What Technologies Should I Include in My Digital Transformation (Dx) Strategy?
Deloitte reports that ‘The implementation of digital technologies can help accelerate progress towards enterprise goals such as financial returns, workforce diversity, and environmental targets by 22%.’
If your enterprise is about to undertake a Digital Transformation (Dx) project, you should understand that these initiatives require a focus on more than technology itself. In order to succeed with this strategy, the business must focus on business processes, day-to-day activities and tasks and the culture within the organization, so that the environment is prepared to support all the changes you will make within the technology infrastructure.
‘Be sure to perform a thorough and complete assessment of tools, software, networks and other components of your business technology that may be localized or regional or limited to one business unit.’
Of course, Dx DOES require a focus on virtual technologies, computing environments, data storage, such as computing, networks, hardware, software products and applications, and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), Software as a Service (SaaS) and mobile applications used by team members and customers and stakeholders. In short, today’s technology reach goes far beyond the walls of the enterprise and, when you consider how your team, your customers, your suppliers, and your stakeholders use or connect to your technology, you know you must include all of these components in your Dx strategy.
Here are just a few of the components of the technology infrastructure you will need to consider in your Digital Transformation (Dx) strategy:
Public, Private and Hybrid Cloud Platforms – Data resides in public, private and hybrid cloud platforms and, as your workflow and business processes are assessed, you will need to include access to and security for these cloud environs, as well as any integration and streamlining your team (or your IT consulting partner) must include in the plan.
Data Warehouses, Data Hubs, Data Lakes – Data integration can help you streamline activities and make information more accessible. Your data warehouses and repositories must be included in your assessment with appropriate user access controls and data migration and integration strategies.
Hardware, Servers, Network – Any and all of these components can impact the success of your Dx project. Your technology assessment must review these aspects of your infrastructure and determine whether you will require upgrades, streamlining or expansion.
Software Applications and Products (Legacy, Best-of-Breed, ERP, etc.) – When you undertake a Dx project, it is a good time to evaluate the software products and apps your team and stakeholders are using and determine whether any of these are ready for upgrade or replacement. Organizations change over time and a familiar software product or app may be popular with users, but perhaps one or more of these is no longer sufficient to meet your requirements. As part of your Dx strategy, you should take a hard look at the appropriateness of these tools and plan for replacement, upgrade, or changes.
Mobile Applications – Any Dx strategic initiative must accommodate mobile apps in use by business users, suppliers, contract workers, or other stakeholders. Today’s mobile apps are important to workflow and business processes and must be included in user access, integration, compatibility, and security considerations.
IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS Platforms – Your business may have reduced its dependence on on-premises, licensed products and services and, any Dx initiative must accommodate these new environmental dependencies.
‘Today’s technology reach goes far beyond the walls of the enterprise and, when you consider how your team, your customers, your suppliers, and your stakeholders use or connect to your technology, you know you must include all of these components in your Dx strategy.’
These are just a few of the technology considerations you will need to include in your Digital Transformation (Dx) strategies. Be sure to perform a thorough and complete assessment of tools, software, networks and other components of your business technology that may be localized or regional or limited to one business unit. Don’t leave your users or stakeholders behind!
If you need a roadmap to Dx, take a look at our White Paper for more details on the factors to consider in planning and deploying a Digital Transformation (Dx) initiative: Preparing Your Business For Digital Transformation And Data Literacy. Be sure that your Data Transformation (Dx) Strategy Encompasses Other Aspects Of Your Business Environment like enterprise culture, etc. Let us help you get started with a Digital Transformation (Dx) initiative.
Original Post : How Technology Figures Into Digital Transformation (Dx)!
