Forget about digital transformation
By Harry Worsnop, chief commercial officer at Razor
For anyone who has more than a passing awareness of technology in business, the term ‘digital transformation’ won’t be a new one. However, it’s one that I’d advise you to ignore.
What does it even mean?
For a start, it’s a term that means different things to different people. For some it might mean scrapping all of their old systems and replacing them with shiny new ‘best of breed’ systems that promise the earth (and very rarely deliver). To others, it might mean allowing customers to self-serve via their website.
So using these two examples, it’s either a justification for costly and disruptive change, or a nice buzzword to make someone feel good about providing a service that their competition has offered for the last 5 years. It’s a nonsense.
And do you know who is to blame? We are. The consultancies and the agencies who continue to peddle this rubbish. I’ll even hold my hands up and admit that we use the term in a handful of places on our site because unfortunately, that’s what some people think they’re looking for.
Practically every professional services provider is offering digital transformation: from small digital agencies to multinational consultancies and everyone in between. Are these service providers really delivering the change that they promise? More to the point, is some of this change really needed?
Any business that has got as far as deciding that they need ‘digital transformation’ has probably got one thing right: they have recognised the need for change.
The trouble is that a lot of businesses simply don’t know what that change needs to be, and digital transformation can be a conveniently arbitrary solution to a problem that hasn’t been properly defined.
Start small
So what is the solution for people who thought their business needed to be digitally transformed, but now aren’t so sure?
Look at all of the challenges and opportunities that you have and pick one that can be tackled in isolation. Define your objective(s) and then find a partner who can work with you to deliver against those objectives.
And then? Learn from all the mistakes you just made. Maybe you didn’t involve the right people from within your business. Maybe you chose a partner who wasn’t right for you. Or maybe the objectives that you set ended up steering you slightly off course. Take these learnings along with all of the positives, the things you were able to prove, and apply them to your next challenge.
Think human
We didn’t transform overnight into humans. We evolved over time as we adapted to the changing world around us, and the same approach should be taken when it comes to business. Don’t plan for and try to deliver sweeping change. Maintain a focus on the continued evolution of your business and you’ll be able to leave those digital transformers behind.
