Digital transformation (DX) has become a buzzword in the business world, with promises of increased customer satisfaction, revenue, and profit. However, many companies find themselves disappointed with the outcomes of their digital strategies. This blog post explores some of the reasons why DX often falls short and suggests ways to ensure a successful transformation.

Lack of a Unifying Strategy

A major reason why DX often fails is the lack of a unifying strategy. Simply adding new technology is not enough. The strategy should focus on transforming the way the business thinks about business and defining the desired future state. Goals and outcomes should have a roadmap and a timeline, and the project scope and responsibilities should be clearly defined and assigned.

Internal Resistance

Assigned responsibilities can never be fulfilled if there is internal resistance. Many DX projects fail because of this. The first step is for the CEO to fully back the strategy and then to make sure every person involved realizes the potential of the technology that comes with DX. People trust and stick to what they know and need to be convinced that the benefits of change will outweigh the efficiency and comfort of the status quo.

Siloed Technology

Digitizing silos often results in disappointment, as businesses add digital systems and applications, their technology stack becomes entangled. Siloed technology results in fragmented user experiences and wasted resources. Successful transformation requires a cross-functional approach, and organizations should invest in a connective foundation, such as a digital transformation platform (DXP) to unify legacy systems, existing databases, and third-party systems into a single platform.

Data Management

85% of businesses are failing to effectively leverage data to power their DX initiatives. Siloed data prevents DX by preventing in-depth data analysis, limiting the view of data across departments. It is essential to have a central repository of data that can be easily accessed and managed across the organization. Data that is stored across different databases leads to inconsistent data and duplicates work across the organization.

Scalability

The technology architecture that a company invests in should be modern, modular, and driven by business needs, to enable secure and scalable performance that can handle and adapt to rapid change. It is crucial for businesses to look for holistic, organization-wide solutions that can build towards a long-term, sustainable strategy.

Digital technologies provide possibilities for efficiency gains and business and profit growth. However, organizations need to ensure that their digital strategies have a unifying strategy, cross-functional collaboration, effective data management, and scalable technology architecture to ensure a successful transformation. With a clearly defined guiding strategy, connective tools, and a cohesive workforce, organizations can operate more efficiently and innovatively within the potential of the new technology that comes with digital transformation.

For more information, contact Greenraven Ventures at hello@greenraven.co.za, or connect on LinkedIn.