Any given company is in a state of digital transformation, whether they know it or not. Disruptive startups have forced all businesses to adopt new technologies in order to remain competitive, and the role of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) has never been more important.
For the CIO, this means taking a strategic role in leading the enterprise’s digital transformation efforts. This means working closely with business leaders to understand their goals and objectives, and then developing and implementing the technology strategy and roadmap that will enable them to achieve those objectives.
The CIO must also ensure that the enterprise’s IT infrastructure is ready to support the new digital initiatives. This means having the right mix of hardware, software, and networks in place, as well as the necessary security and data management capabilities.
As a CIO, you’re always looking for ways to improve your company’s efficiency and bottom line. However, you’re also under constant pressure to do more with less. This is especially true when it comes to digital transformation. There are so many potential areas to focus on, but you can only do so much. You need to prioritize your initiatives and carefully consider which will have the biggest impact. Otherwise, you’ll quickly become overwhelmed and bogged down in details. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of the top CIO dilemmas when it comes to digital transformation. These are the issues you need to be aware of and keep top of mind as you move forward.
Digital Transformation Dilemma #1: Businesses lack a clear vision
Digital transformation is often discussed as a goal, but it is not a goal, but a way to achieve it.
Digital transformation can be a daunting task for any organization, with a lot of moving parts and stakeholders involved. It’s no wonder that businesses can sometimes lack a clear vision for their digital transformation initiative.
A clear vision helps businesses focus on what is important and what needs to be accomplished. It also helps businesses prioritize their resources and understand where they need to invest their time and money.
Without a clear vision, businesses can become sidetracked and waste time and money on unnecessary projects. They can also miss out on important market trends and opportunities. A clear vision is essential for businesses that want to undergo digital transformation.
■ What should the CIO do?
The first step for any CIO looking to lead their digital transformation is to get a clear understanding of what digital transformation is – and what it isn’t. Too often, digital transformation is confused with a simple digitization effort – such as automating manual processes or migrating to the cloud. But digital transformation is much more than that.
To truly transform, businesses need to rethink everything they do – from how they engage with customers, to how they develop and bring products and services to market, to how they run their operations.
This requires a fundamental shift in mindset and a new set of capabilities – which is why many organizations struggle to make the transition. The good news is that there are a number of ways CIOs can help their organizations succeed with digital transformation. But it starts with having a clear vision of what you want to achieve. Without a clear vision, it will be difficult to gain buy-in from other executives and align your team’s efforts.
The CIO must define what digital transformation means for the company. This means having a clear understanding of what the company wants to achieve and what technologies will be necessary to get there. Once this is established, the CIO can develop a clear vision for the transformation, outlining what the company is currently doing and what it needs to do to reach its goals. This vision should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. In other words, it should be clear what the company wants to accomplish, how it will know if they are successful, what resources it will need, and when they want to achieve it by.
Digital Transformation Dilemma #2: Repeated changes in business strategy
Digital transformation can be a powerful tool for businesses, but it can also be a source of frustration and confusion. Many businesses find themselves caught in a cycle of repeated changes in business strategy, as they attempt to keep up with the latest trends and technologies. A change in the business strategies mid-stream can create havoc for the IT department and can lead to a feeling of constantly being in flux and can be detrimental to both the business and its employees.
Anyone who has played the game of whack-a-mole knows that moles appear more and more frequently, and you can’t hit all the moles with only one mallet.
Sometimes executives are asked to focus on company strategy, but still use technical achievements as the evaluation criteria, which is like whack-a-mole, and executives don’t know where to start. Enterprise transformation is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and focused work. If the anchor point of executives formulating operational strategies frequently changes, the transformation will most likely fail, and even affect the reputation of executives.
■ What should the CIO do?
Focus on what to do, less is more. Reevaluate your personal work and project schedule to ensure that your work items are aligned with the goals of digital business transformation. By doing so, you can stay focused on what’s important and avoid feeling overwhelmed.
Quickly and effectively communicate the changes to the team.
Mapping out the RACI to ensure that everyone involved understands their role and to whom they need to report. Delegate your operational responsibilities to the best managers and change your role from “problem-solving” to “reporting.” This can help to avoid confusion and conflict, and ensure that the project is completed efficiently.
Digital Transformation Dilemma #3: The negative or resistive attitude of employees
In order to ensure the success of digital transformation within a company, it is essential to have the employees on board and working together towards a common goal. However, often times there is a negative or resistive attitude among employees which can act as a barrier to transformation. There are a variety of reasons why employees may have a negative attitude toward change. Perhaps they are comfortable with the way things have always been done and are resistant to new methods. Maybe they are afraid of change itself and the unknown. Or, it could be that they simply do not see the need for transformation. Whatever the reason, a negative attitude from employees can severely hinder the digital transformation process. It is important to try to identify the root cause of the negativity and address it head-on. Only then can companies hope to move forward with a successful digital transformation.
■ What should the CIO do?
CIOs can help employees understand corporate transformation and tell employees that they can navigate the uncertainty that it brings. Make each employee aware of their importance, form true cohesion, and make digital relevant to everyone. At the same time, spend a lot of time working with employees. Provide leadership so they understand and believe in the vision and plans you lead.
Digital Transformation Dilemma #4: No support from middle management
The impact of the transformation is most clearly felt by middle managers, and the old school among them is often the most resistant group. They sometimes support transformation on the surface, but only continue the status quo in a new form, not changing the medicine. They have management experience and expertise, but they become complacent and unwilling to change. Businesses have always tended to focus on the skills and experience of their technical staff, but companies haven’t thought enough about what management needs to do to help make the transition happen.
■ What should the CIO do?
Take middle managers as the main communication objects for enterprise transformation. Think about what information they need to know, they are most likely to find problems from lower-level employees, how do you know their understanding of the transformation work?
Take time to communicate with middle management. You have to understand that they are caught in the middle and are worried about whether they will be laid off after the transformation. The lower-level employees have asked them a lot of questions, and more communication with the middle management to help them solve their problems will strengthen their role in promoting the transformation of the enterprise.
Eliminate managers who are not interested in transformation. Generally speaking, 80% of employees don’t care about business transformation, and a negative manager can have a devastating impact on the team.
Digital Transformation Dilemma #5: Pursuing quick profits
One of the biggest mistakes that companies can make is pursuing quick profits over long-term success. The board of directors always has unreasonable expectations and requires that digital transformation can bring about doubled performance growth in a short period of time, and many promising transformation plans are prematurely stopped.
This can lead to a number of problems, such as poor decision-making, unrealistic expectations, and a lack of focus on the customer. Quick profits are often the result of cutting corners and taking shortcuts, which can jeopardize the quality of the product or service. Long-term success, on the other hand, requires a different mindset. It’s about making decisions that will benefit the company in the future, even if it means sacrificing some short-term gains. It’s also about building relationships with customers and creating a brand that they can trust. Digital transformation can be a great opportunity for businesses, but only if they avoid the mistakes that can lead to quick profits.
■ What should the CIO do?
Set reasonable profit expectations. Build the board’s patience for profitability ahead of time.
Break down the promotion goals and KPIs of the business such as acquiring new users, building ongoing engagement, and monetizing them. Assess your progress against these goals to determine when to pivot or whether to continue investing in your current business model.
Apply Design Thinking and Lean Startup principles. To determine when to pivot, verify that the initial elements of the new business model should be adhered to.
There are many easily overlooked issues that can derail enterprise transformation, and executives can use these small-scale, practical methods to gradually achieve their digital business transformation goals.
