How To Keep Pace With Digital Transformation And Avoid Becoming Obsolete — Niki Allen
“At least 40% of all businesses will die in the next 10 years… if they don’t figure out how to change their entire company to accommodate new technologies.” — John Chambers | Cisco
As a digital transformation leader who champions for diversity, I am a firm believer that technology empowers businesses to reach the highest level of success. A Forbes article “How To Keep Pace With Digital Transformation And Avoid Becoming Obsolete” written by Colum Donahue greatly resonated with me.
The article discussed the importance of digital transformation and the ways companies can stay ahead of digital change and make it through any digital transformation successfully.
“In almost every story of a company succeeding in its digital evolution, the moral is always the same: Adaptation is a critical skill. To put it bluntly, disruption could destroy a business that isn’t prepared for it. Preparing means rethinking how employees and teams use technology to work together and share data. Change is inevitable, and the transformation needed to meet that change starts with you.”
Donahue emphasized on five steps to successfully make it through digital transformation –
1. Make every process as tech-driven as possible.
One of the steps in successfully making it through digital transformation is by making every process as digital or tech driven as possible. This means transforming core operations in a business from physical to digital. This includes engaging the existing customers in a new digital way to optimise existing operations. By making the flow of information digital, the processes can be captures and analysed.
“Make tech solutions the foundational element of your strategy and decision-making processes.”
2. Build a data infrastructure to support your tech.
The second step involves building a data infrastructure to support your tech-driven processes. .This will involve “analyze, synthesize and turn all points of reference into actionable data within the framework of your tech”.
3. Focus on new metrics and KPIs.
“To switch up your operating model, you have to alter your management strategies and how you determine progress. A well-built infrastructure will allow you to identify new metrics and use new digital tools and dashboards to support evolving performance reviews.”
4. Make innovation an ongoing discussion.
Identifying how technologies can be employed in industries in a new way is a key step in a successful transformation. This visionary activity can be acquired by hiring new talent or engaging a consultant who will help in analysing the competition, develop game-changing plans and keep “an eye out for new technological trends that could impact operations in the next five to 10 years.”
5. Embrace change, even when it defies better judgment.
One of the most important steps is accepting and embracing change. Those that don’t will not be able to thrive. However, it is important to note that “Keeping pace with digital transformation is possible, but it’s up to companies to adopt the right technologies to innovate their businesses”
You can read the full article here.
About Niki: Niki Allen is the Chief Information Technology & Operations Officer at Boeing. Niki emphasizes that technology is the basis of all successful organizations. She uses her background in data and analytics to strategize how to help businesses operate more effectively through the innovation of new technologies. As a transformational thought leader, she actively works to use technology to create a more diverse and inclusive future with greater opportunities for all.
