Scotland's 10th Annual Digital Transformation event with live keynotes, workshops and exhibition.
2025 Event TBD
Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh
8:30am - 4.30pm
Free to attend (T&Cs apply)
The Summit
Organisations are changing, the rapid pace of the digital world has necessitated a fundamental shift in mindset. Digital has disintermediated markets; disrupted organisational structures, created new risks and new revenue streams and fundamentally altered the way businesses engage with their customer.
Real digital transformation is the complete reorientation of an organisation around principles and process which maximise the value of the digital age. This should be part of wholescale organisational change, from flat and collaborative organisational structures, joined up dataflows, agile process, fast decision-making, and empowered people.
DT2024 will contextualise the key technology trends and industry disruption amidst a backdrop of significant socio-economic upheaval. The event will also consider the role of technology leaders in driving positive transformation, exploring how we can help support operations, drive innovation, overcome challenges, and deliver tangible business benefits.
Core themes:
• Landscape: Uncertainty, Recovery, Sustainability, Remote Teams, Resilience
• Process: Strategy, Structure, Optimisation, Agile, DevOps
• Design: Customer Centricity, UX, Functionality, Simplification
• Technology: Remote Tools, Data Analytics, AI, ML, RPA, Cloud, CyberSecurity
• People: Culture, Collaboration, Leadership, Diversity, Empowerment
2024 Speakers
Journalist & Broadcaster, BBC Scotland
Gain CPD credits by attending this conference.
Earn 8 hours of certificated CPD credits and a personalised CPD certificate by attending this conference. Learn more about how it works here.
The Venue
The conference will be held live and in-person at the iconic Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, a professional event space offering panoramic views of the city and Arthur's Seat.
The venue is centrally located in the old town, just 15 minutes walk from Waverley train station, making it easily accessible via public transport. We also offer discounted on-site parking to attendees if you wish to drive and provide light refreshments throughout the day.
2024 Conference Agenda
SESSION 1
The opening session will focus on one of the main areas of transformation that organisations are currently grappling with - optimising RoI from data and AI. We will look at how to set the foundational infrastructure and process in place; how to transition from data collection to data-driven decision making, and how to navigate the journey to automation while avoiding some of the key challenges and pitfalls.
09:15 Welcome from the Conference Chair
Mark Stephen, Journalist & Broadcaster, BBC Scotland
09:25 Dream vs. Reality: Business Process Innovation via AI & Automation
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Measurable business innovation plus cost + process efficiencies are a key outcome for digital transformation
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Technology providers articulate a bold vision for the ‘end game’ but often put inspiration ahead of expectations
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AI tools are often seen as a quick-fix, but snap deployments risk chaos, regulatory headaches & governance issues
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Investing in data audits, reporting mechanisms, infrastructure re-design, and RoI assessments creates a strong foundation
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Companies that do this will reach their innovation goals more efficiently and cost effectively in the long-term.
Rory Duncan, Head of Research, Quick Tech Take
09:45 Unlocking the Value of Data
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Moving from data to insight
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Developing a data-driven culture within the business
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Evolving the operating model to facilitate data-driven decisions
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Proving the value and building momentum
Dave Robinson, Customer Value & Analytics Director, Virgin Red
10:05 The Real Data and AI Survival Guide
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Lessons learned across high-growth companies that have evolved from data chaos to data confidence
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Navigating the journey from start up to scale up - how to move from data as an operational necessity to leveraging data as a strategic asset
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Data Architecture and Automation for Growth - freeing teams to focus on value-adding activities
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Data Governance and Quality - practical approaches to overcoming common pitfalls when it comes to data governance, ensuring high data quality, and avoiding debt
Regina Berengolts, Director of Data and AI, Vaul Labs
10:25 Combined Q&A
10:55 Networking & Refreshments
SESSION 2
Session 2 will explore a variety of key topics in a longer breakout format. The presentations will be run across parallel streams, and delegates will be able to select two options to attend live.
11:30 First Breakout Option (A-B)
A. The Business Implementation of AI Governance
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Explore the core principles for achieving effective AI governance.
