Global spending in digital transformation is expected to reach $1.7 trillion at the end of this year, a 42 percent increase from 2017, according to research firm IDC. While this figure illustrates how serious organizations are in adopting technology, it is alarming to note that companies still fail in the venture.
MANILA, Philippines — In an international survey, 450 heads of digital transformation efforts admitted that 90 percent of their digital projects failed to meet expectations and only delivered incremental improvements. Why? Because they lacked agility when developing new applications. Note that most of the said respondents are from enterprises, which have a large pool of resources at their disposal, and yet they still fail to meet their goals.
This boils down to a company’s mindset as it goes through digital transformation. If the plan is to just install new technology and expect it to work on its own, it will most likely fail. While infrastructure and technology are clearly important considerations, digital transformation is as much about the people and changing the way they approach business problems and where they look to find solutions. To put it simply, a digital mindset is as important as the technology. There are many tools to choose from, but if a company doesn’t have the proper mindset, all of it will mean nothing.
Cloud, big data, and artificial intelligence are some of the digital forces disrupting the world today, affecting every aspect of life and business. For organizations to thrive, they must first be able to create and implement a mindset that accounts for the major shifts caused by these forces, lest they become overwhelmed and fall short of their goals, as the case of the aforementioned respondents shows.
A digital mindset is not merely the ability to use technology. Rather, it is the attitude and behavior that enables people and organizations to foresee possibilities and opportunities. By instilling a digital mindset, an organization can reap the innumerable benefits of digital transformation, which include but are not limited to the following:
• A culture of collaboration
Using new technology cultivates collaboration in the workplace. This is often a central component of successful digital transformations: leveraging programs that enable and enrich collaboration from anywhere, on any device, at the same time. Allowing peers to work in this manner allows for collaboration beyond traditional face-to-face interactions and e-mail, and also reduces barriers that impede productivity. New and dynamic experiences such as cloud-based file sharing will create a productive and collaborative culture.
• Improved efficiency and flexibility
Digital organizations move faster than traditional ones, and new technologies help speed up decision-making. A major benefit of any digital transformation initiative is the streamlining of existing processes to support newer, more efficient business capabilities. New digital platforms minimize disruptions on day-to-day productivity and allow IT staff to focus on higher-priority projects. Imagine if IT personnel could spend less time responding to end user requests and more time on initiatives that will help move the company forward. Workers also becomes more productive as they garner new competencies around modern application capabilities.
• Faster time to deliver
Enhanced collaboration and productivity also come with higher chances of quickly bringing out new products in the market. Better teamwork with others can quicken the refinement of ideas that result into action, which is critical when a company wants to release something before all others do. Moreover, peers can instantly validate whether an idea will have merit and help build upon that idea while at the same time making production faster.
• Data-driven customer service
An extraordinary customer experience leads to strong customer loyalty, bigger sales, and more new customers. Fortunately for enterprises and small businesses, digital technology has brought them closer to customers than ever before.
Using Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software has become a popular approach in collecting and analyzing information from customers. Companies utilize this to store contact information, accounts, leads, and sales opportunities in one central location. Data analytics then provides a better understanding of customers’ preference and behavior, allowing businesses to improve their product and service offerings and ultimately affect the bottomline in the affirmative.
Now, it’s up to top management to act as digital role models for the rest of the company. They must lead the way and be open to all opportunities. Only then will others follow suit, and the company can fulfill the much-needed agility to successfully integrate new technologies and make the most out of them. — Niño Valmonte is the director for Marketing and Digital Innovation at IPC