This time let me be on trend and say a few words about such a modern word as "digitalization".

Just five-years ago, when I was graduating, people and life around was not so digital. We had smartphones but not as powerful devices for many everyday purposes. New technologies were not so "publicly" discussed. Today, the words "digital", "uberization", "cloud technologies", etc. could come from any media channel. The environment is really changing at a rapid pace.

Meanwhile, would you expect active digitalization in Russia? We used to compare Russia with Western countries and apply a large "lag-behind" coefficient in our analysis. Meanwhile, the world is really global and the case is already here. For these six-months we have finished three projects focused on digitalization – one was digital as an operational layer in fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) supply chain and two other ones as a more strategic view on digital in the financial sector and retail.

Just a few observations

Digital awareness is very high. In our meetings with clients we see that people really know a lot. It is not such a black box for them as you would expect – it is rather a challenge they need to be prepared for. We made an interesting study for one of our clients on digital disruption potential in key Russian industries with estimates of potential revenue losses – the result was really impressive.
Many companies already make systemic efforts to foster digital development. That is rather the case for large companies. Nevertheless, companies make joint ventures with accelerators, carry hackathons, expose on regular basis top and middle management to engage with world leaders in new technologies via workshops, create dedicated digital/innovative team and so on.
Russian people are digital enough to think about digital solutions for them. Let me give a rail example: 74% of rail passengers use Internet daily, 64% own a smartphone and 10% of all rail passengers constantly use online channels to manage their mobility.
We feel that digital solutions are not any more eye opening here. It is a challenge for us as consultants but it is the opportunity too (as it usually goes with any challenge).Be on trend and do not doubt in Russia!