Digital transformation: A cheat sheet

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Digital translation is indispensable for enterprises, though galore concern leaders don't cognize wherever to start. This integer translation primer covers champion practices, challenges, tech and more.

Digital transformation is much than a buzz operation for the enterprise. Technology is reshaping concern successful galore ways, and the wide interest is that anyone without the newest tech successful spot volition soon beryllium near behind. This fearfulness is not unfounded.

"Digital translation is not conscionable astir technology. It's the indispensable but challenging travel of operating digital-first with the velocity and nimbleness to alteration rapidly, exploit exertion to make thin operations, and escaped radical to bash much analyzable tasks," according to Forrester.

SEE: Guide to becoming a integer translation champion (TechRepublic Premium)

This cheat expanse presents leaders with details and adept investigation astir the benefits of integer translation initiatives, tips connected however to commencement these projects and more. Also, find retired however the Internet of Things, blockchain, big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and cloud computing are having an interaction successful integer translation strategies.

What is integer transformation?

The conception down integer translation is however to usage exertion to remake a process truthful that it becomes much businesslike oregon effective. It's not conscionable astir changing an existing work into a integer mentation but improving it.

Some of the technologies utilized successful integer translation projects are IoT, blockchain, large data, unreality computing, AI and instrumentality learning. Digital translation is much than conscionable adding technology—part of the translation includes changing however employees think. If the firm civilization doesn't enactment change, past it volition beryllium hard for a institution to instill caller concern processes and scope integer enlightenment. The displacement to a digitally transformed concern often means breaking down silos and relating otherwise to customers.

SEE: Inside UPS: The logistics company's never-ending integer translation (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

"Digital translation is rather simple. It's adopting what are present becoming mainstream digitization technologies specified arsenic IoT, mobilizations, lawsuit engagement, artificial intelligence, information and analytics. How bash you usage those technologies to amended the worth of your product? Not conscionable the worth of your product, but the worth your customers get retired of your merchandise oregon the worth they get retired of that service," said Rick Veague, CTO of IFS North America.

Additional resources

The apical 10 barriers to integer transformation (TechRepublic)
Digital transformation: A usher for CXOs (TechRepublic Premium)
5 Internet of Things (IoT) innovations (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

How volition integer translation interaction spending?

As the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped concern needs globally, companies began utilizing less accepted processes and focusing spending and resources connected integer transformation.

A 2020 Flexera report recovered that 54% of organizations bespeak that integer translation is simply a apical priority. According to the report, "organizations are embracing integer translation due to the fact that it's indispensable to creating a compelling lawsuit acquisition that enables aboriginal concern success."

The anticipation of greater income from integer translation means executives are hopeful that concern volition thrive successful the caller environment, according to a blog station by Nigel Fenwick, vice president and main expert for Forrester: "This suggests not lone immense consciousness of the imaginable for integer to alteration today's concern but besides an anticipation that their institution volition beryllium palmy successful making the translation needed to bring this anticipation to fruition."

Additional resources

Research: Digital translation plans displacement owed to COVID-19 (TechRepublic Premium)
AI connected the precocious seas: Digital translation is revolutionizing planetary shipping (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
Digital translation oregon bust: Report highlights digital-native necessity (TechRepublic)
The emergence of the low-touch office (TechRepublic)
3 sectors wherever changing lawsuit demands are accelerating integer transformation (TechRepublic)

Why is integer translation a indispensable for each company?

Regardless of industry, contention successful the marketplace spurs innovative thinking, and a company's closest rival whitethorn find a caller solution and drawback a institution disconnected guard, said Craig Williams, vice president and CIO of Ciena. "This requires you to enactment connected your crippled by observing what is happening successful your manufacture and whether the initiatives you instrumentality are keeping the concern 1 measurement up of different manufacture players."

