Overcoming Major Obstacles to Digital Transformation Success
admin August 1, 2022 0 Comments

Overcoming Major Obstacles to Digital Transformation Success

For some years, businesses across industries have engaged in digital transformation programs. The Covid-19 pandemic did not initiate this movement, but it did hasten the need for enterprise-wide digital transformation. As a result, it appears that every business now has a toe in the water.

The pandemic also represented a turning point for many companies, pushing them to evaluate if what they were doing was indeed transformational and producing the desired benefits. Spending money on technological upgrades is a much smaller part of true digital transformation. It entails changing corporate practices, cultures, and strategies by leveraging technology as an enabler. It necessitates an ecosystem made up of a wide range of technologies, including cloud computing, AI and machine learning, data engineering, QA automation, DevOps/MLOps, AIOps, and a constant requirement for cross-functional communication amongst diverse stakeholders.

The procedure might be uncomfortable and disruptive. To move forward, it also needs a strong combination of people, a welcoming culture, and, most importantly, the capacity to make decisions in the face of uncertainty. It is hardly shocking that a Boston Consulting Group report claims that around 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail.

That basically indicates that even when an organization devotes a significant amount of resources—staff, money, and time—to the attempt, there are no noticeable results. The company hasn’t achieved the expected reductions in time to market, increased revenues, streamlined procedures, boosted productivity, or improved efficiencies.

Initiatives without a foundation in business objectives typically fail. Business and technology must collaborate well. The business side needs to be understood by engineering and technology, including how it makes money, its operating model, the technology foundations that support it, and the benefits of digital transformation for the firm.

In contrast, the company relies on the engineering team to provide wise recommendations regarding the technologies it should invest in and the returns it can reasonably anticipate from those investments. By utilizing accurate data, descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive capabilities using AI/ML in the business processes, and cloud archetype to foster innovation, shorten time to market, and scale quickly across geographies, the initiative should improve the organization’s capacity to respond to market forces with agility and speed.

Too many times, the misalignment of business and technology results in the failure of digital transformation programs. The business side is unaware of how investing in technology might enhance overall operations or be leveraged to gain a competitive edge. The technology side, on the other hand, is unable to serve as a trusted counsel because it is not fully aware of how the business functions.

To make matters worse, many firms lack the expertise and resources necessary to create the platforms required to capitalize on cutting-edge and new technology.

A digital transformation project must also have the backing of senior management. Employees typically dislike change, and many might feel that their jobs are in jeopardy. The business objectives and anticipated outcomes from the endeavor must be stated explicitly by top management.

Budget-based scenario planning, in which the organization allows a specific amount of funds for the effort and bases purchase decisions on that, is another reason for failure. The best strategy is to identify the technologies you’ll need to become digitally enabled, as well as the skills you’ll require, and then adjust your budget as necessary. Here are some crucial inquiries to make:

• What is our company’s business plan?

• What are the objectives of our business?

• What does the opposition do differently or more effectively?

• What technological advancements will enable us to promote high-quality goods more quickly, more effectively, and less expensively?

How To Define Success And Achieve It:

Understanding whether digital transformation initiatives are going in the right direction is crucial. The wise application of metrics is the best way to assess that. They consist of, but are not restricted to:

• The quickness with which businesses can launch new products on the market in an economical manner without compromising quality.

• Enhanced staff productivity and efficiency (producing more with the same or fewer employees) through the use of autonomous processes powered by AI or general process automation.

• Straining the organization’s risk posture while reducing overall technological sprawl.

Other important measures include a rise in automation, a decline in product flaws, a decrease in the requirement for rework, a rise in customer loyalty, and an increase in revenue per customer segment.

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