International Seminar “Digital Business vs conventional business” part 1 by Nur Irwan Ani Abdul Rahman

STEKOM University is determined to improve the quality and reach of its academic activities to an international level. Various international academic activities continue to be held as an effort to improve the quality and academic reach of the institution. This time, STEKOM University held an international webinar entitled “Digital Business vs conventional business which is more efficient and strategic in the world”. The speakers in this webinar came from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Ethiopia.


At the beginning of the event, the Chancellor of STEKOM University, Dr. Joseph M. Kom, gave a welcoming speech. In his speech, Dr. Joseph greeted and conveyed a warm greeting to all the speakers present and of course also to the participants who were present online. The speakers who attended the international webinar were Nur Irwan Ani Abdul Rahman from Malaysia, Dr. Kindya Issa from Ethiopia, and Edy Jogatama from STEKOM University, Indonesia. In his remarks, the Chancellor of STEKOM University also asked an opening question to spark an interesting discussion, “Will digital technology improve business performance? We will learn from the various sources present."


Nur Irwan Ani's explanation about the comparison between conventional-based business and digital-based business is very comprehensive. She explained that digitalization would continue to occur in the midst of conventional business establishments that were disrupted due to the Covid-19 outbreak. Many things are a challenge in the flow of business digitization, but in general it all depends on how the leader of the company wants to manage his business. Digitization may become a new problem for companies if business management is not carried out properly. However, digitalization can also improve company performance if used properly.


However, business digitization is an important thing for company managers to pay attention to. If this is not considered, the company may experience a significant lag behind the current business trends. Many things have succeeded in switching from conventional techniques to digital bases that have occurred in the Indonesian environment. For example, Gojek has succeeded in converting a conventional motorcycle taxi system into a digitally managed motorcycle taxi. The performance of digital motorcycle taxis looks much higher than conventional motorcycle taxis. People can order motorcycle taxis from various places and times easily. In terms of coverage and effectiveness, online motorcycle taxis are very successful in improving business performance.


In the field of sales, there are also many who show that the adoption of digital systems can increase sales very significantly. For example, Shopee and Lazada, we see that their transactions are very large. The range of their transactions is also very wide. It shows that digitalization has experienced some great success in several important areas of business.


However, in the question and answer session, Nur Irwan emphasized that it all depends on the management being carried out. If digitization is carried out with poor management, the digitalization process can actually be a source of business problems for the company. An example of digitalization which can actually become a business problem is if the human resources are not ready to use the adopted technology. Management chaos can occur when technology adoption is not accompanied by good training for all employees.


However, Nur Irwan also explained that the potential for digital business is very large. Among them in the field of marketing is the wider global market potential by utilizing digital technology. There is a wider target market if we adopt digital technology, of course, at a lower cost than conventional systems.


At the end of his explanation, Nur Irwan made a conclusion about which conventional business is better than digital business. According to him, the most influencing factor is how the entrepreneur manages his business. The key is that we must be open to digital technology but the adoption process must be carried out with good management.