CIO OPINION
CIO
opinion
CIO OPINION
“
OFTEN IT
DEPARTMENTS DON’T
HAVE THE SKILLSET
OR TIME TO DEVELOP
A COMPREHENSIVE
ROADMAP FOR CHANGE.
//////////////////
Tom Needs, COO, Node4
The steps needed
to break your Digital
Transformation paralysis
When you think of words that
often creep into business
meetings without much
context or substance, Digital
Transformation is probably top
of the pile. Here, Tom Needs,
COO, Node4, demystifies
Digital Transformation and
explains what yours might
actually look like, as well as
how to find the right path
for your business.
T
he words ‘what’s our Digital
Transformation strategy?’ are
enough to strike fear into the heart
of many an IT leader.
One of the biggest challenges of Digital
Transformation is the fact that the term
has been so widely applied. It’s now
something of a cliché, or as Forrester
suggests, has ‘come to mean so many
things that it’s almost meaningless.’
Nevertheless, it has become the driver of
so much change in the global economy
that it takes a brave business to not have
a Digital Transformation plan.
Digital Transformation is very real
– figures from Gartner reveal that
79% of corporate strategists say it is
‘reinventing their business’. But what
it actually means will be different for
every organisation and therefore plotting
44
INTELLIGENTCIO
the right path to achieving a shared
understanding within the business and
getting buy-in to a Digital Transformation
plan depends on being clear on
definition, purpose and constraints.
Stepping back briefly from the technology
helps. As the Enterprisers Project CIO
community says: ‘Love it or not, the
business mandates behind the term
– to rethink old operating models, to
experiment more, to become more agile
in your ability to respond to customers
and rivals – aren’t going anywhere’.
By adopting these three core principles,
businesses can begin to refine their
approach and discover what Digital
Transformation means for them – not for
everyone else – and how to find the right
way forward. That’s no easy task, but here
are five further steps to think about.
www.intelligentcio.com