TOPIC –

Digital transformation strategies are plans and

actions that organizations take to adopt digital
tech.

By – Krishna Dhanjani
WHAT IS A DIGITAL TRANFORMATION STRATEGY ?

Digital transformation strategy refers to a comprehensive plan that organizations adopt to make the
most of digital technologies and transform how they do business. It focuses on embracing digital
tools, optimizing processes, putting customers at the center, and fostering an innovative mindset.

The ultimate goal is to fuel growth, boost efficiency, and deliver outstanding value. It's
a roadmap for organizations to navigate the world of new tech and come out on top.

Understand The Digital Transformation Strategy

It’s important to understand that a digital transformation plan should go beyond the adoption of
digital tools and employ a holistic approach. As digital transformation reimagines an organization's
operations, business models, and customer interactions it touches more than just technology.

“Digital transformation is often perceived as a technological matter – changing the plumbing and
installing new platforms. But it genuinely isn’t about that,” says an expert in a Raconteur
report. “As much as anything, it is a matter of culture and mindset. If you default to a technology
play, you can fairly and squarely miss the point.”

Optimization of processes through the power of modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence,
machine learning, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT), is alluring. But mustn’t forget
about the employees, the tools and processes they’re used to, and how they will need to adapt.

It’s important to emphasize that digital transformation is not a one-time project but an ongoing
journey.

Besides the cultural change within the organization mentioned before, it also requires strong
leadership commitment and continuous investment in technology, talent, and processes.

You will have to foster a digital-first mindset, promote collaboration across teams, and embrace a
culture of innovation and experimentation to drive successful digital transformation initiatives.

5 Key Areas Of Digital Transformation

Digital transformation involves several key areas beyond technology that organizations must
consider when developing and implementing their strategies.

These areas are like puzzle pieces that fit together to make the whole digital transformation picture
come alive.
Customer experience
Digital transformation centers around enhancing the customer experience. It helps organizations
leverage digital tools to understand their customer's expectations, preferences, and pain points to
deliver personalized, seamless, and engaging experiences across all touchpoints.

Focus: Enhancing and personalizing the customer journey and user experience.
Examples: Implementing omnichannel customer engagement, leveraging data analytics to
understand customer behavior and preferences, and developing self-service portals and mobile
apps for seamless customer interactions.

Operational processes
Digital transformation involves reimagining and optimizing operational processes to drive
efficiency, productivity, and agility.

A digital transformation strategy will help you identify opportunities to automate manual tasks,
streamline workflows, and eliminate bottlenecks through the use of digital tools and automation
platforms.

By digitizing and integrating processes, your business can achieve faster turnaround times, reduce
costs, and improve overall operational performance.

Focus: Streamlining and optimizing internal processes for increased efficiency and productivity.

Examples: Adopting robotic process automation (RPA) to automate repetitive tasks, implementing
cloud-based collaboration tools for remote work, and utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) devices for
real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance.

Business models
Digital transformation provides an opportunity for organizations to adapt, innovate, or even
completely transform their business models.

New technologies can enable you to create new revenue streams, explore disruptive operating
models, and adapt to changing market dynamics.

Focus: Innovating and adapting business models to leverage digital opportunities.

Examples: Introducing subscription-based services or digital marketplaces, embracing platform-

based business models and e-commerce, implementing data-driven monetization strategies, and
exploring partnerships and collaborations to expand market reach.

Workforce and culture

Digital transformation requires a cultural shift within the organization.

Your organization needs to foster a digital-first mindset, promote a culture of innovation and
continuous learning, and empower your workforce to embrace digital tools and technologies.

Focus: Empowering employees and fostering a culture of digital innovation and agility.
Examples: Providing digital skills training and upskilling programs, encouraging cross-functional
collaboration and knowledge sharing, implementing flexible work arrangements and digital
workplace tools, and encouraging experimentation.

Technology and data infrastructure

“If businesses are to capitalize on the hallmarks of digital transformation, they need to seriously
rethink how their IT infrastructure is configured,” says Seamus Dunne, managing director at Digital
Realty.

To do that, organizations and their CIOs need to assess their existing technology stack, identify
gaps, and invest in the right digital solutions and platforms that align with their strategic objectives.

Establishing a scalable, secure, and integrated technology infrastructure is essential for driving
successful digital transformation initiatives.

Focus: Developing and implementing robust technology systems and data infrastructure to
support digital initiatives.

Examples: Investing in cloud computing and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), data analytics

tools, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, enterprise resource planning (ERP)
systems, and making sure data security and privacy measures are in place.

By ensuring the alignment of these key areas, organizations can create a holistic digital
transformation strategy that covers all the bases and drives both organizational and revenue
growth.

It’s important to note that the specific components and their priorities may vary depending on the
organization's industry, size, and strategic goals. Therefore, organizations should assess their
unique needs and tailor their digital transformation approach accordingly.

