How Executives and Companies Now Make Up Transformations That Never Occurred

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Executive Summary

Executives have begun referring to transformations that never occurred as resume builders.
Using the term transformation is now a way to take credit for a hazy accomplishment.

Introduction

Digital transformation is a common term used in the IT space and, in particular, in the SAP space. It is a recent term and also a highly problematic term. I now come across the statement that some SAP application was implemented for digital transformation or part of a digital transformation program.

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Notice of Lack of Financial Bias: We have no financial ties to SAP or any other entity mentioned in this article.

This is published by a research entity, not some lowbrow entity that is part of the SAP ecosystem.
Second, no one paid for this article to be written, and it is not pretending to inform you while being rigged to sell you software or consulting services. Unlike nearly every other article you will find from Google on this topic, it has had no input from any company's marketing or sales department. As you are reading this article, consider how rare this is. The vast majority of information on the Internet on SAP is provided by SAP, which is filled with false claims and sleazy consulting companies and SAP consultants who will tell any lie for personal benefit. Furthermore, SAP pays off all IT analysts -- who have the same concern for accuracy as SAP. Not one of these entities will disclose their pro-SAP financial bias to their readers.

Transformations Became a “Thing”

The term is now often shortened to just “transformation.” Increasingly any corporate initiative is being labeled a transformation to give that initiative extra cache. Many executives desire to enhance their resume by being thought to have lead transformations at their companies. We noticed this in the analysis of the description by former Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka. As we cover in the article How Much of Vishal Sikka’s Explanations on Artificial Intelligence is Complete BS?

From this article, we noticed a rewriting of history to fit his background into participating in the transformations category.

Rewriting History

Vishal has a curious explanation for why he is so uniquely qualified to lead an AI startup, and at least of the reasons he listed was his participation in transformations.

I have a Ph.D. in AI and have had the opportunity to work in large companies in enterprise software and services. I understand transformation in a way that few people do because I have lived through two large-scale, successful transformations. I thought it was time to take advantage of the unique gifts I have been given. That’s how I ended up here.

Also, what transformation is Vishal referring to?

Did SAP Transform When Vishal Sikka Was CTO?

SAP degraded as an organization while Vishal worked there, with more employees and work being done in India. This led to terrible support, and then Vishal getting tied up in what Teradata asserts is IP theft from building HANA, as we cover in the article How True is SAP’s Motion to Dismiss the Teradata Suit. (And Teradata further says in court documents that Vishal Sikka was entirely on board with the IP theft.) I have been following SAP since 1997, and I don’t know what transformation Vishal is referring to.

Vishal then left SAP unexpectantly and under unusual circumstances.

Did Infosys Transform When Vishal Sikka Was CTO?

Next, he took the top position at the horrible Infosys — a firm that does nothing but US worker displacement and rigs the H1-B visa program for which they were found to have defrauded, as we cover in the article Who Got the $34 Million Fine from the Infosys H1-B Fraud Case?

When Vishal started working for Infosys, they were an H1-B mill that engages in H1-B fraud and is known for nothing except low-priced, low-skilled IT bodies. And after Vishal left, Infosys is known…..for the same thing.

What is the transformation again?

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Conclusion

The term “digital transformation” is a throwback to an age when digital technologies transformed processes. Still, at this point, it makes little sense to use it as a term as what is currently happening is that new hardware and software are merely replacing older hardware and software.

The term “transformation” is an outgrowth of the term digital transformation. It is nearly untestable that just about any executive is prone to state that their involvement in a company leads to a significant improvement. However, in the examples provided above, the companies used in the case presented by Vishal Sikka work about the same as they did before Vishal Sikka’s addition, as they did after Vishal Sikka moved on. This term will most likely be continued to be used in this fashion until it ceases to have the same impact it once did, and then at that point, a new term will be created that carries a further appeal by its novelty.