There’s been a lot of uproar about digital transformation recently and how to achieve successful business outcomes. CIOs and CEOs are interested in transforming the business while leveraging cloud, mobile, social media, and analytics technologies. That’s well and good. But digital transformation can happen when companies adopt cultural shifts just as much as technological shifts. The success of cultural transformation comes down to how you instill the right behavioral changes in your workforce. 

Unfortunately, a lack of insights and input can significantly hinder digital transformation. According to Deloitte, 70% of transformation efforts fail, and it takes approximately three years for organizations to become competitive in the digital market, even if they execute the transformation successfully. (Source: forbes.com) 

Several factors impact the success of a digital transformation project. To combat the setbacks, businesses must have a proper strategy and execution plan.

Here are six super secrets of digital transformation strategy that are guaranteed to ensure the success of your digital transformation projects!

1) Define Your Goal:

The road to success is not your tools or technologies but your goal. Defining your purpose up front will help you choose the best tools and technologies that fit your business goals. According to Kimberly Olson, the CEO and creator of Goal Digger, “Set a time on your calendar—whether it be weekly, monthly, or quarterly—to revisit your business goals.” (Source: forbes.com)

Ask yourselves the following questions:

• What is the desired outcome of digital transformation?
• What are the approaches (both strategic and operational) worth considering when attempting to achieve this outcome?
• How much disruption and innovation can be foreseen?
• How can businesses respond and survive?
• What are the roadmaps to creating a cultural shift in the organization?
• Last but not least, what is the mindset of the transformative leader? What role should be best attributed to them: tactical, prospective, or organizational and strategic?

When dealing with these questions, be sure to:

• Articulate your digital business strategy by outlining your enterprise objectives and critical success factors.
• Recognize the need for a holistic view of the customer.
• Demonstrate the purpose and importance of creating an enterprise-wide customer view by evaluating strategic objectives and specific initiatives (e.g., data unification and integration).
• Create a compelling communication strategy to enable information sharing and user adoption.
• Clearly define the speed of adoption to successfully realize the benefits of an enterprise-wide view.

There are many companies sharing strategies for digital transformation. It is crucial to focus on the valid key to conversion: attitude. In other words, businesses need a solid commitment to innovate, transform, and create novel business models that reap business opportunities. 

 2) Prepare for the Cultural Change:

C-suit support and enthusiasm for digital transformation are essential to the cultural shift required to implement new practices and technologies successfully. Over the years, the digital transformation has undergone a significant change from a digital push strategy to one of digital pull, not just by the C-suite but also by the front-line associates. According to Gartner, Inc., deployments of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) in contact centers will reduce agent labor costs by $80 billion by 2026. In 2022, global end-user spending on conversational AI solutions for contact centers is anticipated to reach $1.99 billion. (Source: gartner.com)

To create a digitally empowered, results-driven workforce, organizations need to:

• Focus on aligning the organizational structure, processes, and tools needed to create an employee-centric digital experience.
• Redefine roles so that front-line associates become the center of all touchpoints and the primary drivers of customer experience.
• Understand that training and engagement in the new digital experience are essential for success and that technology alone does not deliver business value.
• Engage the entire workforce and embed a digital-by-design experience at the core of the business.
• Deliver a modern experience that leaves the competition in the dust.

3) Map Out Technology Implementation

Pete has a formula for unsuccessful technology-driven digital transformations. He wants to automate a human-business interaction without consideration for the human in front of the screen or within the group or team.

Pete believes that corporate executives must prioritize the implementation of new technologies to maximize efficiency. Everything is currently Web 2.0, and the transition to Web 3.0 is occurring gradually. In addition, Augmented Reality will dominate in the coming years.

He emphasizes that the necessary technology exists for this new adaption but that the hardware must be upgraded. Increased focus will be placed on screenless environments in the future. In the next three to five years, there will be a shift from traditional technological systems to augmented reality, and everything will interact in the metaverse.

A standard suite of DX technologies for accomplishing digital transformation includes:

• Mobile
• Digital Twin
• IoT
• Cloud
• Robotics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning
• Additive Manufacturing
• Augmented Reality

With the right technology and practices, businesses can increase overall performance, agility, and scalability.  For example, automation on the cloud can help accelerate the growth of companies, ensuring consistent application performance and increasing overall uptime. Furthermore, it can also help improve scalability and resource management. Hosted by YourStory and Google, the roundtable ‘Automation on Cloud for workflow optimization’ will feature startups and industry leaders and discuss how automation technology can help unlock innovation, growth, and operational excellence.  (Source: yourstory.com)

4) Implement a Solid Plan to Guide Your Staff:

It is essential to have a vision for the future and not to be deterred by short-term wins. Organizations must value collaboration to bring out the best in their employees. To do so, organizations need to:

• Educate the workforce about the benefits of digital transformation and foster digital confidence among employees.
• Create a suitable environment where employees can experiment with new technologies and develop solutions to business problems.
• Facilitate communication and collaboration within and among teams to share best practices and enhance team spirit.
• Drive the changing mindset to enable the digital transformation journey within the organization.
• Identify, Assess, and Manage the Risks: Develop a plan for identifying, assessing, and managing the risks involved in digital transformation initiatives.

5) Create a Data Pool:

Creating a data pool to manage the data transformation is mandatory for an organization that wants to digitize its business. Intelligent data analytics can be helpful for performance evaluation and implementation of the identified solutions. It improves decision-making and forecasting of future trends. 

Data and analytics are essential to the efficient operations of an organization. Gartner predicts 90% of corporate strategies consider data a critical business asset for the future. 

Here’s how data mining and management can benefit your operations:

• It helps identify internal opportunities and threats that previously were hidden or misunderstood.
• Information from data can be used to enhance business capabilities and performance.
• Digital native companies invest resources to capture, process and analyze operational data.
• Big data offers great insight into product development and future value creation.
• Create new markets, develop innovative products and services, and provide unique customer experiences.
• Establish the right mix of data analysis solutions and AI-powered predictive analytics to generate valuable insights for better strategic and tactical business decisions.

6) Measure Your Progress:

Once you have implemented your plan, it’s time to measure the value you generate for your business and its customers. Remember, digital transformation is an endless journey of continuous improvement. Take a step back, analyze the metrics, and take corrective actions to realign your efforts with business goals. The process should repeat this cycle with renewed energy and action. To get the best outcome, you must take a blended, balanced approach to security. Ask your digital strategic partner questions and tap into the resources they have at their disposal.

Changes are always constant. It is necessary to be in tune with the world and adapt to how technology changes.

Conclusion:

While inevitable failures in the digital transformation journey do not spell the end, they may cost time, resources, and money. Having a proper strategy and plan ahead of time will certainly save a lot of trouble in the long run. Observing and evaluating the results critically is also essential to extract the maximum value from each initiative. Committing to a true vision and commitment is key to successful digital transformation, ensuring all departments are aligned and engaged. 

The post How to Develop a Winning Digital Transformation Strategy first appeared on InfoBeat.com.