The Four Biggest Digital Transformation Challenges

The Four Biggest Digital Transformation Challenges

The first step to any technology project is to define clear business objectives. Any new technology can make innovation possible and open up new business models. For companies that are not in Tech, the business strategy should always come first. So technology supports a clear business goal.

But why is it so difficult to introduce digital transformation into your business development?

In this article, we have listed the four false justifications for wanting to look at technology first.

1. Checking on feasibility

It is not easy to pinpoint precisely when this happened, but we have experienced a paradigm shift at the beginning of the 21st century. We are now in an era when it is almost impossible to imagine something that technology cannot achieve. Computation power, algorithms, bio-technologies, the internet of things, broadband networks all contributed to building a world where imagination is the only limit. So the risk of coming up with an un-computational business problem is minimal.

Building a business case does not require to check for feasibility.

2. Getting new ideas from browsing technology

Browsing at solutions for new ideas is similar to browsing for clothes online. It can bring inspiration, but the clothing item must fit the consumer. Buying clothes is simple, as it comes on a single-dimensional size scale, but finding a digital solution for a business is a many dimension problem.

The next logical step in technology browsing is to get a pitch from solution vendors. Vendors are always eager to pitch, and because they do that a lot, they have perfected the art of explaining why their solution is the best. Potential buyers, who did not clearly define their business goal, are then thrown into conflicting reasons for choosing each solution. Instead of giving more clarity, this creates confusion.

Browsing for digital solutions without clear business objectives generates confusion.

3. Difficulty to visualize the future

Looking at digital solutions answers a critical need to visualize the future. Mapping out business objectives can be a very abstract exercise. Inspiration from case studies, especially from the competition, makes it easier to imagine a better future.

But trying to copy a case study without understanding the process that led to the outcome is dangerous. Case studies are biased. They only present successful results and the reasons why, in hindsight, companies made the right decision. They seldom hint at the initial objectives, the decision process, the changes along the way, the mistakes, correction, adjustment that led to the final result.

Looking at the competition can inspire but won’t automatically translate into a new context.

4. Estimate cost as quickly as possible

Companies do not want to invest too much time into a project to finally realize they cannot afford the technology that will make it possible. So they want to estimate the cost of technology as early as possible.

It is again thinking backward. There are always varying ways to proceed with Digital Transformation to deliver the same business outcome. Each solution brings various benefits at different costs.

Asking for a budget before clear business benefits may result in very diverse offers at a wide price range.

We describe in our next article how to clearly describe business benefits and build a corresponding budget in five steps .

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