The Human Side of Digital Transformation

Digital inclusion isn’t just a technical issue. It’s about equality, opportunity, and human dignity.

A Tale of Two Tuesdays

On a regular Tuesday, Cristina wakes up and checks the news on her phone, pays a few bills, helps her children connect to online classes, books a trip to visit her brother abroad, and joins a Zoom meeting from her couch.

That same Tuesday, Sheila, who recently moved from the UK to Belgium after years of unemployment, worries about how she’ll afford a tablet for her children’s remote schooling. She’s just received a second letter, in a language she barely understands, threatening to cut her electricity, before starting her two-hour commute to work.

“The digital divide is real, technology has transformed lives for many, but left others behind.”

The Unequal Impact of Digitalisation

While technology has improved lives and opened new possibilities, it has also created barriers for those unable to access or afford it.

Some people enjoy convenience, flexibility, and access to resources. Others face unplanned expenses, confusing systems, and exclusion from essential public services such as healthcare and education.

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a broader trend: digitalisation now shapes nearly every aspect of daily life. It helps societies become more efficient, connected, and resilient, yet it has also deepened social and economic inequalities.

The rise of the sharing economy already revealed how technology can create precarious work. The pandemic exposed an even starker divide: those with digital access and those without.

Byfar’s Commitment to Inclusive Digital Services

At Byfar, we believe every digital solution should be human-centred, inclusive, and fair.

When advising public administrations, we promote digital inclusion principles that ensure no one is left behind.

We also address related challenges such as:

• Discrimination and racism in access to technology,

• Online hate speech and cyberbullying,

• And the rise of online fraud targeting vulnerable users.

Our approach to non-discriminatory digital services goes beyond technical design. We involve policymakers early and focus on the key barriers that perpetuate exclusion.

Seven Barriers We Must Overcome

1. Infrastructure and connectivity: ensuring reliable internet access for rural and remote areas.

2. Affordability: making digital access financially sustainable for low-income households.

3. Digital literacy: empowering citizens to use technology confidently and safely.

4. Language accessibility: designing services that reflect Europe’s linguistic diversity.

5. Awareness and outreach: helping people understand and trust digital public services.

6. Simplicity and usability: reducing complexity that discourages engagement.

7. Alternative channels: maintaining offline options for those unable or unwilling to go digital.

Building an Inclusive Digital Future

We recognise that digital inclusion cannot happen overnight. Many barriers are structural, requiring policy change and long-term investment.

But the pandemic has shown that technology can unite as well as divide, and that now is the time to act.

“Digital transformation should reduce inequality, not amplify it.”

At Byfar, we’re committed to helping public institutions build accessible, equitable, and citizen-centred digital services that make technology work for everyone.

At Byfar, we design technology for people, not the other way around.