The 6 challenges of digital transformation
The Titanic seemed unsinkable. However, it did not anticipate the Iceberg that broke its pace. Digital disruption is the iceberg that companies must anticipate as soon as possible.
Digital disruption is the biggest change that companies face today, here are the three factors:
- Consumers are more connected than ever, to each other and to Relationships are being more and more flattened and there is a dire need for buying differently: People are looking for access instead of property (Spotify, Autolib, AirBnb)
- There is a tsunami of innovative and agile startups that invest every market that big companies have been ruling over for a long time. No matter the core business, old companies are more and more threatened by these new competitors that have a native digital DNA.
- Digital is not only about Silicon Valley startups. It is also about giant of tech, a.k.a the GAFAM: Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft. Here are your real competitors. These companies have grown very fast and now rule the digital world, so that their business units are endless. They spread the digital everywhere (payment, delivery, edition, health…). Are you ready to face them?
What is the answer to this new paradigm? Once digital disruption becomes a reality for companies, the time for digital transformation has come: it is now or never.
Big Data, Open Innovation, Social CRM, e-reputation, 3.O… Sometimes these buzzwords frighten CEOs and leaders because they just do not know how to use them. In our global market, digital transformation is not just a matter of technology investment, it is about transforming significantly culture, leadership and management. Emmanuel Vivier and Vincent Ducrey from Hub Institute have defined the six big challenges to succeed in the digital transformation.
Leadership & management envision
One preeminent leader must envision digital transformation for the company so the company can embody the best practices. As digital ecosystem is growing and moving so fast, the leadership vision must be updated as much as possible. Attending innovative meetings such as CES, MWC or NRF can be really inspiring for the board of directors.
Organisation and culture
Digital culture is bounded to the Internet culture which is openness, communication, creativity and horizontality. Then, digital transformation is motivated by the ‘laisser-faire’ state of mind inside companies. Let people from others departments work together, develop employee’s ideas, test things, learn from it, dare. A new culture leads to a new organisation that enables to break down silos and work in a more flexible and reactive way.
Technology
This is not the easiest part as software and hardware are getting obsolete really quickly and the tech landscape is extremely complex. It is hard to make the good choice once your company needs to be equipped. Fortunately, a lot of Software as a Service (SAAS) that use the cloud technology helps manager to flatten real cost of the organisation. But the hardware adoption is still a big challenge: a lot of managers use old devices not adapted at all to digital reality.
Data
Dats is the new oil of the Internet. The GAFAM have built their business on it and some of them use it for a predictive way. As old companies are increasingly becoming software companies, it is time to check what kind of data they own to understand, target and measure better the core business. A lot of companies have already built their own DMP and others rely on business solutions of IBM, Adobe, SAP… Whatever the one you use, managing your data and opening them inside your company is the key to success for the 10 forthcoming years.
Marketing and customer experience
Customer experience remains the key for marketing and it can be done through digital technology. Companies must overtake customer expectations instead of just follow them. Nestlé and Orange have already created their own Social Room to monitor social reviews on the Internet and integrate them in their strategy. The end of mass advertising.
Performance Measures
The good news on digital is that everything is measurable, but not everything is worth it. The role of a good digital leader is to spot the most relevant indicators and grasp the best of it.
Measuring makes sure the strategy is relevant and enables to communicate better on the right touch points.
The above six challenges that are bounded by technology. The success will depend on whether every employee and manager is ready to anticipate, innovate and participate in each step of digital transformation.
Hub Institute is hosting a HubForum in Singapore on 18 May.
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