Four failures to avoid in digital transformation

Here we look at the four ways this can happen.

Digital transformation rom the top down

To start with, businesses need to ensure that key decision makers and those responsible for budgets within the organization are aware of what the digital transformation – or innovation – will achieve. If there isn’t an understanding or an agreement on the goals and no buy-in from leadership, this particular project could just end up lost among all the others going on.

Presenting the opportunities this particular project will bring and relate it to growth will mean more support from leadership, because companies will prioritise projects that bring the most value. One particular example is showcasing new technology to replace common legacy hardware, which would result in faster transactions and therefore in cost savings.

Digital transformation means less haste for more speed

In the case of many companies which have had to evolve over the last 18 months, there can be the misunderstanding that digital transformation needs to be achieved quickly. This misconception means project teams may select the latest innovative solution for speed rather than the best one and that can result in delays down the line.

Over-enthusiasm can also result in big budgets thrown around in the rush to get ahead of competitors, risking the involvement of malicious actors taking advantage or the project taking too long to make a difference when any weak points are identified.

The solution is a phased approach, with the implementation of new technologies in clusters. If a business hasn’t got the ability to scale innovations appropriately, business leaders may spot a poor ROI and stop the project in its tracks. In order to achieve scalability, project leaders need to show how the transformation can deliver value to get support – for example freeing up certain staff for more important or interesting tasks.

A methodical staggered approach and delivering to stakeholders, a company will have more success in achieving its goals.

Specialist help and the right technology

It’s important to get the right specialist help when digital change presents various challenges, from data management to increased software costs. Without the right people in an organization and the right partners working on it, the project may struggle to come to fruition.

All involved need to work together and have the same goals. Without this, technology partners won’t know how to help. At the same time, the internal IT and business teams need support to be able to work effectively with their technology partners to achieve continuous business investment required for the project.

Add to this supporting technology which may be needed to improve productivity, especially with a distributed workforce. However, where possible, integrating it into existing technology will better deliver the cost savings investors want to see.

All aboard

Digital transformation can also falter if staff have difficulty with the new technologies, so engaging them fully with the changes needs to be ensured. This is achieved by providing the right training with the right technology. Digital transformation also doesn’t stop when the initial goal it was introduced for is met. This is because there’s always the expectations for such solutions to get better and therefore more innovation on the horizon.

The digital benefits outweigh the risks

And whereas the benefits of digital transformation - cost-cutting, streamlining and increased revenue are substantial – it is worth taking into account the above potential pitfalls for successful outcomes, whether that is a new digital business culture or practice.