The Eco System Trap

Let me write a very short Heads Up! to trigger a discussion around some key actions you need to undertake to succeed in a Digital Business Transformation. These key actions are valid for all industries, not just – but also - for TelCos or ICTs, which had been in the focus of some of my articles before and are still on my homepage.

It needs to be remembered that we are talking about a Digital Business Transformation, not a Digital Transformation or any other technology focused Change Program.

To master a Digital Business Transformation we need to have in mind that all transformational activities must support efficiency and effectiveness during and after the transformation to make it successful - this saves OPEX and supports faster and more specific identification and creation of new areas of revenue generation. Successfully managed, this adds profit from new (digitally driven) revenue on top of savings – and only both makes it a Digital Business Transformation and makes your effort long term successful.

And here is the Eco System Trap:

If you drive your transformation not including your key revenue generating partners (customers, providers, business partners, platforms,...) from the very beginning in your vision, your strategy, your architecture and your transformation execution, your success is in danger or will never materialize.

A Digital Business Transformation needs desperately a Digital Business Strategy including the Eco System of your revenue and profit generating partners.

What I see often is that this essential peace of success is still missing in today's running transformational programs.

There is more than one reason for this failure of course – but I do see materializing a kind of top three:

• Firstly a centralized outside-in view on value chains and revenue streams resulting in a weak Digital Business Strategy from the beginning. Review and understand your Eco System!
• Secondly sales and marketing (or other Eco System facing) organizations are not properly involved in the Digital Business Transformation and/or are not empowered or capable to understand, drive and serve real partner systems. Get your organization right and involved!
• And thirdly there is a tendency to fall back in times of technology driven transformation, which concentrates too much on internal controls and structures and disables a seamless connection into the Eco System.This is not an IT Program only!

Avoiding at least these three pitfalls would allow a much more speedy and holistic (yes - these are not contradictory attributes) setup and execution with the most important success factor at all in a Digital Business Transformation: create value!

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