"There's besides thing similar a steadfast dose of paranoia to unit you to enactment keenly alert of the marketplace and motivate you to instrumentality tools to support the workforce competitive. IT contention isn't needfully the aforesaid arsenic selling widgets, but you tin unreal it is. Run your IT section similar you're moving a concern and recognize the costs, the lawsuit satisfaction, the competition, and spot if your squad is connected top," Williams said.

Digital translation is indispensable for each business, according to Veague. "Using modern integer transformative techniques let you to get person to your customers, let you to spot however your products are truly performing, and whether they're gathering those lawsuit expectations. In our world, if you're not connected a integer transformative strategy, your competitors are, and you're going to get near behind," helium said.

SEE: All of TechRepublic's cheat sheets and astute person's guides

Digital translation gives IT employees a accidental to amended integrate IT with a company's goals, said Art Langer, a prof and manager of the exertion absorption programs astatine Columbia University. "Digital translation is conscionable an implicit cardinal request to get that done. This is astir exertion becoming intelligibly successful the frontline of strategy," helium said.

"One of the things I ever speech astir is the aged statement, 'All roads pb to Rome,'" Langer said. "Well, each roads contiguous pb to a consumer. I judge that this full integer translation is astir the consumerization of technology. If you're a B2B [business to business] company, yet each roads volition pb to a B2C [business to consumer]. Somebody on that proviso concatenation volition beryllium servicing the request side, which is simply a consumer."

One of the astir hard industries to transform, but that needs it the most, is manufacturing.

"Traditional manufacturing remains highly siloed, with deployment of champion practices crossed antithetic cultures and systems hard astatine best," said Richard Lebovitz, CEO of LeanDNA.

Digital translation breaks down silos to deploy best-practice analytics crossed aggregate sites and suppliers successful weeks versus months oregon often years. With a absorption connected improving moving superior ratio and on-time transportation performance, manufacturers, for example, tin usage integer translation to enactment faster, cheaper and execute amended results, Lebovitz said.

The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly and drastically shaped integer transformation. Companies had to get arsenic galore employees arsenic imaginable moving from location successful March 2020, and galore are inactive moving remotely.

Research has shown that galore workers privation and expect distant enactment to proceed aft the COVID-19 pandemic ends. A March 2021 survey of distant workers done by Caprelo, a enactment relocation company, recovered that 87% said being capable to enactment remotely would beryllium a portion of their aboriginal employment decisions. Likewise, an April 2021 study published by the planetary staffing institution Robert Half recovered that arsenic galore arsenic a 3rd of workers whitethorn discontinue if they were asked to instrumentality to the bureau full-time. The fig of employees apt to permission their occupation if distant enactment is taken disconnected the array is adjacent higher among moving parents. An April 2021 survey of implicit 1,100 moving parents conducted by FlexJobs recovered that 62% of respondents said they "would discontinue their existent occupation if they can't proceed distant work."

Tata Consultancy Services successful September 2021 predicted that companies volition request to support that level of nimble innovation to conscionable the demands of the marketplace for the adjacent 4 years.

The survey of 1,200 concern leaders from Asia, Europe, North America and South America besides recovered that leaders fertile innovation arsenic the archetypal precedence for institution culture, portion shareholder worth comes successful seventh.

The survey recovered that companies are apt to take innovation erstwhile considering wherever to vie (new sectors, regions oregon concern models) and however to vie (new concern processes). Optimization takes precedence erstwhile the questions are what to vie with and however to lead. Survey respondents said they program to amended existing products and services arsenic good arsenic existing endowment absorption approaches alternatively of processing caller tactics successful those areas.

Additional resources

Digital translation successful retail: How consumers are utilizing tech to marque buying easier and much enjoyable (TechRepublic Premium)
Study: The "robots are coming to instrumentality our jobs" interest is overblown (TechRepublic)

What are the components of integer transformation?

There are 3 components that comprise integer transformation.

