Around 80% of organizations have taken on some form of digital transformation within the last five years, according to a McKinsey & Company survey titled “Unlocking Success in Digital Transformation”. Success or failure of such ventures can generally be placed on the shoulders of chief information officers (CIOs).
Just because you’re embracing new and exciting technology doesn’t ensure success. While these technologies are meant to lay out a path to productivity, it takes careful planning, and, more importantly, buy-in from the CIO. To wit: McKinsey’s study found that 16% of organizations say their digital transformation process was successful and only 7% said the performance gains they saw weren’t for a prolonged period.
The likelihood that these failures were linked to poor planning is high. Organizations have to be ready to transform, which can be a complex situation. The following are some tips to help your transformation go off without a hitch:

• Skill Sets
  The team you select to lead the digital transformation has to have knowledge, experience and skills to handle this undertaking. Soft skills are also crucial, as they’ll be leading others and will need to know how to manage people. CIOs should choose wisely when developing the team.
• All In
  Digital transformation isn’t a short-term process. That’s another reason so many companies fail to hold on to their initial positive results — they’re not prepared for the long haul. A sense of urgency must be attached to this endeavor, but the urgency must be sustained.
• Audit for Improvement
  You have to know where you’ve been, where you’re at and where you want to go to be successful. It’s really about measuring success, and you need to figure out how you’re going to do that. Successful organizations have measured such metrics as software release cycle speed, cost savings, and quality.
• Include Employees
  Your team has a lot on their hands in regard to digital innovation, but without integrating solutions with employees directly, their efforts will be fruitless. Make them part of the process so they offer buy-in rather than reluctance to change. Gather feedback from those not on the digital transformation team and gain some objective viewpoints.
• Be Flexible
  Not every application or strategy you put in place is going to be a home run. You need to be willing and able to cut the cord if something isn’t meshing with your processes. CIOs need to be able to step in and make big decisions when necessary, which can be difficult if they’re staring at a budgetary setback. But again, thinking long haul is the key, which equates to long-term gains.

At Access Tech, we have assisted many clients in bringing a wealth of knowledge about finding the right tools and management services for a successful digital transformation. Contact us and let’s talk strategy.