At a time when many established companies are struggling to remain competitive, it’s clear that fundamental change is in order. Some established companies have found a path that works — they are surviving, thriving, and going head-to-head with an onslaught of fast-moving startups that seem to multiply overnight. What lessons have these companies learned that others need to embrace?
Digital transformation requires a new approach to strategy.
A key tenet of digital transformation is the understanding that digital strategy no longer plays a supporting role for business strategy. It is given first consideration, which determines other elements of the broader business plan. Without building on the basis of a digital operating model, there is no way to ensure alignment among a company’s digital initiatives. This is why so many digital transformation initiatives don’t live up to expectations, or even fail altogether. Pursuing a mobile app here or a big data program there is not establishing the core digital strategy on which to build the future business. It’s time to think of business strategies for a digital world — rather than thinking of a stand-alone “digital” strategy.
Digital transformation requires new strengths.
Operational excellence, customer intimacy, or product leadership — successful companies excel in one dimension and perform well in the others. That may change as a company undergoes a digital transformation. Financial services and insurance offer good examples of this shift. While some banks and insurers were known for their service or products, most have long focused on operating as efficiently as possible. To succeed in the digital economy, companies in these industries are finding it necessary to make a shift.
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Digital transformation requires digital leaders.
Digital disruption is rewriting job descriptions too, especially for the CIO. Leadership teams, recognizing that technology’s supporting role has changed, have also reordered their thinking about digital leadership. Internal departments and employees were once seen as the CIO’s customers. Today, as they divest themselves of IT delivery, CIOs are as focused on the external business customers as are other members of the C-suite. IT delivery is becoming ever more commoditized and divested, giving CIOs the opportunity to try new things and to play a leading role in digital transformation.
In companies where this shift is not recognized, many of today’s digital initiatives fall short of their potential. They remain tactical in approach and lack a cohesive strategic focus. The digital world requires a CIO with the vision to see emerging changes and opportunities, and the leadership to transition and transform organizations. The visionaries and winners have seen the opportunities, addressed the challenges, and adapted to the expectations of the digital customer, while those with less flexible minds, cultures, and business models are rapidly falling away.
Digital transformation requires enterprise alignment.
Digital transformation presents immense commercial opportunities, but even when an enterprise recognizes the potential, it is not guaranteed. To realize the true potential of the digital transformation, enterprise strategy, culture, people, and processes must be fully aligned. The digital world is far more transparent and ruthlessly revealing of weaknesses and flaws in strategy and execution. Old-fashioned silos, defensive thinking, and lack of organizational agility are incompatible with business models based on delivering better experiences to increasingly empowered and demanding customers. Without such alignment, many initiatives will fail to achieve their potential.
Digital transformation requires a new breed of technology partner.
Mastering big data. Divesting IT infrastructure and transferring workloads to the cloud. Developing an ecosystem of partners. Implementing a digital-first strategy. These are just a few of the challenges to be addressed in the process of digital transformation. Each of these business transformation areas is so completely intertwined with the others that organizations need a new type of agile technology partner.
The traditional reactive vendor relationship needs to become one of proactive partnership in which the technology partner has a complete understanding of the Industry Perspective
business and the technology challenges facing the client. Indeed, more than just understanding, the technology partner must have the ability to leverage a broad ecosystem of its own partners to facilitate the client’s digital journey — top to bottom, edge to edge, and beyond.
The way ahead.
Companies planning for a future beyond the next few years need to take stock of their transformational strengths and weaknesses. Wholesale transformation will be needed to streamline operations, to develop new businesses that serve new customer needs, and to shed those businesses that no longer meet the company’s growth objectives — even businesses that were once considered core.
Transformation on this scale can be a long process. It will involve many challenges. But the opportunities it offers are unprecedented. The wins enjoyed will be significant. And no enterprise needs to take on all these challenges alone.
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