Importance And Benefits Of Digital Transformation

Strategy
Here are the key reasons digital transformation is vital for long-term success:

Adaptability to changing market dynamics

Digital transformation enables organizations to stay ahead of the curve by adapting to market
changes.

A well-crafted digital transformation strategy equips organizations with everything needed to

monitor market trends, anticipate customer needs, and adjust their strategies to capitalize on
emerging opportunities or mitigate risks.
Enhanced customer experiences

Customer experience is a key differentiator. Digital transformation enables organizations to offer

personalized, seamless, and omni-channel experiences to their customers.

By leveraging digital technologies such as AI, data analytics, and automation, organizations can
gain deeper customer insights, tailor their offerings, and provide exceptional value to their
customers.

Improved operational efficiency

A digital transformation strategy enables you to efficiently implement automation, digitization, and
data analytics to streamline workflows, eliminate manual tasks, reduce errors, and improve
overall operational performance.

This not only saves time and resources but also enables organizations to allocate their workforce
to more value-added activities.

Innovation and competitive advantage

Organizations that successfully implement digital transformation strategies gain a significant

competitive edge in the market.

By embracing digital technologies and processes, your organization can continuously explore new
business models, products, and services. They can leverage data analytics to disrupt traditional
business models, create new products and services, and enter new markets faster.

Data-driven decision-making

Digital transformation enables organizations to harness the power of data for informed decision-
making. This is a huge step towards visibility and business observability, and all the benefits they
bring once you achieve them.

By integrating and analyzing data from various sources, organizations can gain valuable insights
into customer behavior, market trends, and operational performance. Data-driven decision-making
allows organizations to make strategic choices based on evidence rather than assumptions.

Future-proofing the organization

A digital transformation strategy ensures your organization is prepared for the future.

By embracing digital technologies and processes, organizations become more resilient, adaptable,
and sustainable. They use emerging technologies to keep pace with innovations and new business
models.
Organizations that proactively embark on digital transformation are better positioned to navigate
uncertainties, disruptions, and evolving customer demands.

As you see, by developing a well-defined digital transformation strategy, your organization can
streamline business processes, capitalize on emerging opportunities, and create sustainable
growth in today's dynamic business landscape.
HOW TO CREATE A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
STRATEGY ?

Creating a digital transformation strategy requires careful planning, alignment with business goals,
and a systematic approach.

Here are the key steps you should follow when developing an effective digital transformation
strategy:

Step 1: Understand your business objectives and challenges

Begin by aligning your digital transformation efforts with your overall business objectives.

Identify the specific challenges your organization faces, such as outdated processes, limited
technological capabilities, or changing customer expectations. This understanding will serve as the
foundation for shaping your digital transformation strategy.

You should also think about priority metrics that will help you prove the impact of digital
transformation on business outcomes and track them constantly by connecting goals with key
performance indicators (KPIs).

In digital transformations, KPIs usually fall into three categories:

• Value creation KPIs measure how digital solutions you’re implementing are translated into
financial benefits.
• Team health KPIs measure team and employee performance and their strategy execution
progress.
• Change-management progress KPIs measure the progress in building new capabilities
and the health of the transformation itself.
• Relationships make it easier to set up objectives since it allows you to see how initiatives
are connected and impact each other, e.g., which functions are a dependency or a blocker.
This is great for visualizing your transformation plan.
Example of Relationships .

Step 2: Assess the current state of your organization

Taking into account the main metrics you’ve defined, conduct a thorough assessment of your
organization's digital maturity level and capabilities.

Evaluate your existing technology infrastructure, data management systems, operational

processes, and talent pool. This assessment will help you pinpoint your main business needs,
prioritize your efforts and allocate resources effectively to achieve the metrics and KPIs you have
set.

“You’re likely to find a lot of manual processes and tech that hasn’t been stacked, as well as
technology that’s no longer serving the business,” says Amanda Russo, founder and CEO of
Cornerstone Paradigm Consulting. “After uncovering what your current state really looks like, then
you can start having that conversation about what you need and don’t need.”

Step 3: Engage customers and stakeholders

Engage with your employees and customers to gain insights into their needs, expectations, and
pain points. Use market research, surveys, and feedback mechanisms to understand how digital
transformation can add value to their experiences.
Collaborate with key stakeholders, including employees, executives, and partners, to ensure their
buy-in and support throughout the transformation journey. That’s key, as 43% of IT decision-
makers say a lack of support among senior management is a major barrier to the digital
transformation of their organization.

Use the obtained feedback and insights in your strategy, and it’s much more likely it will get
executed across all levels.

Step 4: Root your strategy in data

Embrace a data-driven approach to inform your digital transformation strategy.

Leverage data analytics, market research, and customer insights to identify trends, patterns, and
opportunities.

“Digital transformation without data is a bit like a car without fuel – it simply won’t work,” says
Caroline Carruthers, chief executive of data consultancy firm Carruthers and Jackson,
in Raconteur’s report. She believes problems typically occur when data and digital
transformation are thought of as two separate areas. “These two go hand in hand and should be
seen as two parts of the same whole journey for an organization.”

