“Digital transformation” has become a mantra for many businesses. Many success stories underline how impactful digital transformation can be. However, the reports may leave out critical details regarding the preliminary steps a company needs to take and the internal issues that need to be resolved first.
If the proper groundwork doesn’t happen, a company may end up merely moving its problems from one platform to another, making the whole process a waste of time and money. To help, 12 experts from Forbes Technology Council detail some of the issues companies need to resolve before considering digitally transforming their processes.
1. Determine How It Will Benefit Your Business: I’d say that the approach is very straightforward. Before investing in any tech solution, you need to know exactly how it will drive your key performance indicators or bring more revenue. If you know the benefits, start the adoption, but track the effectiveness of the technology every step of the way. Otherwise, you’ll just waste money and valuable time. – Alexandr Galkin, Competera
2. Train Your Workforce In Machine Learning: Data is a must, although many businesses are not equipped to manage data in large (and fast-growing) volumes. Nor are their workforces trained to analyze it and transform findings into best-use cases. To make sense of ginormous data, Internet of Things products and services are focusing on technologies like machine learning and augmenting ML. Continuous workforce training in these areas is equally a must. – John McDonald, ClearObject
3. Build The Right Team For The Transition: Due to business process changes, projects can fail for many reasons. Have the business build a team with the right members. Many businesses think it is just about implementing the technology. But it involves many steps, including strategizing, planning, implementation, transition management, and post-transitional support. Building a highly qualified team with the right members is a critical step. – Sandy Huang, SunNet Solutions
4. Identify Your Long-Term Cloud Software Costs: With cloud business-to-business software solutions it is important to identify the long-term subscription costs. Many vendors have low-cost entry levels that seem innocuous, but after two to three years you realize you are spending a lot more than you expected. Cloud vendors can (after the initial contract term) increase prices, and many customers are too entrenched to walk. – Paul Barber, Prophix Software
5. Test The ‘How’ And ‘Why’: As with any plan, your digital strategy should be aligned top to bottom. Every tactic should support an overarching goal. Use “how” and “why” to stress-test the new technology: Your goal is to increase your accounting rate of return by 32%. How are you going to accomplish that? By implementing the new customer relationship management tool. Why are you implementing the new tech? To help you reach your goal. If the test doesn’t work both ways, don’t do it! – Christy Johnson, AchieveIt
6. Ensure It Will Serve The Customer: Transformations should include a clear problem statement in order to avoid chasing shiny objects, and the solution should pay dividends for the customer. Even an initiative to drive internal efficiency may free funds to invest more in the customer experience. Whether the outcome increases revenue, lowers costs or reduces risk, leaders should stay motivated to deliver long-term customer value. – Evan Kohn, Pypestream
7. Define The Business Case: It’s simple and obvious, but unfortunately, organizations continue to pilot digital solutions without the business case being clearly understood and aligned. This is the biggest reason projects get stuck in pilot purgatory. A business case needs to be defined prior to project implementation, metrics should be tracked during the pilot, and post-deployment assessments should be completed to ensure commitment to scale. – Randal Kenworthy, Cognizant
8. Know Your Objectives: In business, everything comes down to your objectives. They’re the most important factor to take into consideration before integrating new software systems into your organization or purchasing a new digital solution. Before exploring digital transformation, always be able to answer these questions: What do you want to achieve, and why? What’s your timeline and budget to do so? – Marc Fischer, Dogtown Media LLC
9. Consider Compliance And Risk: One of the most important things businesses must consider when it comes to digital transformation is compliance and risk. For example, financial institutions must adjust policies, processes, and systems to determine how to verify an applicant’s identity online or how to provide and document the receipt of disclosures electronically before digital transformation can occur. – Trisha Price, nCino
10. Avoid Technical Debt: You must always use caution when embracing new technology. The last thing you want is to add technical debt or a mountain of information that must be climbed to avoid losing productivity. If you go down the wrong path you risk losing your team’s and company’s productivity and can harm their evolution. So take care when embracing new technology. Don’t put yourself in too deep, where it will be tough to get out. – WaiJe Coler, InfoTracer
11. Thaw The ‘Frozen Middle’: Before digital transformation can occur, the “Frozen Middle” needs to embrace change. Often, there is a gap between transformative leaders and this conservative group of middle management. To bridge the gap, engage individual managers with WIIFY (“what’s in it for you”) sessions to illustrate how digital transformation is more than a set of tech initiatives and is focused more on the people involved. – Christopher Yang, Corporate Travel Management
12. Transform The Whole Culture: Digital transformations fail when the company is not transforming culturally as a whole. It’s true that the “digital transformation initiative” has a solid ring to it, but leadership has to take into account the underlying premises of kickstarting such initiatives in the first place. Companies that are successful in integrating the latest tech have consistently exhibited internal culture that is adapted for change. – Jahn Karsybaev, Prosource IT
originally posted on forbes.com
