[Year in Review 2021] Trends, technology, talent – Top quotes on digital transformation

Launched in 2014, StoryBites is a regular feature from YourStory, featuring notable quotable quotes in our past articles. Share these gems and insights with your colleagues and networks, and check back to the original articles for more insights.

Drawn from our comprehensive coverage of entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology, we present 50 quotes on the continuing rise of digital media and tech transformation (see last year’s quotes compilation here).

We have divided these 50 quotes into 10 categories: The big picture, Enterprise strategy, The data advantage, Sectoral transformation, Digital media, Marketing, Mindset, Workforce, Governance, and The road ahead.

See also YourStory’s Startup Hatch section on tech incubator and accelerator profiles, and annual picks of Top 10 Books, Top 10 Author Interviews, and Top 5 Crypto Milestones.

YourStory wishes all founders, innovators, and changemakers a Happy Holiday Season, and all the best for success and impact in 2021!

The big picture

Digitisation is akin to globalisation; it's everywhere! - Rajesh Gupta, Busy Infotech

If you look at the way things are changing, every five years has been a generation. - Dr A Velumani, Thyrocare

The way we live, work, learn, and play has been transformed, and technology is now at the core of this new normal. - Vivasvan Shastri, Cisco

Technology has immensely lowered the barriers for humans to connect. - Yashveer Singh, Ashoka Young Changemakers

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The advancements in technology today have opened the doors for tremendous innovation. - Suvesh Malhotra, Hike

The digital revolution has aided entrepreneurship in three ways -- instant gratification, consumer connect, and the digital medium has shrunk the whole world into multiple small knit digital communities. - Maya Varma, Joker & Witch

Coding is an integral part of literacy now. Earlier ‘literacy’ was defined as the ability to read and write. Now, it is the ability to programme and automate machines. - Anoop Gautam, Tinker Coders

Finding the truth behind the technology is critical to improve its implementation. - Sarvpriye Soni, Cove Identity

Enterprise strategy

In the digital age, every enterprise has to be a knowledge company. - Nitin Seth, ‘Winning in the Digital Age’

In the past, [AI and KM] have been mainly working independently. Now the time has come to co-design and co-develop intelligent solutions for better and faster decisions. - Vincent Ribière, IKI-SEA

Smart decisions are made when humans and machines work together. - Prashant Agrawal, Impact Analytics

Agility means the ability to innovate, harness various technologies and integrate them across multiple solutions. - N Manish, Wipro

Without the right culture, even the best tool may not help you achieve your goals. - Vala Afshar, Salesforce

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The data advantage

Being data-forward will reward you forever. - Anand Jain, CleverTap

For a business, traditional or not, what matters the most is how data is presented to them. It needs to be correct but also presented in a manner that is easy to grasp and enables faster decision-making. - Nitin Sharma, CredAble

Data science for business exists to solve real problems, where data is integral to discovery and solutions. - Basil Ali, Edumpus

A data science team is a link between data and wisdom. - Vamsee Tirukkala, Draup

Data combined with insights is the best concoction for long-term, sustainable growth. - Manish Tahiliani, Voxturr

Data is now recognised as a powerful source of innovation. - Tuija Rentala, Katariina Palomaki and Katri Valkokari, 'Managing Digital Open Innovation'

Sectoral transformation

Technology can play a big role in making schools disruption-free. - Sumeet Mehta, LEAD

The future of learning is hybrid and it will bring together the best of offline and online learning. - Byju Raveendran, BYJU'S

The use of tech is for making a level playing field for credit, which will see the light of day finally. - Rajat Verma, HSBC

Ecommerce has been an enabling force, bringing value and access for sellers and consumers alike. - Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Flipkart Group

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Whether it is storage, processing power, or containerised applications spun up on demand, the cloud has revolutionised the software industry. - Prasun Kumar, CommercelQ

Digital today is the most advertised category with ecommerce, edtech, fintech and gaming gaining immense importance in consumers’ lives. - Prabeer Patankar, Update Advertising and Marketing

When ecosystems become digital, there will be massive adoption. - Siddharth Shah, PharmaEasy

