Three Keys To Digital Transformation

A survey of hundreds of senior executives from large firms found that companies that are mature in digital transformation are, on average, 26% more profitable than their competitors. They generate more revenue (9%) from their physical assets and employees and create more overall value.

Capgemini Consulting

It’s not all good news.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of companies saw no business value at all from their digital transformation efforts. In fact, only 22% said they reached their desired business results.

Everest Group

My team has been working with a national nonprofit to plan the migration and implementation of an enterprise platform to support its digital transformation. These meetings are critical and bring together three groups:

• The Client: Because of their institutional knowledge and understanding of their internal resources, competitors, and clients, we need to interview as many people as possible to better understand what they’re trying to achieve with this implementation.
• The Platform: Because of their knowledge and expertise in their own platform, it’s critical that we have a company representative who fully understands its capabilities and the product roadmap.
• The Partners: Because we understand the industry and the systems and processes that will be migrated to and integrated with the enterprise platform, it’s critical that we learn as much as possible from the client and the platform.

Enterprise platforms often differentiate themselves from off-the-shelf solutions because they have infinite capabilities. We have helped dozens of companies with failed enterprise implementations, not because the platform wasn’t exceptional, but because the migration and implementation plan wasn’t well thought out.

Digital transformation isn’t limited to the platform that your company utilizes. There are three keys to success when planning out the implementation of an enterprise platform that enables your digital transformation:

Internal Adoption

We interview staff from top to bottom to ensure alignment between expectations, optimism about the implementation, and an understanding of gaps and opportunities. Company resources are often stretched thin, and multi-year transformation can stress staff. Because adoption is critical, we must prioritize migration and deployment to mitigate the difficulties a new platform will place on staff. Rapid internal adoption will lead to more effective use of technology and can foster a culture of innovation and creativity within the organization.

External Experience

Most companies have systems aligned with their internal command-and-control structure rather than the actual customer experience. Think about a time you contacted an organization and had to sit through a recorded phone tree to identify and route your call to the right resource, instead of having someone answer and assist you directly. It’s frustrating and unnecessary. Your systems should be invisible to the customer and provide a self-directed, unique experience they cannot get anywhere else. Seamless customer experience is the goal of every digital transformation.

Agile and Iterative Deployment

Digital transformation isn’t a project with a clear beginning and end. Your business will change, your customers’ behaviors will change, and the systems available to you will change. Because of this, you must prioritize a deployment strategy that includes people, processes, and platforms, and be prepared for the only constant: continued change. Professional development, employee turnover, competition, economic challenges, and scalability must all be incorporated into your digital transformation strategy. Your roadmap should be a working document that you constantly adjust, and it will never be complete.

It’s no coincidence that the companies that invested heavily in the research and discovery phase of their digital transformation had the greatest success. Invest and plan accordingly.

This article was originally published on Forbes.