"There is infrastructure astatine the bottommost of the pyramid," Langer said. "At the top, which is your CEO and C-level people, you're trying to alteration caller types of concern opportunities and selling opportunities and springiness them a competitory advantage. On 1 manus you're trying not to beryllium disrupted due to the fact that what you truly privation to beryllium is the disruptor. Then successful the middle, which is significant, is the operating exemplary of the organizations."

In a integer transformation, radical volition person caller roles and responsibilities, with immoderate jobs mislaid and others added.

Langer said, "The biggest portion astir integer translation is an aged Burger King cliché, 'Have it your way.' That's what integer translation demands. The user wants choice. The user wants options. When you look astatine the occurrence of Amazon, what are they giving you? They're giving you aggregate ways of doing business, and they're charging you for antithetic things. You privation thing delivered close away? Amazon has Amazon Prime. Will you wage more? Yes. All right, truthful it's a myriad of options. The different facet of integer translation is 24x7x365. Amazon is simply a store that ne'er closes."

During the pandemic, Amazon's 24-hour cognition proved invaluable to those stuck astatine home–it saw a 220% summation successful profits.

Additional resources

Talent shortage: Execs look beyond superstar cities to capable openings arsenic workers summation leverage (TechRepublic)
Government IT spending acceptable to summation successful the look of COVID-19-driven integer transformation (TechRepublic)
What's a virtual office? 3 reasons the metaverse could lick the reopening challenge (TechRepublic)

What are the astir important technologies for a integer transformation?

"Digital transformations that leverage aggregate technologies astatine the astir effectual points volition beryllium the astir successful. For example, LeanDNA leverages unreality computing, AI and ETL for information transportation and extraction. We besides leverage caller web technologies to make almighty idiosyncratic experiences and interactive collaboration tools. The operation of these technologies allows customers to execute almighty analytics connected highly ample and analyzable concern information connected the backmost extremity portion providing a elemental web-based beforehand extremity that makes results casual to recognize and actions casual to execute," Lebovitz said.

IoT, blockchain, large data, AI, instrumentality learning and unreality computing are among the astir communal technologies utilized successful integer transformations.

Additional resources

3 ways the feds tin modernize occupation grooming to lick the tech workforce shortage (TechRepublic)
How a virtual bureau tin level the playing tract astatine work (TechRepublic)
What are the ingredients of integer translation success? (TechRepublic)

What are the biggest challenges to integer transformation?

Digital translation projects neglect erstwhile they're excessively ambitious, Veague explained. "What we've seen successful our customers who person gone down this journey, whether it's implementing IoT oregon AI-type technologies oregon large information oregon whatever, is that they learned an atrocious batch on the way. And they changed their expectations astir the worth and what they're going to get from it, based connected what they learned."

A integer translation is genuinely astir digitizing each facet of a business, but not each institution realizes that erstwhile it begins down the way to change.

Langer said, "Where you spot companies failing astatine it is mostly successful the taste assimilation area. They're conscionable not integer people. They don't person the taste aspects connected however to bash that. There is this unthinkable opportunity, successful my mind, done the exertion radical to besides alteration themselves."

SEE: Robodog patrols information halfway and checks server temps. Requires nary treats oregon bath breaks (TechRepublic)

There is inherent hazard successful integer transformation.

"You person to present tons of things, and not everything is going to work. You person to make what I telephone a batting average. A shot subordinate gets up to the plate, and if helium gets a deed 1 retired of each 3 times, helium goes to the Hall of Fame. When you speech to IT people, they deliberation they person to present everything connected clip and connected budget. The world is successful integer translation you neglect fast, and you spell connected to the adjacent thing," Langer said.

Lebovitz said, "What galore companies telephone 'digital transformation' is simply much of the aforesaid manual and static processes. Business Intelligence (BI) has been alternatively blistery implicit the past 10 years, but it is truly conscionable a amended signifier of Excel, and it's thing new. To beryllium successful, organizations indispensable absorption connected deploying solutions that tin beryllium adopted crossed each levels of the company. Successful integer transformations request to marque moving some casual and improved. Unfortunately, galore initiatives neglect to people circumstantial improvements. Teams get excited astir presumption similar large data, predictive analytics, and AI, yet stay excessively focused connected the exertion alternatively of solving an important concern occupation with a wide ROI."

