Taking your digital transformation strategy to the next level
Digital transformation has entered the lexicon of many companies over the past couple of years. Business leaders have been jumping feet-first into embracing technologies, excited by the prospect of a digital-first approach transforming how they operate.
While the pace of investment in digital transformation has accelerated, thanks to a combination of the pandemic and supply chain challenges, some companies may end up getting ahead of themselves. The consequence of this is that many firms may find that their digital transformation strategy hits a brick wall.
“Digital transformation isn’t a process that takes you from A to B to unlock radical growth. Businesses that engage in one-time digital transformation projects invariably end up disappointed when they’ve spent a larger-than-expected budget over a longer-than-expected period, and their business hasn’t transformed,” says James Addlestone, chief strategy officer at performance marketing agency Journey Further.
Instead of thinking of digital transformation as a “one-off radical change”, companies need to see it as “a constantly changing and evolving mission,” argues Glenn Griggs, director of sales at Ricoh UK.
Approaching it in this way and not as having a fixed end point, will help companies to successfully navigate the stages of digital transformation. “There will always be more to do,” Griggs adds.
This mindset is critical if companies want to take their digital transformation to the next level. But there are other things to consider.
Successful digital transformation projects require a defined purpose. From a strategic standpoint, this means all parts of a business need to be aligned. But the mistake some companies will make is digitising different parts of the business without joining them up.
Optimising siloed functions has “some tactical relevance” but will likely lead to the transformation being “compromised further down the road”, says David Hughes, solutions consulting director at PTC, a technology specialist supporting companies in multiple industries along their digital transformation journey.
Data and how it can be accessed by every part of a business should be at the heart of a strategy. A 2020 survey of 800 IT leaders from around the world, by MuleSoft, found that 89% of respondents cited data silos as an obstacle to reaching digital transformation targets.
“Getting your digital house in order is about removing the silos that different departments operate in and creating a digital thread of information that flows through the entire business,” says Hughes. “This should help to identify the issues and opportunities in each area and work through how digital transformation can have a positive impact.”
Once companies have improved the flow of data through their business, they need to consider how trustworthy the data is, observes Shaun Connolly, head of international strategic services at software company Precisely. “Analysis is only as good as the data it’s based on, and the cost of getting that data wrong is now greater than ever too.”
If companies want to improve the insights they have access to and, in turn, take digital transformation to the next level, then “a strong foundation of data integrity, where the data is accurate, consistent and provides the right context” – is a must, Connolly adds.
Driving actionable insights that can help to take digital transformation projects to the next level requires more than investing in the latest technologies, though.
A common misconception is that digital transformation starts with the IT department. Companies identify a function or process that needs improving, buy the technology hoping it will be a game-changer and then get the IT department to start the systems integration work. Yet the technology might not deliver the desired results because the impact on the wider business wasn’t considered from the start.
“Digital is only part of the story.
