Wikipedia, the biggest crowdsource online encyclopedia, describes DX as:
The use of new, fast, and frequently changing digital technology to solve problems. One of the examples of digital transformation is cloud computing. It reduces reliance on user-owned hardware and increases reliance on subscription-based cloud services.
CIO magazine also describes DX as:
The application of digital capabilities to processes, products, and assets to improve efficiency, enhance customer value, manage risk, and uncover new monetization opportunities.
As we know, there isn’t a clear definition of what DX is, but, as we know, for the last years, Digital Transformation or DX has been a hot topic for organizations and corporations to get into the transformation. And we can corroborate reviewing the trending with Google Trends, where the interest for DX in the last five years has been increasing every month.
In our years of practice and experience, we recognize Digital Transformation as a process and not as a task. It is an ongoing change and transformation where people, data, and technology bring together and create value in different ways to organizations and corporations. This process becomes a daily practice where employees and individuals move their manual task to digital means for any type of improvement, and in consequence, increase their value for the organization.
Reasons for a Digital Transformation
Why will organizations struggle and go through the hassle of change their way’s that had been working fine for years?
- Fast demand in the market. Well, the first reason is that organizations need to keep evolving and create value for the market they belong to. Every market is in constant evolution, is dynamic, and volatile economic organisms that keep changing as new participants are created, altered, or, in the worst scenario, are bounced. They are not steady economic organisms that we can belong for years; even the oldest organizations such as Ford and Xerox have evolved during the years. And if organizations don’t keep evolving at the same speed by pivoting their offer or optimizing their inside processes, they will lose market and, in consequence, become obsolete for a new generation of consumers that are hungry for new products or services.
- Increase value. There are different ways to create value for the market: We can create new demanded products or services, with all the effort, cost, and resources required. Or we can change and evolve inside our organization to increase agility, reduce time, and offer more efficient services and products for our clients.
- Customer satisfaction. As technology becomes more accessible to the users, and with the expertise of new generations in the use of new ways of communication that are mostly digital, the digital transformation of the offer is a must. Organizations need to keep moving to the channels where the users and clients are to offer more natural ways to have a relation with them. But this becomes a two-way relationship, where organizations can get fast, and more meaningful feedback from their users that any time before, giving gold and diamonds of information to use and change.
How we do it
Just as any change we make in our personal or professional lives, we need to have a framework to plan our transformation. People don’t get fit just because they have the desire; they create a whole eating plan, exercise schedule, and have coaches to assist with their transformation. But the key is that it is going to take time and lots of feedback to know that the exercises we are doing have the results that we desire. DX is not the exception for it; we need to assess our current situation and define where and how we want to go.
As we mention in a few lines before, this process is an organic change that needs an ongoing transformation within the organization. We need to embed it into the organizational culture, so it becomes a daily routine, and we reduce the walls and issues of the change.
Digital Transformation (DX) is not all about technology; we can even attest that technology is a small but critical % of the digital transformation. The change in people is fundamental in the DX implementation. Without them, even the best and most expensive technology will work, here is where Change Management becomes relevant.
One other small but crucial factor for the DX path is Data and how we manage it. Every technology generates thousands of bytes of information, and in consequence, a lot of data to manage. A proper Data Management: acquisition, store, and exploration, will be critical in our exploration and transformation.
And last but not less, the technology factor. After we decide, plan, and prepare our organization for the Digital Transformation, we need to choose what technology is the best fit for our scenario. At these times, the market is flooded with solutions and software that offers different approaches to solve our problem. They all have what we need, but not all of them are the best fit for every situation. That is why we always need to asses which one will be the best-fit considering:
- Digital maturity of our organization
- Cost and TCO (Total Cost of Operation)
- Infrastructure requirement
- Complexity
- Adhoc vs. out of the box
- Time of implementation
- And others
Conclusion
Digital Transformation is a trend these days, and a requirement for organizations to stay competitive in the market. But like every change, it requires discipline and a clear roadmap to achieve the results we are looking for. Also, we need to keep in mind that this is a process and not a task that involves global strategies within the organization to keep the transformation in focus and reduce the issues that this can create.
Three components are critical for a successful transformation: people, data, and technology. Without a strong integration and alienation of these key factors, it can increase and create more issues than the benefits DX will bring.