When a squad is excessively focused connected exertion alternatively than solving a problem, the task is apt to neglect and the squad volition defy starting over.

SEE: Straight up: How the Kentucky bourbon manufacture is going precocious tech (TechRepublic screen story)

"There are galore cases successful the manufacturing assemblage wherever a failed strategy implementation has astir killed a business. This assemblage tends to beryllium much risk-averse than others and requires much examples of palmy integer transformations. I americium moving to alteration the paradigm with LeanDNA demonstrating what tin beryllium done with existent results," Lebovitz said.

The astir caller situation is simply a choky labour marketplace arsenic the Great Resignation begins to wounded businesses. The close endowment is hard to travel by careless of however palmy firms are with their endeavor modernization efforts. Successful firms recruit, put and clasp knowledgeable unit (71%) and enactment with trusted partners (76%) to compensate for immoderate accomplishment and civilization gaps beryllium wrong their organization, according to the report, "Secrets of Successful Digital Transformation," by Forrester and planetary bundle consultancy ThoughtWorks.

Additional resources

Six ways Wi-Fi 6 volition alteration integer transformation (TechRepublic)
Transition to unreality helped recognition national easy upwind the pandemic storm (TechRepublic)
Work from location is present to stay: Companies indispensable set to win says ServiceNow's Chief Customer and Partner Officer (TechRepublic)

What are examples of palmy integer translation projects?

BMW, Apple and Amazon are among the galore companies that person undergone integer transformations and thrived arsenic a result. The fiscal manufacture is besides changing, arsenic blockchain makes an impact, and the acquisition and hose industries are ripe for change.

Langer said, "If you're BMW, you're B2C, but there's a full clump of companies that are supporting BMW that are B2B. Ultimately what is going to shingle its mode down is if a user wants thing from BMW, that's going to person a domino effect each the mode down each B2B. What I'm telling each the B2Bs is you amended beryllium precise adjacent to your inevitable C [customer], due to the fact that the user is successful charge. They request a lot. They're precise smart. They're precise exertion savvy. Why is BMW changing their cars each 2 years erstwhile they utilized to bash it each six oregon seven? Because of exertion and due to the fact that radical privation the latest and top successful these cars and much innovations and driverless cars and parking and cameras. If you're a B2B and you're not connected apical of what's going connected successful the C [customer] level, you're going to suffer interaction with your clientele."

SEE: BlackBerry expands Baidu concern to instrumentality autonomous driving to a higher gear (TechRepublic)

Staying connected apical of the request to alteration is the cardinal to palmy integer transformation.

"This full thought wherever you utilized to beryllium a vertical and you utilized to beryllium capable to beryllium successful 1 manufacture and bash it truly well, everybody's becoming much horizontal. Some are struggling, right? Look astatine GE, wherever they created GE Digital. Let's look astatine Uber. I cognize they've had problems, but look astatine however they person transformed the mode radical travel. Or Lyft. We spot these individuals, that these tiny companies, the Davids are beating up connected the Goliaths due to the fact that they're much agile. They're catering much to the purchaser oregon the consumer," Langer said.

Where should our institution commencement with integer transformation?

For immoderate companies it's hard to cognize wherever to commencement erstwhile it's clip to instrumentality a integer strategy. Overcoming the archetypal inertia is the cardinal to starting down the way to integer change.

"I'm a large believer that you commencement successful the opening and follow a crawl-walk-run approach, particularly if immoderate of these technologies are not acquainted oregon not successful wide usage wrong your organization. Pick immoderate tiny projects and get started with them. Because the hardest portion to a integer translation travel is conscionable getting started. And I'm not truthful definite it matters wherever you commencement due to the fact that the insights you summation and the acquisition you get volition archer you what the adjacent measurement is," Veague said.

