Using digital technologies to create new — or modify existing — business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements is the basis of a successful digital transformation.

Essentially, the goal is to evolve with the technologies that define your industry instead of being stuck playing catch up. 

The first key in a successful digital transformation is adopting digital tools to make information more accessible across the organization, which more than doubles the likelihood of a successful transformation. (McKinsey)

Transformation success is twice as likely when organizations implement digital self-serve technologies for employees, business partners, or both groups to use. (McKinsey)

The Cloud is more than a secure repository for files. You may already be familiar with its ability to store and share files via platforms like Dropbox or Microsoft One Drive. However, you may not know that the Cloud can also help you with additional computing power, application hosting, and relational database services. 

Increased security and superior collaboration are just two of the benefits you receive when making use of the Cloud. Utilizing the Cloud allows both small startups and major corporations to take advantage of a massive infrastructure that would be difficult to maintain internally. 

Losing vital information can cost a business dearly. Paper documents and localized hard drive storage are not a reliable place to keep vital information because they are significantly more vulnerable to damage, loss, theft, or corruption.

Utilizing an electronic repository where you can securely store, find, and share the files created from paper, microfilm, or original digital documents is critical to a successful digital transformation. Authorized users can search for, retrieve and share the information they need 24/7, from any location and on any device.

If you don’t have the right team to steer the technological advancement of your company it’s easy to find your transformation at a standstill. Without a clear vision and guidance, your team is often left playing catch up. Don’t be stuck trying to find digital solutions to problems that have already gotten out of hand. Instead, devote some of your energy into exploring and evaluating how new technologies can improve your workflow. Get ahead of the curve and be ready to face unexpected challenges or strike on new opportunities when they arise.

“Business-wide transformations may also require UX designers, digital trainers, writers, conversational brand strategists, forensic analysts, ethics compliance managers, and digital and workplace technology managers. Data scientists and data architects are also in high demand, as companies seek to glean insights out of vast troves of data, and transformations lean increasingly on machine learning and artificial intelligence.”  (CIO)

Be steadfast and focus on a clear set of objectives. Whether you’re transforming an existing model or starting from the beginning, your leadership needs to be aligned on how to move forward. 

It’s not enough to be reactive. While agility is important, having no clear strategy often ends up with your business following a lot of rabbit trails. Don’t try and change everything at once, instead create clear goals and concentrate first on the areas that will make the most widespread difference at your organization. 

Companies with winning transformations have a better-funded and more robust approach to talent than others do. Transformation success is more than three times likelier when organizations have invested the right amount in digital talent. Traditional recruiting tactics, such as public job postings and referrals from current employees, do not have a clear effect on success, but newer or more uncommon methods do. Success is at least twice as likely at organizations that run innovative recruiting campaigns (such as having recruits play games or find hidden messages in source code as part of the recruiting process). (McKinsey)

As your company advances don’t let your employees get left behind. Investing in your team can lead to a big payoff. Organizations are frequently tempted to try and find talent from outside their current employee pool because of the often mistaken belief that an outside party will be better equipped. However, sometimes a better result can be achieved by training current employees that are already a good cultural fit and who understand the business. 

If your digital transformation doesn’t come with a few growing pains you may not be doing enough. Technology is great on its own, but if it isn’t backed by people then it’s not going to last. It takes the buy-in of your team to really push your transformation forward. Ultimately, you can bring in advanced solutions, but if your team cannot or will not adapt to use them the initiative has failed. 

Remember, adding technology to your business workflow should be liberating – it may open up opportunities for your team to have a more flexible schedule or devote their energy to more creative tasks. If a solution only adds more labor for your team it’s not likely to be sustainable. Technology should be deployed to make life easier, not more complicated. 

Taking the first steps in a digital transformation can feel like huge leaps, especially if you’re a small business. The first and often biggest hurdle in adopting new technologies is budget. Don’t be afraid to shop around, but in the end, choose services and technologies that can grow with your business. Outgrowing a cheaper solution too quickly can cost you, as it requires you to start the research and procurement process over. Not to mention the time spent re-acclimating your team to new software, process, or ideology.

You can save a lot of headaches by being targeted in your approach as well. Think big picture – find initiatives that will have a clear and visible impact. Start your transformation with technologies and initiatives that address your biggest pain points. This will lead to an early payoff, motivate your team, and increase momentum. 

If the answer is no then you’re likely not looking deep enough. Even for the most progressive companies, there is always room to make things better, faster, and more affordable. Take the time to bring leadership together and really explore which of those three areas could use attention (quality, speed, cost). Go through the workflows of your different departments one by one and see if there is a part of the process that is holding back the team. These are pain points you can explore with digital transformation service providers. You may find that there are similar issues across multiple departments that could be solved with a single integrated solution.