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Review existing standards and frameworks for AI governance.
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Discuss best practices for developing adaptable governance frameworks for AI technologies.
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Gain insights and skills to navigate AI regulations and implement effective governance strategies in organizations.
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Highlight the importance of collaboration to ensure AI is ethical, beneficial, and aligned with societal values.
Patty O’Callaghan, Technical Director, Charles River Laboratories
B. Chasing the Value: Demonstrating the Value of IT to the Business
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Defining value to the business
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Developing an Agile Operating Model
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Following a DevSecOps methodology
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Relating IT to the business in terms of value
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Tangible value stories achieved
Alan Norrie, DevOps Technology Manager, SSE Thermal
12:05 Transition
12:15 Second Breakout Option (C-E)
C. Transformational Leadership for Inspiration, Purpose & Performance
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Idealized Influence: How leaders act as role models and earn followers’ trust
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Inspirational Motivation: articulating a compelling vision that inspires and motivates
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Intellectual Stimulation: encouraging creativity and challenge existing assumptions
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Individualized Consideration: providing personalised support and mentorship
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The positive impact of transformational leadership on organizational performance
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Potential challenges, like leader burnout and balancing long-term vision with short-term goals.
Jo Mahadevan, Engineering Lead, Lloyds
D. Beyond Design Thinking
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Design thinking may be necessary but is it sufficient?
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What other thinking systems might we need?
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How do we solve problems in a data rich, interconnected, non-linear world?
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Practical insights from the innovation studio
Llewelyn Constant, Innovation Evangelist, TCS Pace, Tata Consultancy Services
E. There's no transformation without talent
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Growing talent from the bottom up
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Women in Stem- not just tech, think management
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Positive exploitation of existing tech talent
Peer
Peter Proud, CEO and Founder, Forrit
12:45 Lunch and Networking
SESSION 3
Change can be a painful process… for the business, for the team, and for the leaders at the helm. The afternoon session will explore how to mitigate some of the pain points and improve the success rate and business outcomes of transformation. We will consider how leaders can help guide their teams through the disruption of digitalisation, modernisation, and growth, whilst driving engagement, standards, and performance.
13:35 Strategic Storytelling: How Leaders Can Vastly Enhance the Success Rate of Transformation
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Why stories should speak to hearts and minds
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Why data alone isn’t enough
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Painting a picture of a potential future
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What’s the punchline – so what – why are you telling me this?
Sarah Reeder, Service Strategy Manager: Digital Service & Innovation, Sky
13:55 Learning From Your Adventures to Become a Better Change Leader
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We need to encourage more self-reflection - if most transformations fail, some of this comes down to leadership
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Taking accountability: realising the buck stops with you
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Cultivating belief: understanding the value of being able to inspire and instil belief in your team
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Recognising the individual: everyone’s journey is unique, we need to engage with and develop people differently
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Personal growth: leading through change often requires internal change, development, and introspection
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Practical application: why this matters in reality, how we apply these learnings to help mitigate challenges and drive change and improvement
Lauren Cahill, Transformation Director, Cairngorm Capital
14:15 Scaling Without Compromising Quality and Engineering Excellence
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Intro to Kraken and its development / growth
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How we keep engineering standards high
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Turning scaling into opportunities for professional growth
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Keeping engineers engaged
Frederike Jaeger, Head of Software Engineering, Kraken
14:35 Combined Q&A
15:05 Closing Remarks
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15:10 Networking & Drinks
16:30 End of Summit
*The conference agenda is provisional and subject to change
About DIGIT
DIGIT has rapidly grown into the largest independent business technology community in Scotland. We run an extensive series of virtual conferences and online events focused on core areas of emerging Technology, Digital and IT. We also run Scotland's leading Technology News Platform www.digit.fyi with 50,000 page views per month.
The events provide a unique platform for knowledge exchange, drawing stakeholders together to explore best practice, technological innovation and business outcomes. Our conferences attract a senior delegate following and have become renowned as an important forum for high-level networking.