Digital Transformation Post COVID-19 – The Plan to Make It Happen

The world has changed post-COVID-19, and we all are going through it. The truth is that it will keep changing, and we need to adapt to this. We need to transform our businesses and services to play our role in shaping the new order of the world – our world. I will start with my own experiences of digital transformation; what I have observed.

• A personal experience
• How the post-COVID-19 World is Digital
• What are the actions to take quickly
• What you need to to do; 90-Days plan to make it happen

Last week, I went to the local hospital for my routine checkup. At the reception desk, I usually have to present my ID card and get the queue number for consultancy. After all the process, the front office executive didn't give me the token number that I used to get on each visit. Based on this number, you are supposed to go to the concerned doctor's room for consultancy. Instead of giving me the token, she said, “you have got it through the SMS, check your mobile number,” and that was surprising to me; innovation ??

After this information, I just realized that she didn't print the pages, and she didn't prepare any paper file, which used to be the central part of this process, as this physical file was traveling from reception to nursing area, and then to the doctor’s room. It was surprising. No paper file and all is on the computer; I just realized how COVID-19 has made the digital transformation in one of the local hospital, which was hitherto not possible, or maybe it would have taken many years. As for the last ten years, I can say my whole family used to go to this hospital, and the same process was being followed very rigorously. So I am a witness to POST COVID-19 digital transformation… apart from the fact that I am working in a professional role in my organization to support large organizations for the transformation of their financials, human resources, supply chain, customer experience etc. with the Oracle technologies.

I enjoyed the whole journey today; from registration till reaching the pharmacy, no paper was used, and this all happened in the last four months, which was not possible during the previous ten years.

What you, me, and everyone is observing is that COVID-19 is the wake-up call and leaders have to stop talking-the-talk about digital transformation; they have to start walking-the-walk. Digital transformation has always inspired everyone in the business and the consumer world. Historically, embracing the transformation has been tremendously slowed in some of the sectors, and in some, it was reasonably acceptable. Now is the time and the requirement is so urgent. Those organizations who are not able to transform will become irrelevant and uncompetitive, or maybe to put in the right words, they will not be in the business.

COVID-19 has traumatized economies all over the world, and there is no question about it; however, these unprecedented challenges are leading to an opportunity for businesses to flourish based on a new reality (new normal), to transform completely digital and touchless. Digital transformation has got a new life-line, and it is influencing every sector in the world, and selling groceries to the telehealth.

No doubt, world leaders and business owners are implementing innovative methods to minimize the disruption caused to our humanity. Now is the only time to re-focus on digital transformation and giving it the right priority so that we all would be ready for the next disruption to our world.

End-users and consumers are supporting this move to accept any digital way of getting things done or solving their day to day requirements; this is the right time for the digital solutions to be implemented as ‘Change Management’ is already done.

The most challenging part of any business transformation is Change Management, which is managed by COVID-19.

As the statistics were showing, many organizations were delaying digital transformation, or it was not on the list. They are facing enormous challenges, and they are unable to deliver a positive digital experience or even to deliver a business. Now is the time for all of you, and all of us, as the world is coming back to normal, and overall transaction volume is not as in the past. You have got the opportunity to build digital platforms that are for your business and your consumers. Time is now.

The organizations, the countries, and the governments, which are accelerating to digital transformation are ahead of the rest to succeed in the new digital paradigm post-COVID-19.

The post-COVID-19 World is Digital

The ‘new normal’ requires significant investments in digital tools and capabilities for every organization on this planet, as well as governments.

According to the COVID-19 CIO Pulse Survey of PwC Strategy&, COVID-19 pandemic has left no choice for organizations to fast-track the digital transformation.

Top priorities according to survey for 2020 are:

And for 2021

Source: COVID-19 CIO Pulse Survey of PwC Strategy&

From what I am noticing during talks to the regional CIOs or while participating in global forums along with the reading of different articles, the COVID-19 has fast-forwarded the digital adoption by five years or more, and you all are left to embrace the “new normal.”

Now, know how to start living in ‘new normal’ or how to embrace the ‘new normal’ with digital transformation in your business, being a leader of your organization or being an employee in the organization, or even being a consumer/end-user. You have a role to play, and you have to act in this role now.

If you refer this situation to what industry analysts are saying; McKinsey & Company has outlined in an article ‘A road map for post-COVID-19 growth,’ the three-stage process:

The first stage is ‘navigating the crisis now,’

The second stage is ‘planning for the recovery,’

The third stage is ‘leading the next normal.’

