Adopting new technologies is a must for enterprise-level businesses that want to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace. Sometimes, digital transformation is a game-changer for businesses that allows them to reach new heights. Too often, though, these transformations are long, complex and beset with unforeseen obstacles.
To overcome these obstacles, it’s helpful for a business to be aware of and plan for the most common challenges. Many of the most important factors can’t be automated away or placed inside an electronics enclosure. Human and organizational factors are often bigger impediments than technological challenges, and any good implementation plan will give equal time to these facets of digital transformation.
Each of the six issues we’ll talk about here can be a significant barrier to digital transformation. However, with intelligent planning, each can also be overcome.
1. Business Model Misalignment
The first question any business should ask about a proposed digital transformation project is: What’s the point? Digital transformation shouldn’t be undertaken for its own sake; rather, it should serve the interests of your clientele and help your business meet them where they are.
Thus, one of the first steps to a successful digital transformation is gathering data on your market and analyzing where you can create technological synergies. What matters about the technologies you invest in is less their status as the latest cutting-edge thing and more the level of actual value that they create for your customers, your vendors and your employees.
2. Long-Term Planning
Some organizations conceptualize digital transformation solely on the basis of the immediate needs of the implementation project, but this can leave a dangerous hole where a long-term plan should be. This can be a particular problem in digital transformations that are forced by immediate necessity, such as the shift to virtual meetings in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
Digital transformation projects usually benefit from a three-tiered design that includes short-, medium- and long-term plans. Any skilled project management team should be able to design short-term implementation strategies, but medium- and long-term planning requires an integrated approach with significant input from everyone from the C-suite to the shop floor.
Long-term planning for digital transformation should account for the non-static nature of technology and include plans for the future updates and maintenance of the technology in question. It should also include a rolling assessment of how competitors, vendors and customers are reacting to technological changes.
3. Data Collection
Digital transformation requires data–and lots of it. If your business isn’t collecting robust data from key sources, it will be difficult or impossible to make smart decisions about digital technology.
Start by asking which kinds of data your technologies require. Many of today’s smart technologies, such as predictive analytics systems, need large amounts of data as the raw material that fuels their decision-making capacities. This is where the implementation of technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) can make a huge difference in collecting accurate and useful data.
In addition, you should be examining your key performance indicators (KPIs). You want KPIs that provide a clear picture of whether your digital transformation investments are creating results. Make sure that your data inputs are reliable and that the data you’re analyzing is telling the whole story.
4. Buy-In and Culture
A change from the technological status quo will always require employees to adjust their routine and learn new skills. There’s no doubt that it can be challenging, and some employees will inevitably have difficulty making the adjustment. Realize that digital transformation can involve making tough asks and be prepared to explain fully why they’re necessary.
This is another reason that supportive workplace culture is so important. Make sure that it’s easy for employees to access help from IT when they need it. At the same time, cultivating independence is the ultimate goal, so try to build training resources with an eye toward giving employees the tools they need to understand their new roles as they relate to technology.
5. Data Security
Any introduction of new technologies brings new security risks. (Just ask any of the businesses that were unaware of Zoom’s security flaws before their virtual meetings were invaded by internet trolls.) Thus, when implementing digital transformation strategies, it’s critically important to educate anyone who interacts with your digital systems on data security best practices.
IoT can be a particularly challenging area for data security. Inside every IoT electronics enclosure is one or more new “surfaces” which bad actors can potentially use to gain network access. Fortunately, there are some common IoT security best practices you can employ to mitigate these risks as much as possible.
Employees’ devices can also offer exploitable attack surfaces. That’s why it’s critical to train employees on the basics of password security, software updates and how to avoid falling for common scams such as email phishing.
6. Legacy Systems
Businesses with a long history almost always have legacy technologies operating in some capacity. In some cases, these technologies may even be performing critical business functions long after their practical expiration date.
This can mean that digital transformation often feels like clearing out a weed-choked garden: The minute you uproot one problematic plant, you’ll discover that it’s part of an interconnected network of roots that spread much farther than you realized. Solving one technological problem often means solving several other issues that stem from a lack of system maintenance and technological updates. Businesses that want to seriously pursue digital transformation must be ready to get their hands dirty and take a systemic approach to transformation.
Ultimately, remember that enterprise digital transformation must serve a human purpose. By giving thorough consideration to how digital transformation will affect the employees and customers who power your organization, you’ll build digital strategies on a solid foundation.
