Digital transformation (DT) is rewiring your organisation By: Hassan Imtiazi

Digital transformation (DT) necessitates a fundamental rewiring of organisational processes and structures, essentially starting from scratch. However, this poses a significant challenge because organisations must continue their commercial activities, including demand creation, customer services and revenue generation in an uninterrupted way. This quandary is common across all businesses today, as digital transformation requires a complete approach from top management to front-line employees. To properly address this challenge, organisations must first focus on the rewiring process. This requires a critical examination or reevaluation of the core business model—how value is created for customers and then monetized. According to McKinsey research, 70% of digital programmes fail owing to organisational misalignment. As a result, a cross-functional strategy is required, with the digital or e-business function leading the way by defining a clear path for change. The cross-functional approach spans various departments, including marketing, sales, finance, logistics and customer services, all of which must collaborate closely to drive successful digital transformation.

Marketing Example: It is very easy to say that we can implement a bunch of tools and technologies and adapt data driven marketing strategies but when it comes to actual practical implementation there are a number of challenges.

For example, a simple task to select a relevant vendor for a SaaS solution or analytics tool is not as simple as it looks. You have to see your current technology infrastructure which can work with this new technology in a seamless way and more importantly adding value to your marketing function.

Even if you have selected the right partner then it comes to the implementation or integration of the tool which requires project management with the view to test and learn to make it successful. And the last one which is the important one is how this new technology will be adapted by the users. For example, do they have by in, have you gone through with them in the whole process, is there any training program for them to learn before even start using.

There is an interesting technology acceptance model developed by Fred Davis in the late 1980’s with the name TAM. This framework explains and predicts individuals' acceptance and use of the technology based on their perceptions and attitude. For example, what will be the perceived usefulness for an employee for any new technology i.e. increase productivity. What will be the perceived ease of use i.e how easy for them to use it even from the simple interface point of view also following the instructions. what will be the behavioural intention of the user which is willingness to use.

In summary, two main fundamentals are required to being your Digital Transformation (DT) journey.

Leadership commitment:? The first step of implementing any change in the organisation is to ensure that leadership understands and commits to the change. There is no need for business leaders to study programming or coding. What is more crucial for them is to learn how to deal with the hurdles and capitalise on the opportunities presented by these new developing technologies.

Talent development:? The next stage is to determine the right set of people with right skill set who can plan, implement, and manage these transformation phases. It could involve recruiting a new employee or expanding the capabilities of an existing one. The crucial thing to keep in mind is that they are the catalyst for change since they operate across functions, therefore they must be approachable, mentors, and leaders.

Note: This is a huge topic so I have tried to cover a couple of points in this article.