Digital Transformation
Take a moment to think what comes to your head when you hear the word "Digital Transformation". No doubt more than 70% of us would think, having an internal operational environment totally driven by cutting edge technologies & information systems is what that means. This is where the main problem lies in. Even though moving forward with changes in technology is important, what the organization does, how it operates, the strengths & weaknesses, the level of technology & information literacy and etc must be analyzed and understood prior to any change initiative.
High capital investments in IT would require effective strategic planning. There are many companies who have adapted new technology, platforms & digital tools, yet failed in achieving final objectives due to various reasons - mainly low digital maturity level.
Do your own research on this and see how some companies don't even use the platforms & processes they have implemented.
With all above you need to understand one thing. Thats is, prior to digital transformation, there should be a change in culture of acceptance - mindsets of individuals should change in such a way where technology adoption is viewed and accepted as a positive move.
Adoption of digital technology into required functional areas with an understanding of the business, business operations & market condition including a change in culture to enhance value to customers is called Digital Transformation.
Digital Maturity
This is more of a measurement of readiness of an organization to understand and adapt to changes in digital technology.
Can any organization measure the Digital Maturity? Of course yes. Based on different levels of readiness, every organization will fall into one of the categories identified under 'Levels of Digital Maturity'.
Any company would make such strategic decisions with the expectation of growing or increasing performance while gaining competitive advantages.
It has been identified that an organization with high maturity level is likely to make 3-4 times of margins than an organization with lower maturity level.
Where to start the journey? It is important to identify where you stand. Hence, a detailed process, competencies and attitude analysis would be the best point to start according to what I see.
Five (05) Stages of Digital Maturity
1. Traditional
2. Emerging
3. Engaged
4. Competitive
5. Maturing
Moving from traditional to maturing would improve an organization's readiness for Digital Transformation.
Purindu B Jayatilake
DBA (Reading), MSc Eng, MBA, BSc (Hons) Eng, ACMA, CGMA
Comments