These days, it seems like everyone is talking about going "digital." Thanks to the disruptive technologies that have become part of every organization -- social, mobile, analytics and cloud -- the march to digital is happening faster than anyone had ever anticipated. But still, organizations don't become digital enterprises overnight -- it's a gradual process that will occur over a period of years.
What does it means to become a digital enterprise? Does it just happen organically, as more business and IT functions become automated or digitized? Actually, there are some deliberate, concrete steps that can be taken to start the digital journey. In a new report on the evolution of the digital enterprise, Brian Solis, Charlene Li and Jaimy Szymanski, all with Altimeter Group, outline some of these steps, based on interviews with 20 corporate digital leaders.
One point that came through from the Altimeter research is the leadership role IT leaders and their departments need to take in helping their organizations on the digital path. CMOs and CIOs, for one, need to "share ownership of goals and outcomes," they state. "Without doing so, digital transformation efforts become ad hoc, get stuck in silos, lessen enterprise-wide impact, and prevent true scale." Such cooperation reduced finger pointing, and encourages hand holding, in the words of one digital evangelist. "IT participates in every meeting to understand goals and objectives and to provide inventive but realistic solutions, timelines, and costs.” At the same time, "marketing defines the vision of the company and value proposition for customers.”
The report states there are a number of steps that need to be taken to ensure a smooth transition to a digital, or somewhat digital, enterprise. You may notice that many of these steps are similar to those taken for other important business initiatives:
1) Look at the big picture. Digital transformation starts at the top, with corporate leaders providing vision and support. "Document the factors that are disrupting your market," Solis, Li and Szymanski advise. "Assemble data and proof points that help you make the case to the C-suite or decision-makers." Part this selling effort needs to include success stories from other businesses, if available.
2) Articulate a vision. Such a statement should spell out "what digital transformation looks like in the end, the top-line advantages it carries, and how it enables business goals and improves customer experiences in the process."
3) Get an executive sponsor. This person should have the ear of management, as well as the attention of employees.
4) Get to know your current digital customers. In terms of implementation, it's all about the customer, period. Move in this direction. Learn all you can about your current crop of digital customers, Solis, Li and Szymanski advise. What do they seek from your company? What are challenges in reaching and serving them?
5) Map out the digital journey. "Chart a sample journey around what the right experiences for the right customers could be, based on digital behavior," the co-authors add. "Organize the journey by channel and screen."
6) Look for deficiencies in current digital channels. Look for missing features or links in customer touchpoints, assess any corporate policies or processes that get in the way of digital progress.
7) Keep renewing your research. Revisit your digital offerings at least every six months, and adapt your strategy accordingly.
8) Build a cross-functional team to oversee the digital transition. The move to digital requires teamwork, from across the enterprise. Project management principles should be applied so the team operates on an ongoing collaboration schedule and reporting process, Solis, Li and Szymanski note. Also, make sure IT is intimately involved with the workgroup. A reporting process should also be set up to keep all parties informed.
9) Measure results. The Altimeter analysts advise that data collection be a key function within the digital workgroup. They even suggest taking the step of "create new roles necessary to collect, analyze, and storify data." The data collected is part of measuring the impact of digital initiatives.
10) Encourage training and education. Employees and other stakeholders should have the opportunity to develop their skills, knowledge and experience to help pursue the evolving digital strategy.
