Digital Transformation and Tradition Clash in Caribbean Businesses: Insights from a Business Owner's Perspective

Today’s CyberPulse takes a different turn, focusing less on technology and more on the business side. About 20 years ago, I had a conversation with a fellow business owner in digital marketing. We discussed the trend of adding ‘e’ to business activities like e-commerce and e-procurement. His view was that the ‘e’ would eventually disappear, as these practices would simply become the norm. I agreed but also recognised the challenge this posed for Barbados, where technology adoption tends to lag.

Our ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’ mindset contrasts sharply with the North American principle of ‘Creative Destruction’, a concept by economist Joseph Schumpeter, which describes how innovation disrupts and replaces older models, driving growth. This idea fuels today’s digital transformation.

I witnessed this resistance firsthand when a father-and-son business debated going digital. I had successfully sold the son on an e-business concept that aligned with his vision for the company. However, the father, rooted in tradition, overruled his son and chose to stick with the paper-based methods he’d used for over 30 years—a familiar story in the Caribbean.

This is a Caribbean story, and while not unique, stories like this have had a profound and lasting impact on the region. In my view, it is one of the leading reasons why many first-generation businesses end with their founders. Yet, over the past decade, our regional governments have fervently advocated for digital transformation—the process of integrating digital technologies into all aspects of a business or organisation. This fundamentally changes how businesses operate, deliver value to customers, and compete in the market.

Digital transformation requires a shift in mindset, business models, and processes, leveraging technology to improve efficiency, enhance customer experiences, and drive innovation. However, this shift often clashes with a culture that clings to tradition, which has been detrimental to the region’s progress.

Digital transformation has become more of a political buzzword, often easier said than done, given the critical elements needed to make it successful and relevant. It’s more than just adopting new technologies; it involves integrating digital tools into every area of a business, fundamentally changing operations and how value is delivered to customers. At the core of this transformation is technology integration—leveraging modern tools like cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and business data to improve processes and offerings. However, technology alone isn’t enough.

Business process optimisation is equally essential, requiring companies to reengineer their operations for greater efficiency, agility, and customer focus. This is often achieved through automation, which has faced opposition from unions over the years, as it is perceived to displace jobs. Data-driven decision-making is another key component, but this approach is not traditionally embraced in our region, where business decisions have often relied more on gut instinct than data.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of digital transformation is cultural change. For it to truly take root, organisations must cultivate a digital-first mindset, promoting agility, innovation, and collaboration across teams while fostering a culture of continuous learning.

Being involved in Barbados’ service industries, I can attest to the urgent need for data to drive the growth of emerging sectors still reliant on government support. Leveraging data through analytics and intelligence tools is crucial for informed decision-making and predicting trends, ultimately fostering sustainable growth. Businesses must also build networks through digital platforms that connect partners, suppliers, and customers—a concept rooted in Intranets and Extranets from over 20 years ago.

As a business consultant, I was once challenged to differentiate my services from other digital providers. After studying a financial institution’s core services, I devised a digital strategy that allowed reconditioned car dealers to offer pre-approved financing on the spot, ensuring no customer left without securing a loan. While innovative and beneficial for all stakeholders, the board rejected the idea due to a conflict of interest with a subsidiary, further highlighting the inherent challenges of digital transformation.

Given these challenges, how can Barbados and the Caribbean, often rooted in tradition to the point of stagnation, rise to the occasion?

Perhaps the answer lies in adopting one or more of the following approaches:

Business Innovation Officer: Appoint a leader responsible for developing new strategies, technologies, and processes to drive growth and maintain competitiveness. This role would involve identifying opportunities and overseeing digital transformation efforts.

Embrace Disruption: Foster a mindset of creative destruction by encouraging the development of new ideas that could potentially disrupt your current business model—before your competitors do it for you.

Small Wins: Build a culture of continuous change by making small but meaningful improvements each year, such as adding new features to a website or reengineering internal processes. Executive management should encourage department heads to suggest one such change during annual reviews and provide the necessary support to execute these ideas.

Regardless of the strategy or approach you choose, embracing innovation, disruption, and small, consistent changes can help businesses in Barbados and the Caribbean break free from traditional constraints and thrive in the digital age. The key is to act now before we lose even more opportunities than we already have.

Steven Williams is the executive director of Sunisle Technology Solutions and the principal consultant at Data Privacy and Management Advisory Services. He is a former IT advisor to the Government’s Law Review Commission, focusing on the draft Cybercrime bill. He holds an MBA from the University of Durham and is certified as a chief information security officer by the EC Council and as a data protection officer by the Professional Evaluation and Certification Board (PECB). Steven can be reached at Mobile: 246-233-0090; Email: steven@dataprivacy.bb