6 Capabilities that Facilitate Successful Digital Transformation

A digital transformation refers to a fundamental change in how an organization works through the adoption of new technology. Ideally, this technology establishes and maintains a competitive advantage over competitors.  

A digital transformation is not only meant to keep an organization competitive, but to keep them solvent. Organizations that fail to adopt new technologies will simply not make it once their competitors do. Expecting success without a digital strategy is no longer a possibility.  

However, a digital transformation does not happen overnight; organizations must prepare for this type of cultural change with a robust strategy and roadmap. Some of the key capabilities that need to be developed for a successful digital transformation include: 

1. Strong in-house engineering 

An organization that believes total outsourcing of technological development will likely have a rude awakening at some point. The truth is that organizations seeking to become technological leaders need to also develop their own, in-house engineering teams dedicated to iteratively refining the system full-time, this compliment with strong service integrator partners will ensure success. Often, this means that organizations need to pay special attention to recruiting engineering talent; a process that includes both attraction and retention of top talent. Beyond offering competitive compensation, organizations need to ensure they have supportive and open environments in which talented individuals can feel free to experiment. This extends to the need of securing the right partnership where scalability is required ensuring the partners picked are focused in the proper areas and capability sets complementing the in-house lead engineering teams. 

2. Value-focused strategizing 

A key aspect of a successful digital transformation is strategy. Technology development is meaningless without a strategy driving it. Importantly, this strategy needs to be aligned with the business processes of the organization and address specific value areas. Technological advances should be tied to clear goals within the larger organization. These goals may relate to the ways in which a customer interacts with the organization or how employees interact with each other, for example. The exact goal of the strategy may vary depending on the business, but the important thing is that digital tools and systems are developed with a specific purpose in mind. This makes it possible to measure the success of the digital transformation against metrics that matter to the business.  

3. Secure data sharing 

Ensuring reliable access to data sounds like an easier feat than it generally proves to be. Organizations need a data architecture that ensures all teams have continual access to accurate information. To accomplish this, leaders need to implement a robust data solution that structures information into consumable packages that can be used across several different teams. Without reliable access to secure data, digital transformation is impossible. Information needs to be transmitted in real time and available for a variety of functions in order for any newly developed digital tool to be viable.  

4. Supportive change management 

The adoption of technology today looks different from how it did even a decade ago, when transformations were often driven from the top down. Now, managers need to be attuned to the needs and expectations of employees to ensure they have the resources and support they need to thrive. In addition, this means organizations need to plan to invest in implementation. As a rule of thumb, for every dollar spent on technology, another dollar should be spent on training and change management. Without this latter investment, the prior one is meaningless.  

5. Scalability 

Digital transformations are iterative—not one-and-done projects where you can achieve digital transformation and then move on. A digital transformation is an ongoing process to support the business both now and in the future. Scalability is therefore key. An incredible piece of technology is ultimately worth little if it cannot scale with the organization as it grows. Digital transformation requires adaptable software that grows with a company. This means teams need to focus not just on how to meet their needs, but how to do so in a way that allows for growth. Typically, these teams should work together to figure out an operating model that works best for everyone involved as a guide for future development. 

6. Independent innovating 

Cross-functional teams are important in digital transformations, but organizations should also allow individual teams some leeway to drive their own digital initiatives and integrate them at a later date. When teams are always thinking about what their colleagues elsewhere are doing, they can get bogged down in the details or discouraged by how different the various approaches may seem.  

Independent innovation can result in more robust digital tools because it allows teams to drill down on what is most important to them and ensure these priorities are represented in the final product. While this may involve a significant amount of compromise, the end result is much stronger.