Digital Transformation for Sustained Success

Transformation takes place when an organization attains a sustainable dramatic improvement in performance with vigorous employee engagement and effective cross-business cooperation which evolves the culture of the organization.

The Harvard Business Review March 2019 article Digital Transformation Is Not About Technology presents the results of some surveys that give us an insight into the world of Digital Transformation (DT). For example, in 2019 the #1 concern for CEOs and senior executives was Digital Transformation risk, and there is a good reason since the previous year 70% of all DT initiatives didn’t reach their goals, which produced a $900 billion waste, with 85% of employees not engaged in their work.

The HBR article states: “Fundamentally, it’s because most digital technologies provide possibilities for efficiency gains and customer intimacy. But if people lack the right mindset to change and the current organizational practices are flawed, DT will simply magnify those flaws.”

Given that people lack the correct mindset and that the way in which organizations manage their transformation projects can be flawed, it becomes clear that to be successful we require committed senior leaders inside the organization to drive the adoption of the best practices that will take the organization on the transformation journey. This transformation journey needs to be authored and driven by large numbers of your own employees to gain their motivation and commitment and will have to be based on a deep understanding of your customer needs and the megatrends that shape their behavior.

A Digital Transformation Journey shaped by Near BPO’s implementation of the Apigee Compass will enable the alignment of the Vision with the Execution, having an Outside-In orientation with empathy to the needs of customers, regulators, suppliers, partners, employees, and board members. The DT strategy has to be defined by the leadership and delivered by an internal team of champions who operate within an overhauled flat and fast corporate structure.

DT is bigger than IT investments or even platform strategies, nevertheless selecting the correct API platform and development methodologies that are aligned to the vision and strategic objectives is key for the success of a sustained DT, which over time could be defined as Business Evolution.

Article written by:

Bernardo Perez de Lara
CEO
Near BPO