Emerging technologies and evolving customer needs are catalysts for digital disruption across industries. Inefficient and outdated systems need to be revisited as the pandemic “has created new challenges for digital transformation that business leaders must deal with,†according to Seth Siegel, AI leader, Infosys U.S.
A World Economic Forum survey suggests that the prize from the digital transformation of industries could be in the region of $100 trillion over the next decade. In short, as Thanos would say, “Digital transformation is inevitable.†Yet, a Boston Consulting Group study reveals that an astonishing 70% of digital transformation initiatives fall short of their set goals.
“Organizations are held back most when their data protection capabilities are unable to keep pace with digital transformation. Recent research from Veeam’s 2021 Data Protection Report showed the impediments to transformation continue to be multifaceted. Aside from the pandemic IT teams report a dependency on legacy IT systems (51%), and a lack of IT staff skills to implement new technology (49%) are key concerns,†said Dave Russell, VP of enterprise strategy, Veeam Software.
But the question is how IT teams can move past these failures and speed up innovation? We asked technology experts how companies can address digital transformation challenges. Here’s what they shared:
1. Put the Right People in Function Specific Learning Experiences
Suneet DuaOpens a new window , chief revenue and growth officer (products and technology), PwCOpens a new window
“CIOs and other IT leaders are faced with many challenges that can hold them back from innovation. Three of the top (digital transformation) challenges are: setting their vision, goals, and strategy, creating a human led approach, making sure your people are powered with the right technology.
“A product-only approach will fall short because transformation is about people. Real transformation is understanding peoples’ skills, giving them function-specific learning experiences, providing them with opportunities to use their new skills to innovate, and sharing their new skills. Transformation is multi-faceted, and a successful solution will combine technology and services.â€
See more: Getting Active With Digital Transformation InitiativesOpens a new window
2. Adopt an Agile Outlook To Run Digital Transformation Programs
Jitin EidnaniOpens a new window , head of retail banking, North America, CognizantOpens a new window
“In today’s world, banking has two extremes, the neo banks and the legacy banks. Neo banks are like Tesla in the auto industry that don’t have any legacy. They start with a clean slate and can innovate very quickly. Traditional (or legacy) banks, however, typically have the challenges of ageing workforces and cultures that do not challenge the status-quo. In this construct, they aren’t always looking for better ways to achieve success in the modern world. It’s imperative to have a vision. While a vision might feel perfect to begin with, one needs the ability to adapt to execute on that mission.
“Organizations that break-up the vision into bite-sized chunks and have a strong collaboration between business and IT always end-up with better outcomes. This gives them the ability to adapt to an ever-changing environment too. Most banks are now pivoting to run transformation programs in an agile format for the same reason.â€
Mark W. AngleOpens a new window , CIO, OneStream SoftwareOpens a new window
“There are no single solutions which address all digital transformation challenges but adopting an agile outlook which frames the business needs against the technical options that are easy to integrate and have a bright future in the marketplace will start organizations on the right foot.â€
See more: 3 Ways Legacy IT Impedes Digital TransformationOpens a new window
3. Create Digital Solutions With Low Code Tools
Deb GildersleeveOpens a new window , chief information officer, QuickbaseOpens a new window
“Fostering a culture that embraces agility in the face of rapid change. Lack of investment in technology that works the way people work to empower innovation and adaptability. Lack of visibility into business processes and workflows, and therefore a lack of visibility into how to optimize the processes and adapt when disruption occurs.
“IT alone cannot make digital transformation happen. They can handle large-scale efforts, but true transformation cannot happen without those closest to the business process having a say in how they optimize their processes. This can happen most effectively with low code tools that enable citizen development.
“Empower business users to solve problems and create digital solutions independently within guardrails set by IT. We call this dual track transformation, where IT can focus on traditional, large-scale transformation while business users can focus on optimizing their day-to-day processes across the organization and establish quick wins and constant innovation.â€
See more: Low-Code Development Impact On Digital Transformation For EnterprisesOpens a new window
4. Manage Workloads in a Multi or Hybrid Cloud Setup
Dave Russell, Opens a new window VP enterprise strategy, Veeam SoftwareOpens a new window
“All enterprises can benefit from automated backup systems now that digital transformation has become more critical to business operations. Enterprises that build on modern backup platforms can future proof their environment to ensure sustained protection as they grow, especially in the cloud. Additionally, a more modern data protection approach can not only ensure availability, remediate against ransomware, but allow for data re-use, such as supporting application development, DevOps, analytics, and forensics.
“A scalable, extensible, platform that can manage workloads in a multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud can help overcome many digital transformation obstacles.â€
See more: How IoT Powers Digital Transformation for Enterprises: Tech Talk With Ericsson’s VP of IoT Strategy
5. Know How Employee and Customer Journey Intersects
Jason CarolanOpens a new window , CIO, FlexentialOpens a new window
“Organizations should consider the full scope of what’s important. Is it the employee experience? Is it how the employee experience can enable the customer experience? Or is the effort focused 100% on the customer? It will be hard to only concentrate on one area, as true digital transformation needs to be inclusive. Knowing how the employee and the customer journey intersects is critical.â€
6. Revisit Legacy Technology After 3 Years To Avoid Build Up
Becky TrevinoOpens a new window , VP product marketing and operations, Snow SoftwareOpens a new window
“The last 18 months has led to dramatic changes in the use of digital technology, forced by the extension of what organizations view as legacy technology, a term which has historically highlighted either risk or a lack of efficiency.
“In a hybrid strategy, IT leaders need to think about their environment, instead of on-premises vs cloud and SaaS-delivered vs installed applications.
“Some have taken quite aggressive approaches with a forced 3-year review/update/refresh cycle on all hardware and applications to avoid build up, and that’s an approach I wholeheartedly agree with. While it’s hard to maintain the discipline to regularly revisit working systems, the benefit of ever marginal gains is often a hallmark of successful organizations.â€
See more: UiPath CPO on Why RPA Projects Fail and How To Drive Efficiency
Moving Past the Digital Transformation Challenges
To drive outcomes from digital transformation initiatives, IT leaders will need to rethink their digital strategy through a hybrid approach. “The prominence of cloud, SaaS and now hybrid work requires IT leaders and managers to work differently, because these technologies bring another level of complexity and require different skills than the old school one-stop-shop IT,†Trevino explains.
“IT and developer roles are changing as the technology landscape is changing. IT managers and leaders are leaned on for strategic counsel more than ever before because many of the day-to-day tasks (that were a normal part of IT work) have been automated,†she adds.
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