34 THE TAKEAWAYS * A key factor in successful digital transformation is the creation of a service-oriented and customer-centric culture in the IT function. * Developing strong ties with your internal business customers is crucial to understanding the needs of your organization's external customers. * In the development arena, the open sharing of data and knowledge helps replicate throughout an entire region successful initiatives that can benefit others. digitalization and new technologies that could benefit our clients in various countries. We might not know everything about every technology, but we try to help them learn from our experiments. That means creating alliances and ecosystems with people outside the bank and even outside the regions where we operate. If I've learned one lesson at the IDB, it's this: Whenever you feel that an institution is slow and bureaucratic, always stop to check who is moving slowly-you or the institution? And our digital journey has only just begun. We have plans for projects like our Technology Innovation Lab, which is a one-stop shop where people within IDB and from our customers can exchange challenges, ideas, and solutions. It's too early to point to dramatic results of this project. But I am excited about the pace of change in areas such as machine learning and the Internet of Things and the potential for enhancing the speed and effectiveness of sustainable development in Latin America and the Caribbean.