In the second phase, the main focus is on how you will fast-track digital transformation activities in your organization.

And in these three stages, in order to navigate quickly and rightly, you have to have Tiger teams and SWAT teams of talented individuals selected from across your organization and focused on a specific business mission. McKinsey & Company, in the article mentioned above, has suggested the agile-squad model, where you have to set up skilled teams in place with the right delegation of authority to make decisions.

Source: A road map for post-COVID-19 growth

Fast-track digital transformation, adoption with the context of ‘new normal.’

Over the past few months, there is a complete change to each area of business and our lives. Therefore, you need to re-strategize the methods of each touchpoint in your business, and you cannot use the techniques of old days to solve the problem of today. As the recovery scenarios will be different, and there will be different responses from end users/consumers, employees, citizens; therefore, analyzing these signals in real-time, as well as adapting and responding quickly, is essential to navigate the recovery successfully.

Top items on this itinerary: What are the actions to take quickly?

Architecture in the era of resilience

We need to re-look into the fundamentals of architecture that support our businesses and services. Although we do understand the requirement to integrate business and technology strategies from the last decade…however business outcome-based architecture remains a challenge between business-focused architecture folks and IT-focused architecture folks. We always have to bring them back to the common grounds. However,we have designed architectures based on explicit environments with certain conditions – pre-COVID-19. Now we are in ‘new normal,’ and it means the legacy segregation of business architectures, which was connecting people and activities with the how-to operate our businesses, business processes, and the administration of these processes. On the other hand, technology architectures managed how to connect hardware, software, devices, and the data that is required to run businesses.

We have to redesign the technology architectures and the business architectures that are the backbone of our businesses. With this restructuring of the technology and business architectures, we will be far effective in addressing changes that are required to thrive in this hurriedly changing world.

Changing customer, end-user, employee, and citizen expectations:

Organizations have to re-model the journeys; like quickly rethinking the customer journey and adapting the digital solution accordingly; and this will depend on each sector or line of business differently. Similarly, Governments have to re-model the citizen’s experience for the services which they are offering.

Bring data to live, use emerging technologies (Internet of Things, AI/ML, Digital assistants, etc.) to cope with operations. 

Organizations have to unite, collect and analyze the new data, and create new models like demand forecasting, asset management, organizational re-modeling to reach real-time decision making.

Take all sources of data and build analytics for recalibration to reflect the post-COVID-19 reality.

Hasten your Tech platform and tool kit – modernize IT (Information Technology)

To come out from the crisis and its aftershocks, you need to develop and deploy digital solutions very quickly and rapidly. As COVID-19 is helping in the ‘change management,’ you need to put a strategy in place and let adapt your organization to these new digital solutions based on the finalized operating model and business, technology architecture, so that it can be rolled out to customers, employees and citizens.

The acceptance and implementation of cloud and emerging technologies will have to be accelerated, and this must include all layers, from applications to development tools, to infrastructure. Until you bring cloud operations to on-premise, you will not be able to decommission legacy infrastructure, which will help you to lower the base cost and additional fund for right digital-solution development and deployment.

You can only do this quickly to reduce the IT costs with the re-look on your entire IT stack, and remove nonessential costs of projects or maintenance by reallocating resources. You also have to establish the skills and roles needed to sustain it.

To navigate successfully through this catalyst for change, we need to fundamentally redesign both the technology architectures and the business architectures that support our businesses.

Now let’s move to the question, how can this be done?

90-Days Plan to Make It Happen

You may have read so many articles on how to plan the initial days of digital transformation in your organization. Back in March 2020, I have also done a podcast on ‘First 100 Days of Digital Transformation’. However with the COVID-19, the situation is different, and along with the recovery planning, I like the article from McKinsey & Company ‘The COVID-19 recovery will be digital: A plan for the first 90 days.’ What is your plan for first 90 days on the digital transformation in your organization?

Source: The COVID-19 recovery will be digital: A plan for the first 90 days

You have to execute your 90 days plan quickly. Although, given the grim circumstances, our world will continue to transform rapidly, and our dependence on technology will keep growing.

You have to challenge the purpose of legacy technology infrastructure, applications, etc. in your organization. You have to find modern technology-driven solutions to drive efficiencies and productivity in the organization. You have to spare funds to foster R&D with the experiential labs, model factories, and innovation hubs in your organization, as well as build partnerships with innovative organizations and start-ups. You have to enable the skill set required by your employees and add new roles to the IT team.

Transform digitally now for the future.

The views expressed in this article are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oracle.