Top 5 Reasons Business Transformations Could Put You in Foul Trouble
Digital transformation is fast becoming the mantra for IT executives around the world and continues to trend upward. According to Foundry’s 2021 digital business study, 52% of organizations have adopted a “digital-first” approach, while another 39% plan to or have begun implementation of a digital transformation strategy. Collectively, this means that 91% of organizations are moving toward this approach.
Not surprising, considering that digital transformation is increasingly seen as a business must-have due to the enhanced productivity, greater efficiencies, reduced time-to-market, improved customer service, and other benefits that digitalization can bring. Many organizations are gaining competitive advantage through digital transformation which refers to incorporating computer and internet-based technologies, along with other digital solutions, into business processes. According to research from Gartner, 56% of CEOs say digital improvements have increased revenue.
While a plethora of organizations have initiated digitalization plans, the path to reaching those goals haven’t been easy. In fact, many of these efforts fail. According to BCG research, 70% of digital transformations fall short of their objectives, often with major consequences.
Why does this happen? Many factors can affect this important process. Here are five key issues that can derail digital transformation initiatives:
Lack of Leadership Buy-in
As with most technology initiatives, C-suite support is key to driving digital transformation forward, particularly given the far-reaching impacts it can have on employees. The company’s leadership needs to be unwavering and crystal clear in their backing of the initiative; otherwise, managers and front-line workers may not give it the time, attention and effort needed for implementation. People are naturally averse to change, but CEOs can be instrumental in helping employees adopt the “change” mindset needed for successful transformations. C-suite buy-in is also pivotal in ensuring proper funding for the effort.
Failure to Align with Business Objectives
In planning a digital transformation, IT leaders need to line up the project’s goals with the company’s business objectives. Put more simply, IT project planners must know the problems the business is trying to solve and ensure that their planned results sync up with the outcomes the business strives to achieve. Those business objectives may vary widely from speeding time to market to cutting production costs. Whatever they may be, ensuring that both IT and company leadership are on board with those goals is essential to project success.
Lack of a Detailed Project Plan
A clear and well-defined project plan – along with excellent project management as the plan moves forward – is crucial to the success of digital transformation. Project management provides a structure for planning, execution, and performance monitoring that keeps things on track and ensures that any difficulties are detected and managed swiftly. This approach also maintains project momentum, enhances quality control, and ensures that transformation efforts stay within scope and budget and with the right resources in place.
Complex Technology – Digital Skills Gap
Enterprise software is inherently complex. An insufficient depth or breadth of digital skills across the organization is another common digital transformation challenge. For many organizations, this can be a major issue – both from an implementation and data integration perspective, as well as from an end-user experience perspective. Leaders should consider this when in the early stages of a transformation project, and seek out the most intuitive, integrated systems. In addition, access to core specialist competencies in areas such as enterprise architecture, cybersecurity, cloud, analytics, and digital experience design are vital to successful digital transformation programs.
Poor Onboarding Processes
Poor onboarding processes can cause trouble for even the best of digital transformation projects. Training program opportunities for internal users need to be heavily communicated and attendance is encouraged. While many of today’s digital technologies are easier to use and more intuitive than older systems, it is still important to provide user training and onboarding to relieve employee fears or anxieties and also to ensure that the new systems are used to their full potential.
LightEdge Can Help
Digital transformation is a challenging process and many organizations don’t succeed in meeting their project objectives. Fortunately, LightEdge is here to help. LightEdge has been the leader in compliant cloud and colocation for more than 25 years and we have special expertise in digital transformation. If you would like to learn more about how LightEdge can help your organization advance in its digital journey, please contact us at www.lightedge.com/contact-us/.
