Going Digital? Here’s a Roadmap for a Successful Transformation

Featured image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

The year 2020 underscored the importance of going digital as millions of people spent their time in the online bubble. If you haven’t already fully transformed your organization digitally, there’s no time like present to consider doing so now.

To aid you in your efforts, here’s a roadmap to ensure a successful digital transformation.

Define the Scope of Your Digital Initiative

Before you can begin any digital transformation initiative, you must define the scope of the project. Only then you can map out a strategy for making your vision a reality.

You don’t have to figure out all the details at this point. However, it’s good to have a document with a rough outline of all the major aspects of that strategy.

Start by:

Determining your transformation vision.
Figuring out a strategy that will help your vision become a reality.
Finding out the scope of your present digital strategy.
Creating a roadmap that will communicate your vision with everyone else in the organization.

Identify Industry Drivers

Start by analyzing the current standing of things and where they are heading. Look from the perspective of your competitors and industry leaders. What are the areas where you excel and areas where you could use some improvement?

Examining drivers and industry trends can help you in that department. It will tell you ways in which you can establish a competitive edge and open new avenues for business. For instance, if your sector falls short in data sharing and real-time data mining, you should focus on building and developing this particular capability.

If you can successfully do that, you will have secured a strong edge over the competition. You will also have a greater likelihood of staying ahead.

Map Your Organization’s Current Digital Architecture

After getting a good grip on the industry and competitive landscape, next look at your organization’s current technological state. Compare that with where you need to be and wish to go.

Getting a good understanding of your architecture gives clarity of the direction in which you must push yourself. It also tells you where and how the data should flow.

Analyze Current Business Frictions and Gaps

Create a map of all your business processes. Look for areas that could use some optimization. Also consider areas that could use technological advancements to gain better efficiency. Be as specific as you can, and go as deep as possible with each project and process.

Only when you have a thorough understanding of everything that goes on in your organization will you know the impediments lying in the way of your technological transformation.

For a digital revolution to happen in your organization, you must think carefully about how you carry out your business. Often, that requires making significant changes in the structure of your organization to streamline different processes.

Support the Digital Culture

On the face of it, it may look like digital transformation is about technology only. Yet, this is not true at all. Essentially, it’s about completely changing the way a business operates and delivers value to its customers.

But that change is not possible in the absence of introducing a cultural change on a fundamental level.

That means the organization will have to continue experimenting. Everyone must expect and even welcome failures and continue to challenge the status quo from time to time. It’s an observation that digital culture mostly goes against acceptable norms and behaviors in a typical organization. This is particularly true for conservative industries such as insurance, banking, and the financial sector.

Therefore, you must develop an open mindset where experimenting is rewarded and failures are welcomed as learning experiences.

For example, take digital marketing. Digital transformation is a journey that will affect every part of your organization. It starts with a fundamental concept of being customer-centric in everything you do. This means employing digital channels.

For example, your organization may need to develop a social media strategy. Then there are all the other digital aspects to consider as well, including SEO for the company website, as well as online advertising, content marketing, and so on. The point is to reach a broader audience and better engage with current clients.

Moreover, one of the main factors of a successful digital transformation is consistency. Each of the steps you take should be successive and calculated beforehand. That is why it is so important to have a solid digital transformation plan.

Sell Your Vision to Upper Management

No matter how much you are sold on an idea, if you cannot convince upper management it can be hard to materialize anything.

In companies where upper management has an inherently suspicious attitude toward the latest technologies, it can be hard to sell digital initiatives. Things get even more difficult for companies that have tight financial constraints and a narrow approach.

However, without bringing the C-suite up to speed and ensuring that they develop the necessary digital savvy to comprehend both long- and short-term benefits of the digital transformation, things can be tough.

Talk to them about how advanced data analytics, machine learning, and process automation can change things for the better. Especially, explain that the cost will eventually be worth it.

Once they’re sold on the idea, reaching organizational goals will be a cakewalk.

Find Technology Partners That Are a Fit for Your Company

The success of your digital initiative will largely depend on the technology vendors you partner with. This because there can be a learning curve involved in moving from a pen-and-paper-based environment to processes that are more automation-oriented.

That’s why you must pick and choose your technology vendors carefully. Make sure they’re able to provide you with regular support and training so you can ease your way into your digital transformation successfully.

There are many companies that will guide you into picking the right agency project management software based on your project’s nature, scope, timeline, and more. Pick the right one for your company and your digital transformation will go more smoothly.