COVID-19 has accelerated the imperative for digital transformation. But exactly what does this really mean nowadays? We get the interior line from Martin Biggs, V . p . and General Manager for EMEA at Spinnaker Support – A worldwide software support provider.
Although it might appear just like a 21st century phenomenon, the roots of digital transformation could be traced back to 1947, once the first working transistor was invented. Since then, every aspect of our way of life – the way you work, play and function on a day-to-day basis – has been digitally transformed. Today, we have reached the point where almost everything we do involves some component of digital technology.
So, when we've already come so far in terms of digital transformation, why are so many businesses still daunted through the prospect?
Pressure, promises and purpose
In our post-COVID-19 world, there's a real urgency round the digital transformation messaging that businesses are now being bombarded with. Expert articles exhort the requirement for change. Scientific papers push new technologies. Software vendors promise the planet.
This could be stressful and confusing. At Spinnaker Support we frequently talk to business leaders who're feeling under huge pressure to make wholesale digital change without fully comprehending the business objectives. The result? They attempt digital transformation programmes which involve scores of activity but deliver little real value.
Before beginning any digital transformation, you have to be absolutely clear about its purpose. The way it help you make probably the most of technology, people and processes? Consequently, how will it enhance your business's efficiency, collaboration and interconnectivity?
Digital transformation can be fantastic: however it has to be purposeful.
A journey, not a destination
It 's time for businesses to stop and take stock of their approach to digital transformation.
The first thing to understand is the fact that within our world of constant change, digital transformation is really a journey, not really a destination. Just 15 years ago, Netflix was a DVD postal service and Skype was all the rage! The best we can expect is to be as digitally up to date as you possibly can.
In light of this, stand back and have a clear-sighted look at what you are already doing. Do all of your existing digital programmes still serve the need for that they were commissioned? Releasing pet projects could be painful, but it is important to recognise when they're past their sell-by date and stop tying up budgets needlessly.
Next, find out the business benefits you particularly have to achieve right now. How can digital transformation enable you to:
- Meet your customers' expectations better?
- Improve collaboration and ways of working across the business?
- Deliver new data insights to improve your decision making?
Finally, make sure you consider and factor in the full implications of what you're doing. Ultimately, it's people who deliver business benefits, and they will only achieve this if they're aboard using what you're doing. Anticipate to offer the technological change by purchasing and updating processes, operations, organisational structure and equipment.
Software solutions
Which just leaves the technology itself – after 20 years within the software industry, my particular preoccupation! Make poor software choices and your digital transformation is doomed to failure, regardless of the quality of the people and procedures you devote place.
Many companies I talk to approach digital transformation as if they have a blank sheet of paper. Actually, most have already made huge investments in IT and therefore are running perfectly effectively on existing technology. If solutions work, are secure and familiar, it's senseless to upgrade them for upgrade's sake. Keep software that's working for you and supplement it with mix-and-match solutions that build on your current systems.
Take time for you to look at alternative software publishers and service providers. There's growing purchase of the open source software market there are some extraordinarily high-quality products out there. Do not let yourself to be railroaded through the big software players and do not panic to interrupt away if the benefits are evident. Opting for third-party software support is a great illustration of this; customers often are not aware that moving away from the vendor's support service is a choice, not to mention that it may result in 60% financial savings. Savings like these could be reinvested in targeted digital transformation, creating business benefits and much more profit, for reinvestment in other projects.
Finally, be skeptical of vendors creating 'walled gardens' – software environments that tie you right into a range of products and services. A one-size-fits-all proposition might seem an easy, cost-effective option, but in the long term you can pay heavily both financially as well as in relation to lack of choice. Enlist the aid of licensing experts to make sure that you aren't signing away your rights or just being coerced into meeting unlawful demands. Caution at the outset pays dividends down the road.