Digital transformation strategy: How to go about it?

 Digital transformation strategy: How to go about it?

Businesses are seeing major changes in the way they work after being exposed to the COVID-19 virus. Since it’s doubled as a catalyst for digital transformation, companies have had to make changes to stay safe and productive. Remote work has been helpful for the workplace, but organisations large and small have found that other ways of digitally engaging with their customers, employees, and supply chain can help them do better business.

Pretty much everyone is shifting to the internet: automotive dealerships, sales, grocery stores that offer pre-orders and pickups, manufacturers who source dynamically... and the need to act quickly have led to creative, but temporary solutions. The effects of the pandemic have made us all focus on digital transformation, which will help us achieve business outcomes.

Digital transformation means different things to different businesses. To succeed, an enterprise needs a company-wide digital strategy and an IoT (internet of things) strategy. Transformation is not something that you can do by yourself. It requires alignment and collaboration across your entire business, which includes investment dollars, priorities, measurement and metrics, and an implementation plan.

How do you go on about digital transformation?

There are five pillars that businesses need to succeed in digital transformation:

1. Your vision: Your company's vision should come from you, the CEO. The size and shape of your organisation will determine where to start when taking action on this idea. Consult with other members of your team. It’s crucial to create the foundation of what resources are needed, who will provide them, and any changes that will occur along the way. Such information should be agreed on by all and laid out in detail.

The best way to create a vision and strategy is to involve all employees in the creation process. There are different workshops and methodologies that can help you achieve this goal. Work together to develop a roadmap for future success. Your near-term work should result in short-term wins, while long-term goals should also be considered and you should plan accordingly.

2. Understanding your clients

Customers are the heart of your business. As you talk through your digital strategy, make sure they come first. What you decide on, based on your discussion, now needs to be tested. The best approach to your roadmap is to prioritise short-term gains with customers and cost savings while working on the new business model. Conducting the business model will most likely take more time, but it should be done at the same time.

3. Integrating new technologies

Technology has come to be a must-have for any business that deals with customers.

If you want to use outdated APIs and processes, you need to update your provider. You also need a plan for data clean up (which will take time) and be careful with legacy technology at the end of its life. All this means timing will be more relevant and your ability to surprise may increase considerably. New frameworks and technologies can be a good place to start, but it's also not something your current engineering team will be familiar with. Depending on the complexity, it may take some time for them to build up an understanding.

Ensure that everyone is clear about which teams are following which methodology and what the impact is on delivery.

4. Incremental progress

Every project must be outcome-based. When you already have data from a specific area of your business, establishing a baseline won't be too much of a hassle. For example, if you have metrics for conversion on your website and then you launch the new service, for each metric we will look at the time aligned with when the service was launched. These metrics may include: website traffic leads; physical store trafficIncorporating new business models can be challenging because they create a whole new set of metrics that are not easy to measure. Is incremental revenue coming in? Is it replacing revenue you're losing in other fields?

To improve the way your company is doing in the long term, you will have to work together with engineering teams. Visualizing measurements can encourage transparency and produce constructive feedback loops. IT metrics will vary based on the complexity of the work, the age of the systems, and other aspects. Transformation often involves multiple teams, for example, engineering, business architecture, and design. All team members need to understand how the development metrics are measured and shown and to be involved in them. The IT and OT teams will also need to understand the business metrics that are used.

5. Leadership

Good governance is the key to success, but now’s the time to start taking advantage of it. It’s time to use digital transformation tactics and make them work for your company. Putting everything on the table from the start is a good idea for ensuring a successful digital transformation. In fact, sharing your priorities, key drivers, and investment needs will allow you to align your team's resources and work together to create this great initiative.