What Stakeholders Say Versus What They Think
A majority of discussions between stakeholders center on specific technologies. However, what they really want is value. For example, from an operations/customer delivery standpoint, a stakeholder goal might be to get to a stage where the business can deliver the highest-quality service to its customers at a reasonable cost. In this case, the solution to this problem requires much more than technological capabilities; it is about what the business is going to do to affect an outcome. Here, the tool could be new or improved technology. But, the technology is a means to an end, not an end unto itself.
Most C-level executives are very strategic. They want transformation, and they want it now. But, on the right side of the brain, they're undoubtedly asking themselves several questions, like, How do we get there? What is the cost? Are we going to enhance the services and outcomes to the clients' expectations? How is it going to impact the organization's overall headcount? In most cases, the key action that's driving transformation is providing customers with a better experience. To provide a better experience, organizations need real-time insights into customers' needs and pain points.
Another truth is that companies cannot afford to delay digital transformation. In fact, if organizations fail to start planning and preparing now, they will be well behind the market by 2023. C-level executives can often be heard talking about people, processes, equipment, etc., during these discussions, but, in actuality, what they are really aiming at is value. They are looking to get better value out of their best assets, which typically are their people. They are looking to improve productivity and get the best players on their team from across the globe. The simple truth is that digital transformation is the keystone that will successfully achieve these goals.
The Journey
Many organizations are no longer looking at technology as just a means to enable the business. They are now focusing on what technology can do to drive a differentiated outcome — from the ways they innovate, design, and develop products or the ways they get those products to the market.
This very concept is a bit like the advent of electricity. When electricity was first discovered and utilized, it was transformational. It allowed companies to extend the workday into the night when they otherwise couldn’t. Today, nobody looks at the lights in an office and thinks they are transforming the company. They have moved well beyond that. Many organizations are starting to get to the point where it is now more about what they are going to do differently with technology tomorrow.
Stakeholders should look at the impact on their company's risks or governance and ask questions about establishing visibility into the new systems as well as the plans for a multi-cloud management strategy that includes interoperability across the public and private cloud. Organizations must understand that, as the perimeter of the enterprise ecosystem starts blending with SaaS services, different cloud environments, and data centers, the potential for cyberattacks increases. Therefore, securing the data environment becomes extremely important to the continued success of any company.
When it comes to driving massive transformation, starting with data discovery is a good idea to ensure there are no surprises later and that sensitive data is collected as needed. This is important because, when businesses start to gain insights from this data, leaders must continually focus on minimizing vulnerabilities that might exfiltrate that data.
All organizations are looking for opportunities to yield financial benefits to their bottom lines. The process of digital transformation helps organizations with cost optimization — whether by improving the automation through journal entries to reduce errors and improve overall productivity, allowing improved collaboration between team members, or finding other ways to provide insights into the business.
The period of transformation brought forth by the uncertainty of 2020 will eventually evolve into a period of transition — one where organizations are not going to make these giant leaps in the future. Instead, companies will more often than not make incremental changes to achieve their technology goals every week, every month, or every year as the capabilities evolve. Looking at the modern internet experience alone, organizations can create articles using AI within seconds by simply suggesting a few topics. Similarly, analysts can perform penetration tests or other functions that generally require an advanced skill set or amount of time at ever-increasing speeds. Given the advancements brought forth by the wide adoption of digital transformation today, this trend will inevitably become standard operating procedure over the next couple of years.