The short answer is “No”.
Maybe Digital Transformation started as a buzzword, but most buzzwords generate from real challenges that businesses are facing today. There is no doubt that the advent of technology has raised expectations of customers, which has led to increased market competition that is now inspiring businesses to embrace the new digital way. In addition, digital disruption is no longer an anomaly that changed the way the Retail industry operated; it is a concept that has turned into a global movement across industries and businesses.
It is time for us to stop wondering if digital transformation is a buzzword used only by IT press and marketing teams and accept that Digital Transformation is a necessity for any business that wants to stay competitive in today’s technology landscape.
Canadian businesses are coming to better understand this reality. The upward trend of businesses aligning their business strategy to embrace a digital mindset is seeing strong growth. IT World Canada highlighted findings from a recent IDC research where Canadian companies are planning a 20 percent year over year increase in spending on technologies and services relating to digital transformation – that’s just over $16 billion. However, with terms like Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data making the rounds in the technology landscape, it is easy to get lost in the noise of what’s most important when it comes to starting an organisation’s digital transformation journey.
The more relevant question is: What is Digital Transformation and what does it mean for my organisation? According to global research firm SiriusDecisions, “Digital transformation is a complex undertaking that can be applied across many domains to solve multiple business issues.” In other words, Digital Transformation is much more than just an update to an organisation’s technological infrastructure; it is a strategic shift of how you want to operate your business and interact with your clients – a complete cultural shift of how you do business. Digital transformation is not about adopting cloud technologies or implementing new software just because it appears progressive. Digital Transformation is about embracing new technologies that enable your business and, by extension, benefit your customers.
The process of digital transformation sounds complex, but it can be simplified when broken into manageable pieces. Every business has a unique mix of challenges; identifying these business challenges and defining probable solutions to meet these challenges can help define your organisation’s digital transformation journey. Today’s CIOs need to take a holistic approach to digital transformation. A few steps include:
- Reviewing the overall business strategy
- Analysing the existing technology infrastructure of the business
- Planning for adaptation and adoption of change internally
- Extending this change to the commercial aspect of the business to retain existing customers and attract new ones
So where do we go from here?
As a global movement across businesses and industries, digital transformation is being fuelled by digital disruption ensuring strategic change remains a constant and critical component in staying competitive in today’s business landscape. While your tech infrastructure is the backbone of your digital transformation, the people and culture in your organisation are the heart and lifeblood. Digital disruption doesn’t need to be disruptive to productivity; integrate change management strategies into your digital transformation decisions to ensure employees are not only capable of adapting to the changes but embracing them.
The next step in your digital transformation journey is pinpointing your organisation’s current stage of digital maturity with this quick assessment.
