TALKING BUSINESS
Financial value, or return on investment
(ROI) is equally tough to determine.
Measurement is becoming less
about attributing an ROI to a specific
technology, and more about overall
profitability driven through customer
acquisition and retention.
The ROI models for disruption have yet
to be firmly established, but as expenses
are linked to replacing old technology
with new, there will eventually be
a measurable value attached to it.
Until then, most organisations are still
experimenting and will need to measure
success by looking at the customer
benefits achieved. Adopting a milestone,
or step-by-step approach to a business’s
digital transformation strategy can also
go a long way in assessing how quickly
and effectively goals are met.
Roadblock 3: Compliance
centricity within business, and with a
diverse and evolving customer base, IT
decisions are now increasingly driven
by the business in direct response to
customer demand.
Technology is being seen as an enabler
of customer services. It provides the
agility and fluidity that customers
are looking for in a business – a tool
used to deliver business value and
drive digital transformation. Digital
transformation is therefore seen as
a way to enhance and improve upon
customer interaction, rather than a
way to simply implement technology.
Roadblock 1: Skills
Traditional IT specialists may not have
the skills necessary to understand the
business value of new technologies, or
how to implement them for maximum
impact. Typical IT approaches
problems on a case by case basis,
applying a technology to a specific
problem. Digital transformation means
that a technology needs to be matched
to a use case which enhances the
customer experience. New technologies
such as applications (across multiple
platforms), AI and VR require more
programming expertise and business
analytics than the capabilities
commonly associated with IT.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
The key to overcoming the skills
shortage roadblock is not to
replace IT teams or other staff with
programmers or AI – but rather to
upskill where possible and ensure that
the organisations invest in the correct
resources that have skills in customer
experience, business analytics and
technology. Businesses should aim
to re-train and re-deploy existing
employees to parts of the business
where more value can be derived. This is
an opportunity to develop new, in-house
competence – to grow an organisation’s
workforce and create functional teams
in line with its digital growth.
Service providers can play a very
supportive role in this process, as well
as that of shifting the mindset of the
workforce to one which embraces
and actively uses new technologies.
Transition is best driven through
collaboration between business, IT and
a consultative service provider.
Compliance can be restrictive. There are
a host of new and existing regulations
that need to be met, and new
developments are underway to regulate
technologies as they emerge. It is
important to maintain the right checks
and balances to ensure that technology
is implemented in compliance with
these regulations.
Roadblock 4: Pace
Everyone wants to innovate and be
disruptive as quickly as possible, and
with good reason. The digital world is
evolving so quickly that businesses need
to adapt and move as fast, or be left
behind. However, it is vital to implement
a step-by-step approach, which
addresses the areas that will provide the
biggest value first.
Roadblock 2: Measurement At the same time, organisations cannot
afford to wait for a technology to reach
maturity before adopting it, especially
when that technology could place them
at the top of the food chain.
Another potential roadblock is the
measurement of digital transformation.
Businesses are rapidly moving towards
a more digital way of working; however,
it is not easy to measure the success of
the transformation without addressing
specifically targeted problems. Balance is important, and weighing
up a measured approach against fast
implementation is critical for success.
Knowing where to find that balance, and
what will work best for an organisation
is where leveraging third party partners
can make all the difference. n
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