9 steps to Successful Digital Transformation

Today nobody is bothered about if you need to go for Digital Transformation but when and how you are doing it.

All new programs or initiatives should now take a ‘Digital First’ approach, with the rapid evolution in social media, mobile, big data analytics and cloud. 

Consumers of all ages are using wide range of digital channels and are increasingly expecting high standards of digitization.

If an organization fails in attempt to digitally transform its business, then there will be multiple predators to eat them out.

Digital Transformation will involve various leading edge technologies like:

• Social media
• Mobile 
• Big Data Analytics
• Cloud computing
• Internet of things
• API management
• User Experience - Responsive web design
• Microservices
• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Virtual Reality - Augmented reality
• Wearables
• 3D printing
• Robotics
• Drones
• Beacons
• Blockchain

Here are the steps to be successful in digital transformation:

1. Boardroom/Senior management buy in, decision to go Digital and drive it across organization
2. Cultural alignment & commitment to Digital from board of directors to entry level employees
3. Identify and assess the current state of the organization on Digital
4. Put Customer first - Prepare customer journey maps to identify all the touch points with organization
5. Find out pain areas at each touch point and respective stakeholders involved who can correct them
6. Prioritize and break them in small projects to adopt fail fast approach. If anything did not work, just accept the failure, publish the learnings and move on.
7. Seek partners to help you in your journey, who take shared risk and shared rewards
8. Deploy agile implementation approach for quick results
9. Market your successes to whole world

Some of the successful Digitally Transformed organizations are:

• Apple – do you need introduction?
• Uber – disrupted taxi industry
• Airbnb – disrupted hotel industry
• Disney – most loved brand in the world
• Tesla – disrupted auto industry
• CVS Health – leader in pharmacy
• Burberry - retail
•  John Deere – manufacturing

Digital Transformation can be achieved only with change of mindset and commitment across the organization. 

There is very little time now for businesses to capitalize on Digital Transformation opportunity to win and serve their customers, to create new products and services that customers want.