Understanding the Digital Transformation Puzzle

By its nature, Digital Transformation (Dx) relies on new and reimagined technology approaches and solutions with a goal of modifying and optimizing products, services and business processes. Among the digital strategies in place in businesses, is the addition of tools and technology for artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing.

‘The Digital Transformation process takes time to implement and, while there are numerous benefits to this approach, like any sweeping enterprise initiative it will take time to reap the benefits.’

According to Altimeter, 51% of Digital Transformation initiatives stem from growth opportunities. This is not surprising. Businesses do not readily invest their resources in things that do not offer reasonable returns. McKinsey research indicates that 38% of executives plan to invest more in technology to make it their competitive advantage. This research is validated by new investments and a focus on Digital Transformation (Dx) within the strategic plans of many large and small companies.

New technologies are an integral piece of digital transformation, as is the cultural shift and the changes to business processes that are inherent in automating and streamlining these processes. While this article does not focus on the cultural or process changes required, you can find more information on those topics in the article, ‘Plan for and Execute Digital Transformation, and Succeed’.

In this article, we focus on a few of the obstacles and areas of resistance you will face as you plan for your Digital Transformation (Dx) initiative.

Disparate, Disconnected Technology – Your existing technologies can create some issues if you do not have a good strategy for integration and streamlining. Putting these together into a smooth process that can support users and processes takes some planning. Systems and solution management can be complicated and the organization must address these issues if they are to succeed.

Timing and Speed of Returns – Set expectations with management, IT and the user organization. The Digital Transformation process takes time to implement and, while there are numerous benefits to this approach, like any sweeping enterprise initiative it will take time to reap the benefits. Know that you are investing in the future of the organization and focus on that future.

Project Management – Digital Transformation has many benefits and it is well worth the investment of time and energy to implement this strategy. But it isn’t enough to just commit on paper. Did you know that 70% of these Dx initiatives will fail (or fail to reach their full potential)? Most of these failures are because the process itself was not well managed and the business did not do enough advance planning. If your IT team is doing the planning, they may fail to consider customer issues and access, team member expectations, or conflicting strategic initiatives that will affect timing and availability of funds. If management does all the planning, they may not know all the middle management and location-specific technology or process issues. The message here is to involve a cross-section of roles and levels within the organization.

Knowing where to look to get a sense of a) existing challenges and b) the practical considerations of executing a Digital Transformation (Dx) initiative, will set the table for a more successful outcome and allow you to begin planning your project with more insight.

‘New technologies are an integral piece of digital transformation, as is the cultural shift and the changes to business processes that are inherent in automating and streamlining these processes.’

If you need a roadmap to Dx, take a look at our White Paper for more details on the factors to consider in planning and deploying a Digital Transformation (Dx) initiative: Preparing Your Business For Digital Transformation And Data Literacy. We have lots of resources and support to get you started on your Digital Transformation (Dx) initiative.