The time for AI in healthcare is here. Radiology in particular, with an already existing digital image workflow, will see faster adoption of AI. - Ramesh Byrapaneni, Endiya Partners

A massive digital explosion is poised to occur in the global healthcare ecosystem. This resembles the Cambrian radiation explosion that happened 540 million years ago, but all for the greater good. - Murali Aravamudan, nference

Digital media

Creator-led live content and commerce is the future of entertainment and ecommerce. - Piyush Shah, Glance

Using digital storytelling on multiple online platforms, brands are now able to create a bond with their consumers who now seek more than just products. - Divya Gupta, Aavishkaar Capital

Experimental content is the king of new-age media today, and the algorithm loves you the most when content speaks to the audience and breaks stereotypes. - CarryMinati

Conversations represent the new digital storefront for businesses — virtually every business will need to build them. - Beerud Sheth, Gupshup

Today, video call is to businesses what websites were 20 years ago. A few years down the lane, video-based communication will become as common as websites – every business will leverage it, thereby making it ubiquitous. - Gaurav Tripathi, Superpro.ai

We all live in a heavily Tinderised economy. You only get a few seconds to make your mark. - Ramya Ramachandran, Whoppl

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Marketing

Copywriting is the salesmanship of digital marketing. Compelling and valuable content is nothing without a strong understanding and application of copywriting skills. - Sayantan Dasgupta, Gramener

Content marketing is fundamentally changed because of AI. - Mark Kilens, Drift

If marketing is a boat then content is the steering. Wherever you choose to steer your content, marketing will follow. - Siddharth Sharma, Verloop.io

The future of business communications is not just digital-first but also about empathy. - Harsha Solanki, Infobip

Meme marketing is not always about following the trends. It allows your brand to be a trend-setter as well. - Taaran Chanana, MemeChat App

Mindset

Most of us miss problem-solving as a skill and are focusing on technology usage as a skill. Have a problem-solving mindset and use tech as a tool. - Devang Mundhra, KredX

There is a fine line between building a product and a solution. While you can optimise the product, finding a solution requires building an ecosystem. - Gaurav Srivastava, FarEye

Technology is only as successful as the person harnessing it. - Kanika Agarrwal, Upside AI

The path to digital transformation is a feedback loop. - Sashi Sreedharan, Microsoft India

Technology is ultimately for improving customer experience. - Nitin Pai, Tata Elxsi

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Workforce

The future of workspaces is flexible, secure and collaborative. - Amitabh Patney, Ving Hybrid

The future of work is flexible, distributed, and agile, yet many companies have retained traditional methods of managing employee performance and engagement. - Gaurav Chaubey, Mesh

Technology has become core to how we think about business productivity — right from hiring to scaling. - Satya Nadella, Microsoft

Increased digitalisation requires investments in building an AI-ready workforce to remain competitive in the global economy. - Shweta Khurana, Intel

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Governance and ethics

With digitisation comes the need for greater accountability. - Sridhar Gadhi, Quantela

Technology is fast becoming intertwined with ethics, leaving people really concerned about security issues. - James Gosling

With more businesses moving online and the exploding digitisation, the need for governance and control over applications and endpoints is higher. - Nitish Kumar, Sectona

Remember, at some point, it’s not how much others care to do to protect your privacy, but simply your choice that matters. Enjoy full privacy. You deserve it, so demand it. - Anish Mulani, Wave

At present, social media platforms are open to negativity, which leads to the spread of hatred, harassment, and bullying. - Suresh Kumar, Pepul

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The road ahead

Democratisation of technology is essential in any digital economy. - Puneet Chandok, AISPL

Employment and upskilling are the most pressing issues of any country. - Nirmit Parikh, Apna

Coding jobs are the future. They already constitute more than 60 percent of all roles in science, technology, engineering, and math. - Vivek Prakash, Codingal

The crypto industry feels very much like the early internet days of the mid ’90s. So much to build and so early, and so much opportunity to disrupt technological, traditional industries and make people's lives better. - Surojit Chatterjee, Coinbase

The metaverse has become the newest macro-goal for many of the world’s tech giants. - Matthew Ball, EpyllionCo

Integration is the key differentiation. - Sumeet Mehta, LEAD

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).