,” he explains. “We wanted to showcase that we could leverage our global expertise while putting on a locally nuanced lens at the same time. This helps us create bespoke solutions and build up credibility with our customers.”

That said, the region is changing with respect to digital acceleration.

“We have recently seen more players in the region shifting towards an iterative approach to prioritize long-term goals,” observes Young. “The pandemic helped to show that iterative implementation can be more cost-effective and efficient.”

Power through partnerships

Endava’s strengths arguably lie in its ability to deliver effective solutions by leveraging its deep understanding and long-term partnerships with customers.

According to Young, this has served the company well across various projects. In one particular case, Endava helped a global payments organization slash the time needed for merchant onboarding from two weeks to five minutes.

“There is no doubt that we could not have done this without a well-established customer relationship,” he recalls.

Photo credit: zephyr18 / 123RF

That said, Endava’s efforts to push digital acceleration still face challenges. For one, it’s very common for most companies to not equip digital teams with enough resources because they’re unsure where or how to start building their tech stack. Conversely, companies also risk overspending to stay ahead of the competition.

“We have seen many struggle with technology debt – the cost of quickly deploying new tools – which often hinders them from reaping the full benefits that their data and technology infrastructure has to offer,” Bugaian adds.

He explains that to deal with these issues companies need to fully understand not just their existing systems but also potential risks and business priorities. Doing so will give them a “clear sense of direction” that will support their digital acceleration roadmap.

Similarly, firms should also assess the current digital landscape to better understand the challenges as they look to innovate around their technology debt, he adds.

“Once the challenges are well understood, companies can consider implementing various processes to mitigate and move ahead of the curve, while also resolving debt and building competitive edge,” says Bugaian.

Ultimately, Young points out that these strategies are pointless if there isn’t a fundamental mindset change within companies, especially amongst leaders who are organizational tone-setters.

“Being open to constant change and agility is essential when it comes to applying digital acceleration strategies,” he says. “Over the next few years, we expect organizations to take digital acceleration more seriously to ensure that they can be proactive instead of reactive to their business needs and changing demands.”

As a leading enabler of digital acceleration and innovation, Endava is helping companies transform into digital, experience-driven businesses by leveraging next-gen technologies. To find out more about how Endava is supporting businesses in Asia in their digital acceleration journeys, click this link.

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.