Does your organization have a digital strategy that goes beyond implementing technologies? Digital strategy focuses on using technology to improve business performance. It specifies the direction that the organization will take to create competitive advantage with technology, and the tactics it will use to achieve these changes. It often includes making changes to business models, because new technology makes it possible to provide goods and services that were previously not possible. Digital strategy therefore seeks for ways to use technology to transform processes, and hence business operations. On the other hand, IT strategy aims at transforming technology in isolation from the rest of the business operations.
Digital strategies at maturing organizations go beyond the technologies themselves. They target improvements in innovation, decision making and, ultimately, transforming how the business works. Leaders must understand what can be accomplished at the intersection of business and technology and they should be prepared to lead the way in conceptualizing how technology can transform the business.
Successful organizations operate with a clear business direction, using a vision and roadmap that define the way forward. Without these crucial strategic instruments, businesses would focus only on solving today’s problems and fail to create continuous value for their stakeholders.
But does your organization have a clear digital strategy? The answer, most likely, is “no”, which creates an untenable situation for many companies, considering that technology is increasingly interwoven into the very fabric of most businesses, markets and societies. New digital solutions offer an opportunity to improve how organizations compete and create a foundation for outperforming rivals.
For companies that use the newest digital solutions, namely social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC Stack), major benefits can quickly accrue. Digital transformation often begins with the customer to address:
- How to get to know customers better
- improve your service levels
- digitize the customer experience.
It then extends to three additional areas:
- digitizing operations,
- products
- services
This is because ultimately, digital transformation isn’t really about technology, it is strategy, not technology that drives digital transformation.