Digital transformation: Getting beyond the hype
Digital transformation remains a difficult concept to deliver on. The core idea is to use technology not just to replicate an existing service in a digital form, but to transform that service into something significantly better.
While the idea might seem simple, there remain significant differences between the vision and the reality of rethinking business processes. Here four CIOs give their best-practice tips for delivering business benefit that sticks.
“I have a real thing about the phrase ‘digital transformation’ — what is it? Did we have paper transformation? Did we have bricks and mortar transformation, or metal transformation?” says Chris O’Brien, CIO at the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC).
He does, however, see the benefits of digital-led business change that can improve operations and customer experiences.
“For me, transformation in our organisation is about key business concerns, such as how can we sell more tickets, how can we improve audience engagement, and how we can reduce costs,” says O’Brien.
But he warns that CIOs must be careful to avoid the creation of a silo, where people label their work as digital and then create a separate department. “You want people across your organisation, whether that’s IT, content managers, or producers, working together,” he says.
“I feel that overuse of the word ‘digital’ can be counterproductive. Get your organisation to work together. Set up a digital transformation team, by all means, but make sure that group has clear business goals and that it comprises people from across the organisation.”
Ian Cohen, CIO at Addison Lee Group, is another digital leader who is concerned that technology professionals are spending too much time considering the semantics of change rather than delivering services. “We’re still talking about what digital transformation is — why are people still wasting time arguing about definitions?” he says.
That is something Cohen is keen to avoid in his role at Addison Lee. Appointed as group CIO last July, he now has responsibility for all product and technology activities at the transportation company. Cohen says this focus on products means recognising everything that his business does is directly related to creating great customer experiences.
He says technology is simply one of the various building blocks necessary to create new and ongoing value for the organisation. While digital leaders often focus on being the catalysts for this value creation, Cohen prefers a different concept, where successful digital leaders are defined by their ability to deliver the benefits of digital transformation on an ongoing basis.
“A catalyst is useful for bringing two inert substances together and creating something different. But at the end of that process, it disappears. So, you don’t really want a career as a catalyst. It could be fun for a while, but not over the long-term. It’s also a strategic truth that if you want to ‘be’ something, work out what that is, and then go and ‘do’ things to get there,” he says.
Cohen says problems occur when CIOs fail to establish clear objectives. He says too many people are running around trying to ‘do’ digital transformation, with no idea what they want to ‘be’ as a result. At Addison Lee, Cohen’s aim is to use technology to deliver engaging services for customers — passengers, bookers, and drivers — and he advises other CIOs to also focus on clear outcomes for their digital transformation projects.
“In my company, we are continually building and deepening our reputation as the premium ground-transport provider.