That’s why it’s vital to create a single view of your data by integrating information from various
sources into a platform. Centralized business observability makes it much easier to make data-
driven decisions as it allows you to see key data and insights in one place.

This will enable you to make informed decisions and measure the impact of your digital initiatives
effectively.

Step 5: Build a roadmap

Develop a roadmap that outlines the objectives, priorities, and timeline for your digital
transformation journey.
Example of a Digital Transformation Roadmap.

Define clear milestones and allocate resources accordingly. Consider both short-term quick wins
and long-term strategic goals. Assign owners and establish KPIs to track progress and ensure
accountability. A well-defined roadmap will guide your organization's digital transformation efforts
and keep them on track.

Step 6: Foster a culture of change and innovation

Digital transformation requires a cultural shift within the organization.

To achieve this, organizations should prioritize change management plans and effective
communication strategies.

Change management plans involve identifying challenges, addressing resistance, and supporting
employees through the transition.

Clear and consistent communication is essential to gain buy-in and drive successful
transformation, highlighting the vision, goals, and benefits of the strategy.

You also need to foster a culture of change and innovation by promoting digital literacy, providing
training and resources, and encouraging cross-functional collaboration. Empower employees to
embrace new technologies, experiment with innovative ideas, and drive continuous improvement.

Step 7: Continuously monitor and adapt

Digital transformation is an ongoing process.

You need to continuously monitor the progress of your digital initiatives and measure their impact
against predefined KPIs. Cascade helps you by automatically creating clear and
concise reports or by showcasing a customized dashboard that monitors all the key metrics.

Example of a Dashboard.

Be prepared to adapt and refine your strategy as needed based on the results and feedback.
Follow the concept of iterative strategic planning and often review and improve your digital
transformation strategy.

That might sound like a drag, but it’s easier and less time-consuming with Cascade. Instead of
searching through multiple sheets, presentations, and project management platforms, it lets
integrate your most used tools.
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION CHALLENGES

So far, it seems that digital transformation initiatives offer tremendous opportunities. But they also
come with their fair share of challenges. Overcoming these challenges is crucial for a successful
digital transformation journey.

Let's delve into some key challenges that organizations commonly face:

Security

Security is a huge concern in the digital transformation process. As organizations digitize their
strategies and adopt new technologies, they must ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and
availability of their digital assets. Protecting sensitive information, such as strategic plans,
customer data, and intellectual property, from unauthorized access, cyber threats, and data
breaches is essential.

Customizability and dependence on legacy tech

Each organization has its unique strategic frameworks and approaches to business planning.
Many of them depend on long-standing legacy tech. In fact, 53% of organizations see their
dependence on legacy tech as an obstacle in their digital transformation journey.

During the digital transformation process, it’s essential to identify which frameworks can be
maintained and which processes are in dire need of modernization.

The challenge lies in the right technology and digital solutions that can accommodate your
organization's specific processes. Customizability is key to ensuring that the digital transformation
strategy aligns seamlessly with your existing practices and methodologies while being able to
gradually transform outdated processes.

That’s why finding digital transformation platforms that offer flexibility and customization options
is key to a smoother transformation.

Automated tracking

Tracking changes, key metrics, and objectives is a critical aspect of effective strategic
management. In the digital transformation journey, organizations often face the challenge of
manual and time-consuming tracking processes. Excel files or traditional reporting methods may
no longer suffice in the dynamic digital environment.

To overcome this challenge, organizations need to automate the tracking of changes and progress
in real-time. By leveraging digital transformation platforms equipped with automated tracking
capabilities, organizations can streamline the monitoring and reporting of KPIs, goals, and
objectives. Automation eliminates manual data entry, reduces errors, and provides accurate and
up-to-date insights for decision-making.

Instant reporting

One of the common challenges faced by large organizations is the timely gathering and reporting
of strategic information.

In traditional approaches, this process can be grueling, involving the collection of data from various
sources, consolidation, and manual reporting. As a result, organizations may struggle to have a
comprehensive and real-time view of their strategic progress.

To overcome this challenge, digital transformation strategies should prioritize the implementation of
instant reporting mechanisms. By leveraging digital platforms that offer real-time dashboards,
interactive visualizations, and automated reporting features, organizations can access accurate,
up-to-date information about their strategic performance.

This enables business leaders to make informed decisions, identify areas of improvement, and
take timely action.

Limited transformation knowledge and expertise

54% of organizations see a lack of IT skills and transformational expertise within the organization
as the biggest barriers in their digital transformation journey. Whether the skill gap is real or only
perceived, it holds the organization back from implementing transformational initiatives and
leveraging digital technologies.

This challenge can be addressed by investing in training programs, hiring skilled professionals, or
partnering with external experts to bridge the skills gap and build internal capabilities.