Digital architecture of an organization is a prerequisite for its digital transformation.

According to Khatam University’s public relations and website department, the fourth national conference on digital transformation with the approach of "digital organization architecture" began on Tuesday, August 5, with the presence of experts and researchers in this field, as well as officials and senior managers of various organizations, and enthusiasts in this field.

On the first day of the conference—held at the amphitheater of Khatam University, organized by the Iran Management Association and hosted in collaboration with Khatam University—three lectures were delivered, followed by a specialized session on the future of smart industries.  

Dr. Majid Ghasemi, President of Khatam University, first honored the memory of the martyrs of the recent 12-day war and said: "I offer my condolences to the martyrs of the leaders of love and security, the leaders of love and science, and our compatriots in the brutal Israeli attack on our beloved country."

The chairman of the Fourth National Conference on Digital Transformation described digital architecture as a conceptual roadmap that defines an organization’s structure and performance metrics. He stated that digital architecture encompasses processes such as analysis, planning, design, and ultimately the implementation of analytics. It serves as a tool for aligning business and IT strategies and is considered essential for digital transformation in any organization.

He also listed changes in business models and processes, integration of emerging technologies, greater focus on agility and speed, customer-centric design, data-driven architecture, and creating and embracing cultural changes as the main frameworks for the impact of organizational architecture on digital transformation.

Speaking on the requirements for balanced development of the digital economy, Dr. Shahab Javanmardi—CEO of Pasargad Arian Information and Communication Technology Company (FANAP)—posed the question: Why is everyone talking about the digitalized economy these days, and is it just a passing trend? He cited examples to support his point, noting that China has emphasized the concept of “Digital China” in its 14th development plan, while Malaysia aims to become a digital development hub within ASEAN.

“The reality is that the digitalized economy began as a trend, initially visible through startups and emerging technologies. But today, it’s reshaping the entire economic landscape,” he added. “Just as industries were transformed by the steam engine, we are now witnessing a new revolution. Studies show that for every dollar invested in the digital economy, a country's GDP increases by $3.5.”

The CEO of FANAP, stating that different countries have tried to pay special attention to digitalizing their economies depending on their capacity and potential, emphasized: "Today, our digitalized economy does not even reach 8 percent, while the global average growth rate of the digitalized economy is 30 percent and in a country like China it is 42 percent. The impact and influence of industries on and from the digitalized economy is of course different, and it can be said that all financial and manufacturing industries have a high share in this impact and influence. Forecasts also indicate a share of $25 trillion in the digitalized economy in various industries by the end of 2025."

Javanmardi also considered focusing on the issue of the digitalized economy as a way and method to achieve justice in society and said: "If we are seeking justice in the country, we have no choice but to utilize the digital economy. Although we have been utilizing electronic and virtual services for years, this has only been a step towards the digital economy and not the digitalized economy. Moving towards the digitalized economy requires everyone to play a role, in addition to technology companies."

In a speech on the topic of digitalized governance in banking—transitioning from a disciplinary to a cognitive approach—Dr. Mojtaba Rais Safari, lecturer at Allameh Tabatabaei University, highlighted digitalization as a key issue in the broader field of digital transformation. He stated: “McKinsey statistics show that 70 percent of banks’ digital transformation projects fail. This is because the culture and style of governance have not evolved—we still operate within the framework of disciplinary governance.”

He added: "In contrast to this style of governance, we are faced with another type of governance called cognitive governance, whose theoretical and intellectual foundations include: organizational cognition theory, model, cognitive structuralism, and its connection with digital transformation. Digital transformation without transformation in culture and governance is doomed to failure."

At the same time, he considered it necessary to use both methods simultaneously, saying: "Cognitive governance increases efficiency and disciplinary governance ensures sustainability, and therefore the interaction between the two is very important."

Pointing out that most failures stem from epistemological errors rather than technological shortcomings, the university lecturer added: “Digital transformation truly begins by redefining the questions we ask ourselves in pursuit of change. As long as banks focus on a revolution in technology instead of a revolution in thinking, we should expect the 70 percent failure rate in digital transformation projects not only to persist—but potentially rise to 100 percent.”

Continuing the first day of the Fourth National Digital Transformation Conference, a panel titled “The Future of Smart Industries: Smartization Solutions and Technologies in Government and Public Sector Industries” was held. The panel featured Dr. Hamidreza Ahmadian, Head of Artificial Intelligence and Smart Government Development at the National Administrative and Employment Organization; Dr. Mahmoud Liai, Postdoctoral Researcher in Business Management at Tarbiat Modares University and former Deputy Minister of Communications and Chairman of the Post Company; and Engineer Reza Rajai, Researcher in Artificial Intelligence at the Automobile Institute. The session was co-chaired by Dr. Mohammadreza Atefi, Faculty Member of Industrial Engineering at Islamic Azad University.

Dr. Ahmadian, responding to a question about whether the government has established the necessary infrastructure for digitalized businesses and its strategy in artificial intelligence, emphasized that while the intention is there, immediate change should not be expected. He stated: “The first step we took in the new administration was to review the smart government roadmap, which led to the organization of the  system called 'Foad'. Through this process, we discovered that our architectural frameworks were fundamentally flawed. Therefore, our current view is that all administrative systems in the country must adopt a digitalized architecture.”

Dr. Liaei, reflecting on his tenure in the 13th government, noted that digital transformation was a central priority. He shared: “Our first initiative was launching a DBA course tailored for the Post Company’s managers, which yielded excellent results. We also designed 300 smartization projects across the company’s four main processes, 50 of which were implemented during my term. Additionally, we developed a digital transformation document, which ultimately led to the Post Company being recognized as the top productive institution in 2023, with a 30 percent increase in productivity.”

Engineer Reza Rajaei, in response to a question about leveraging intelligent technologies to create competitive advantages, presented findings from his research on the application of artificial intelligence in the automotive industry.

It is recalled that, following the decision of the government to close Wednesday (August 6) in Tehran province, according to the announcement of the Iranian Management Association, in line with fulfilling social responsibility and respecting citizens' rights, the second day of the Fourth National Digital Transformation Conference has been postponed from August 6 to August 12 from 8:30 to 13.