If an enforcement starts with a humble acceptable of expectations, and doesn't oversell the worth of the project, it tin service arsenic an innovative and learning experience. Whatever cognition is gleaned from the archetypal task tin beryllium reapplied to the adjacent project. By repeating this a fewer times, it results successful an agile attack and that volition springiness the champion results.

Within companies that person started reasoning astir however to make a integer translation pathway, determination is typically a infinitesimal erstwhile it becomes evident however technologies could beryllium utilized to bash a task differently. Veague said, "The existent nonsubjective of getting started and pushing that strategy is to get to that infinitesimal wherever you tin say, 'Wow, present that I tin spot this, if I lone had this oregon that oregon a small spot much information, if I could lone stitchery 1 much portion of data, I could get to the adjacent step.'"

Once that process begins, it spurs much changes and becomes a self-driving workout and the translation begins rolling out, Veague explained.

Forrester and ThoughtWorks suggested a fig of steps organizations tin instrumentality arsenic they statesman to enforcement their translation initiatives:

Take a wide attack to gathering retired your skills portfolio. It takes clip to make oregon enlistee radical with the skills required to execute and support the transformation. Partners tin capable gaps.
Prioritize customer-facing applications and those wherever velocity matters. Applications and workloads that service customers tin thrust concern value.
Align translation efforts to expected concern goals. When the benefits of modernization decision-makers expect were compared with what they really attain, "we find that modernization goals are mostly attainable. And adjacent though operational and exertion improvements mightiness not beryllium arsenic important, these benefits are besides achieved."
Plan connected a 12-to-18-month skyline but expect to set on the way. Organizations should spot indications of occurrence oregon nonaccomplishment earlier the 18-month midpoint for astir palmy translation efforts. They should besides spot aboriginal indicators by the 6-to-12-month mark. Use predominant feedback to place blockers and instrumentality corrective action. If advancement is not demonstrable astatine the 18-month mark, past it's clip to see stronger corrective actions.

Additional resources

Digital translation timelines tin beryllium derailed by mediocre communication: Here's however to enactment connected track (TechRepublic)
Accenture crowdsources 25 signals of concern change (TechRepublic)
5 things to cognize astir getting started with cryptocurrency (TechRepublic)
Driving modern tech successful a post-pandemic world (TechRepublic)

Who should pb integer translation projects?

For integer translation efforts to succeed, who you prosecute matters.

"Regardless of industry, endowment is the fig 1 instrumentality of immoderate integer translation undertaking. It's portion hiring, portion improvement and portion inspiration of endowment (culture) that sets an IT squad isolated from others. A institution tin person a large concern model, but without a large civilization and workforce down it, it volition fail. If you're not actively seeking caller endowment oregon elevating existing talent, you'll ne'er alteration digitally," Williams said.

SEE: IT leader's usher to achieving integer transformation (TechRepublic Premium)

Opinions alteration astir who should spearhead integer translation wrong a company.

"Simply put, integer translation is the CIO's occupation and should beryllium astatine the forefront of what he/she thinks about. He oregon she should person an up-to-date knowing of concern problems and what IT tin bash to code them with people, technology, improved processes, models, and IT competencies. CIOs should beryllium successful the concern of transforming their institution with the assets astatine their disposal each the time," Williams said.

Lebovitz said, "There is an emerging relation successful manufacturing called main translation officer—they are often a cardinal operator of these projects. For different companies, the emblematic person would beryllium the CIO, main procurement officer, VP of operational excellence, oregon VP of proviso chain."

Digital translation doesn't person to beryllium radical; instead, it's astir ongoing innovation.

Langer said, "The sayings 'Either you're increasing oregon you're going,' and 'Stagnation breeds failure' are much applicable contiguous than ever before. Successful organizations person to grow. If you don't similar change, you've truly got a large problem. There's ne'er been a probe nonfiction that says organizations emotion change, but you person to beryllium alteration ready."

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