It only took five to six decades for humanity to reach its current state. The transition from the industrial period to the period of Information took a fraction of the time it took to transition from the Stone Age to the Industrial Age, which took over a millennium. It’s clear that things are changing quickly and that transformations occur much more quickly than anticipated. Despite the difficulties that nature has presented, humanity has been able to keep its attention on improving what it has created. It demonstrates that although they are still unable to fully comprehend nature, they are improving in their ability to manage their own inventions.

It’s worthwhile to examine how they arrived at the current state of data, information, and communication technologies. 1950 – 1989 The invention of microchips and semiconductors enabled manual processes to be converted into digital technologies.

This started the first major Digital Transformation. Companies focused on shifting outdated processes to digital data. Worldwide, this created a need for business transformation and cultural change.

• 1958 The microchip and the semiconductor were invented
• 1965 Moore’s Law was defined  – in 1965, Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel, observed that the number of transistors on a microchip was doubling approximately every year. 
• 1975, he revised his prediction to a doubling every two years. 

In addition to lowering processing costs, this trend has made it possible to create devices that are faster, more compact, and more potent.
In order to set goals for research and development, the semiconductor industry has relied on Moore’s Law as a guiding concept.
Even though the rate of miniaturisation is decreasing, Moore’s Law still plays a big role in how computing technology develops.

1990 – 2006 – The post-Internet era. It caused companies to rethink their customer interactions as the internet significantly changed how people interacted, searched, and bought.

• 1990 Internet becomes publicly available
• 1998 Google founded
• 2000 Half of US households have a personal computer
• 2004 Facebook founded
• 2005 Internet users reached 1 billion worldwide

2006 AWS created

2020 – 2022 – Pandemic Era–

• Because the internet drastically altered how people engaged, searched, and made purchases, it forced businesses to reconsider how they dealt with their customers.
  
  As a result, business models changed, and organisations were compelled to move their digital transformation projects from the boardroom to the front lines with greater urgency. Many businesses needed this acceleration as a catalyst to improve the client experience.Global Pandemic of 2020

2022 Digital Transformation spending at $1.6 trillion

2022 to Present– Generative AI era–

Generative Artificial Intelligence or Gen AI. The pandemic accelerated digital innovations as companies were forced to rethink how they served their customers in a non-contact and remote world.

New technologies and advances in AI and machine learning are playing a huge and critical role in digital transformation initiatives.

While the history of AI warrants its own timeline, advances in machine learning and tools like ChatGPT, DeepSeek, Dalle-E, Mid-Journey, Jasper AI etcare clearly going to drive even more change in the way we work, interact, and live.

Are we ready? Or are we still procrastinating?

Denzil Perera — CEO, Deyo Strategy and Brand Consultancy
MBA – PIM (Merit), B.Sc. (Marketing Special) Hons, CIM-UK, MSLIM
Official Representative of Kotler in Sri Lanka and the Maldives
www.deyo.lk
0094777763717