//////////////////////
FINAL WORD
The steps needed
to break your Digital
Transformation
paralysis
When you think of words that often creep into business
meetings without much context or substance, Digital
Transformation is probably top of the pile. Here, Tom Needs,
COO, Node4, demystifies Digital Transformation and explains
what yours might actually look like, as well as how to find
the right path for your business.
T
he words ‘what’s our Digital
Transformation strategy?’ are
enough to strike fear into the heart
of many an IT leader. One of the biggest
challenges of Digital Transformation is
the fact that the term has been so widely
applied. It’s now something of a cliché, or
as Forrester suggests, has ‘come to mean so
many things that it’s almost meaningless.’
Nevertheless, it has become the driver of so
much change in the global economy that it
takes a brave business to not have a Digital
Transformation plan.
Digital Transformation is very real –
figures from Gartner reveal that 79% of
corporate strategists say it is ‘reinventing
their business’. But what it actually means
will be different for every organisation
and therefore plotting the right path to
achieving a shared understanding within
the business and getting buy-in to a Digital
Transformation plan depends on being clear
on definition, purpose and constraints.
Stepping back briefly from the technology
helps. As the Enterprisers Project CIO
community says: ‘Love it or not, the
business mandates behind the term – to
rethink old operating models, to experiment
more, to become more agile in your ability
to respond to customers and rivals – aren’t
going anywhere’.
84
INTELLIGENTCIO
By adopting these three core principles,
businesses can begin to refine their
approach and discover what Digital
Transformation means for them – not for
everyone else – and how to find the right
way forward. That’s no easy task, but here
are five further steps to think about.
Digital Transformation is
business transformation
Before embarking on any Digital
Transformation strategy, it’s vital to start by
understanding your key business drivers and
strategic priorities. Digital Transformation
is not a technology box-ticking exercise
and any strategy must focus on business
objectives and explain how Digital
Transformation will benefit the business.
More broadly, you also need to gauge
what level of change your organisation
can effectively resource and drive. This is
important because change brought about
by Digital Transformation is so much more
than technology upgrades or increased IT
investment. Research published by McKinsey
illustrates the considerable effort required,
arguing that technology is ‘only one part
of the story’. Success depends on some
radical activity, from re-imagining the
workplace and upgrading the organisation’s
‘hard wiring’, to changing the way you
communicate. Not only do businesses need
www.intelligentcio.com