Back in 2011, we came up with the idea of communities dedicated to digital innovation, or rather of a specific club for the extended retail world (from mass retail to fashion and luxury). The following year the project saw the light under the name of the Retail Club with the first meetings followed by a discussion group on LinkedIn, the publication of an eBook and finally the dedicated column on DM Magazine of Distribuzione Moderna (in Italian).
Over the years, thanks to the success of the Club, we have better understood the values that communities on digital innovation must carry with them. In no particular order, we noticed that:
- CxO feel the need to discuss the delicate issues of innovation,
- there is a strong interest in sharing experiences and results,
- in spite of the information overload, practical knowledge is still lacking,
- digital innovation is based on technology and affects all business functions, but unfortunately, closing the circle between CIOs and other key figures is still a chimera
- the typical IT meetings are excellent for promoting technologies and solutions, but they do not fulfill the task for which the Retail Club was born.
We put into practice what people told us, trying to listen to the precious suggestions of the numerous members of the community, but maintaining the intimacy of the discussion meetings dedicated to single specific topics where innovators are invited to share their experiences.
Retailers responded with enthusiasm and the idea of the community has grown over time; we were asked to take it to other technological fields or adjacent vertical markets as well. The keystone was the birth of a cybersecurity community that had a quick and unexpected success. Hence the idea of going further and creating a community hub on digital innovation: the Digital Club.
The Digital Club draws from the positive experiences of the retail and cybersecurity communities, today it also includes the IoT and Legal communities and is developing those dedicated to CRM and Blockchain. With wnthusiasm we hope to aggregate other verticals and innovative technologies
Within the Digital Club, each community remains autonomous and with an ad hoc structure that best meets the needs of its members. The Digital Club aims to accelerate them and share best practices and encourage that contamination of ideas and projects to further enrich each individual work group.
In addition to the Digital Club website, we invite you to immediately follow the dedicated LinkedIn page. If you are interested in a community or would like to create a new one, drop us a line!
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