Digital transformation is no longer an optional source of competitive advantage. It’s how you survive being disrupted out of the market.
Organisations in multiple sectors are face an increasingly complex and unforgiving economic environment. New technologies, climate-related disruption, a shifting regulatory landscape, and the third once-in-a-lifetime recession in as many decades, are all driving digital transformation. However, the difficulty lies not in deciding to embark on a digital transformation, but in determining if your digital transformation was a failure or a success.
When critically examining a digital transformation, researchers at Deloitte identified three common threads in successful transformations. Among over 4,600 US companies that engaged in DX initiatives, those that saw positive RoI shared these key characteristics.
Three characteristics of a successful digital transformation
First, each successful project started with the articulation of a clear digital strategy. Companies that effectively outline their DX strategy were more likely end up with a positive result. Understanding the goal of a technology in business terms is likely to reduce the odds of waste and overspend, as well as ensure that the project receives the necessary support from outside the IT department to succeed.
Next, the DX project leadership align their technology investments with the digital strategy articulated in the first step. Initiatives that acomplish this are twice as likely to experience a successful transformation.
Deloitte’s researchers note that: “This likely gives stakeholders a more tangible sense of strategies employed, and a way to keep closer tabs on where the enterprise is placing its capital bets—which, for many, can be massive.”
The implementation of digital change programs is the third, most pivotal step. In a report released in February 2024 titled “Digital change capabilities can make or break a digital transformation”, Deloitte researchers note that “Many organisations view “digital change” as part of the value equation, but often think it’s just about change management. Building a true digital change capability is about so much more.”
When digital transformation leaders fail to clearly conceptualise and communicate their technological change initiatives or establish clear ties to the overarching strategy, they risk derailing the entire effort. Digital change encompasses strategies for redistributing responsibilities, rearchitecting roles, and cultivating new approaches to digital-first work in the organisation (and the wider ecosystem).
- Digital Strategy
