Once you have decided to embark on a journey of digital transformation, you need to decide what shape your digital transformation journey will take. For each organisation the shape will be different, and it will depend on a number of factors such as: budget, culture, prioritise and people.
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We detail our 4 main areas you need to consider when shaping your digital transformation.
Objectives
Creating specific objectives is the most important part of a digital transformation exercise: not having clear objectives is the main reason digital transformation projects fail. Think about your organisation and what areas you want to digitally transform.
Creating a set of objectives that are measurable and realistic is important, you should start to see how each objective could have a number of projects underneath to achieve the results.
Culture
Digital transformation is not just a technology deployment or an IT exercise, it is a people exercise. You must therefore embrace cultural transformation and explore the behavioural shifts that are needed to bring about lasting change. Above all else, this requires belief and commitment. Changing human behaviour is not always easy and there is a level of discomfort that comes with stepping into the unknown. Some people thrive on it, some people can learn it, and some people feel paralysed by it, so this must be handled sensitively.
Do you have a culture that embraces change and new technology? Do the objectives bring a cultural challenge? For many organisations this can be the biggest hurdle they need to get over. There are a range of things you can do to improve this, please see this guide on creating a culture of digital transformation.
Time
A key part of your digital transformation strategy will need to be around the pace of change. Some organisations need to transform quickly to help them scale and improve products and services but for others limitation on internal resources means projects need to be phased.
For SMBs limited capital and internal resources need to be weighed up against the urgency of the projects. The correct phasing is critical to achieve successful transformation. Equally, the earlier benefits are achieved, the greater the stakeholder buy-in will be. This should influence prioritisation.
Prioritise
Now the hard bit, trying to decide what happens first. You cannot deliver everything all at once. You need to go through a prioritisation process, which should consider several factors:
- Business benefit – identify the areas that will best deliver against your objectives. This will allow you to build momentum and achieve some quick wins.
- Cost – look at the cost of each project to identify which one offers the best return and most fits with available capital.
- Complexity/time – how big and complex is each project? Starting small may be better depending on your culture and available resources.
- Delivery order – consider the order you deliver your projects. Some changes will need to be delivered first because they support future stages.
Are you ready to start your digital transformation journey? Discover our range of digital transformation services and the solutions available from Microsoft to make your digital transformation a reality in our latest guide, ‘Digital transformation for SMBs’.