By Mihai Cernei
Mihai is Amdaris’ Chief Technology Officer. With his background as a physics graduate and computer programmer, he has worked his way up from software developer to CTO in his over a decade-long career at Amdaris.
The Case for Digital Evolution
Evolution is in our DNA. Everything living on the planet has been through an evolutionary journey, and businesses are no exception. From Amdaris’ humble beginnings working from a small ERP platform to where we are now — one of the fastest growing tech companies in the country with a rich data lake and an expansive suite of software applications — we’re continually reaping the benefits of our own, still ongoing, digital evolution.
I started at Amdaris as a software developer not long after the business was founded 14-years ago. In that time, I have worked my way up to be appointed CTO of Amdaris. I have been with the company at every single step of its digital evolution journey and been involved in almost every stage of growth. Some might be tempted to call our journey a case of digital transformation — it certainly ticks all of the boxes of the outdated term. If that’s the case, then why am I calling it ‘digital evolution’?
The Theory of Digital Evolution
The word ‘transformation’ sets an unrealistic expectation around the process. Transformation implies that businesses will walk away as something completely different than what they began the process as. In reality, a business should not lose its core values or identity as it experiences a period of digital growth. Transformation also implies that the process is finite — you identify your goals, work for a set period of time, and the journey comes to an end when the growth is ‘complete.’ A digital evolution is nowhere near as easy: evolution is a continual, long-term process that once you start on, you’re committing yourself to.
You’re committing yourself to rewiring your business’ DNA for success, expanding your capabilities and scope, all while staying true to your original identity. It’s not a quick process, nor is it an easy one. Digital evolution requires commitment over a long period of time. But is there anything better that you can commit yourself to than a process of self-improvement?
Evolution:Encoded
Which leads me to our new campaign, Evolution:Encoded. Adopting the mindset of digital evolution is half of the battle of getting it right. As I’ve said, it’s a long-term process — in fact, if you’re continually following trends and actively thinking about where to take your business next, then it’s a never-ending process. To undertake a potentially never-ending journey, you’ve got to be committed. But don’t be put off by this. Just because the process is long doesn’t mean that the progress isn’t tangible. For my duration at Amdaris I have seen incredibly levels of growth and development through our digital evolution — whether that’s through our expanding capabilities enabling us to take on more complex and rewarding challenges; the filling of our data lake unlocking the potential for us to work efficiently from a single source of truth; the opportunities to develop bespoke software to suit our individual needs; or any of the other numerous points of growth in the Amdaris story. Commit to the mindset of digital evolution and you will see results.
And that’s why we’ve launched Evolution:Encoded — to get more businesses thinking about digital evolution and the benefits the right mindset can bring. The campaign aims to challenge the ways that you think about your business and its position in the market. Where could you stand to evolve? What could you improve about yourself moving towards the end of the year? What’s stopping you from getting started? We’ll be helping you to answer these questions and more throughout the duration of Evolution:Encoded.
Let’s evolve together
Our own digital evolution means that we’ve inherited a gene — A gene that we’ve studied and used to develop our own theory of digital evolution. Now, we want to share this theory with you to help you embark on your own journey. A business not looking to move forward is content to fall behind their competition. Embrace evolution and let’s continue to evolve together.