In order to remain competitive in today’s market and cater to the changing requirements of customers, businesses must consider investing in digital technologies as the pandemic has demonstrated. However, the transition to a digitalized infrastructure can seem daunting and many may feel uncertain on how to begin. When and how should companies embark on this journey?
It is clear that this is not a straightforward task. However, with a carefully considered plan, progress can be made. Developing an approach to digital acceleration ensures that your business can take advantage of advantageous technologies.
There are multiple essential elements to this plan, however, for the time being, I wish to focus on the initial step, which could be instrumental in determining the overall success of this venture. During this initial stage, your attention should be on selecting appropriate digital projects.
Challenges in Prioritizing Projects
At first glance, determining which digital initiatives your organization should pursue may seem like a straightforward task. However, there are many potential approaches that your company could take to progress with digital transformation. It is important to ensure that the tasks selected are the most appropriate for the current situation.
Having a considerable workload may lead you to think that any digital projects involving new technology will be successful. If you are currently undergoing digital transformation, you may assume that the following steps will become evident as you progress.
Neither of those claims holds water.
It is to be expected that some of your digital initiatives will not be successful. This could be due to a range of factors, such as difficulty in implementation, high costs, a slow return on investment or simply because it was the wrong solution for the task. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed approach to undertaking a digital transformation. As you progress in developing and executing more comprehensive digital solutions, you may find that your original plan needs to be adjusted.
At Works, we have adopted the term “digital acceleration” to describe the swift emergence of digital technologies in the corporate environment. This approach is more than just a faster digital transformation; it is a comprehensive way of digitizing workflows that yields both immediate and long-term benefits.
Due to the rapid advancement of digital technology, it is theoretically possible to rapidly adapt to changing market conditions. Businesses can adopt existing solutions, such as those provided by cloud hosting platforms, to expedite digital transformation. Alternatively, companies may opt to create their own digital tools to bolster existing frameworks.
Consequently, digital acceleration can meet all of your company’s current and future needs. The platform offers the flexibility to rapidly switch between projects to ensure the most efficient returns. This is made possible by the four-stage procedure used for selecting the most beneficial digital project to pursue.
Let’s take a closer look at that method.
Achieving Success with Digital Acceleration in 4 Easy Steps
A successful digital transformation strategy should include a plan which can be adapted to changing circumstances. To ensure success, it is essential to adhere to the four-phase process outlined below. This will enable you to define the original roadmap and any subsequent amendments, enabling you to identify the digital initiatives that will have the most significant impact on your organization.
These are the steps:
Taking a close look at all of the options that exist. The initial stage is to put together a detailed list of all potential digital tasks. To begin, these should be documented, but it is recommended that they are later categorized based on their expected return on investment (ROI) or value. Essential elements, such as the resources required, must then be taken into account (equipment, personnel, finance, time).
Evaluate your weapons. The initial evaluation is likely to be inadequate as the priorities set will not consider the necessary capability to implement the initiatives. To ascertain whether the organization has the relevant skills, resources, data and personnel to undertake these initiatives, an internal review should be conducted. With this knowledge, it will be possible to identify which initiatives are achievable with the current resources and which should be prioritized for a higher return on investment.
Reorder things such that they are more important. It is advisable to take the time to evaluate whether the highest priority tasks suggested by the preceding study are the most suitable. There is no urgency to hastily implement any of the identified feasible and desirable initiatives.
It may be tempting to focus on implementing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system first if the necessary resources are available. However, considering the lower return on investment (ROI) associated with automated customer care solutions, it may be more beneficial to dedicate efforts towards automating the customer care process if customers are currently unsatisfied.
This phase is all about zeroing in on the specific remedies that can help you with your most urgent problems.
Create, test, and iterate four times. Following an in-depth analysis of the data pertaining to all available projects, you should now focus your efforts on those which can be completed swiftly and efficiently, ensuring a profitable return.
The creation and implementation of projects is not the final step. It is important to assess the assumptions made in the decision-making process and evaluate the progress of the project. Are the anticipated benefits being experienced as a result of the solution? Have any unexpected issues arisen during the process? Carefully monitoring these metrics can help to refine the development cycle and priorities tasks accordingly.
It is clear that determining the most suitable initiatives for your business requires a data-driven strategy which ranks potential areas of development based on criteria which are pertinent to the situation. Although it can be difficult to put such a strategy into practice, having the relevant information available can help you to make informed decisions when faced with difficult trade-offs between different initiatives. Although you should trust your judgement, it is equally important to consider any shareholder and employee feedback.
A scarcity of resources required to complete a project may suggest that it should be lowered in the list of priorities. However, this is subject to a range of factors. For instance, it may be that there is an absence of CRM setup specialists, QA testers and CRM engineers within the business. This could be seen as a major obstacle, though it can be more manageable than initially thought (in this situation, it may be possible to employ a QA testing services provider to cover any talent gaps).
When deciding which digital initiatives to prioritize, it can be a challenge for many businesses. It is important not to be overwhelmed by worry or anxiety and to take the time to ensure the decisions made are the right ones, rather than rushing and potentially causing digital disasters.
