Digital transformation is vital when it comes to how companies work, market
and innovate, but up until now little has been offered by way of a maturity
model showing how companies actually go through the process.
Altimeter Group principal analyst, author and influencer, Brian Solis,
recently released a new maturity model for digital transformation in his new
report,The
Race Against Digital Darwinism: Six Stages of Digital Transformation.
“There was a time when technology was a luxury only businesses could
afford,” Solis told CMO. “But as technology advanced,
especially with Moore’s law, consumers not only had access to capable devices and
networks, but in many cases they outpaced business understanding and adoption
of the latest trends.
“Technology and its impact on business and society is only going to progress
and accelerate. The more advanced businesses in digital transformation,
however, recognise this reality and build teams and infrastructures to not only
intelligently react but also lead consumers to more relevant and meaningful
experiences.”
According to Solis, the new model was informed through individual interviews
with some of the world’s leading brands including Dell, Discover, GM, Harvard,
Lego, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nestlé, Novartis, Sephora, Starbucks and
Target.
“One of the reasons for spending over a year-and-a-half building this
maturity model is to help businesses realise that no matter how far they've
come or how far they have to go, there are steps of which to benchmark and
roadmap to help them compete,” he said. “Digital transformation is continuous.
It’s not a state. There’s always work to do. What I’ve seen consistently in
more nascent companies is a sense of awe, not knowing exactly where to start
and where to end. In more mature companies, they haven't done enough.”
The report defines Altimeter’s definition of digital transformation as the
realignment of, or new investment in, technology, business models and processes
to drive new value for customers and employees and more effectively compete in
an ever-changing digital economy. It identifies a series of patterns, processes
and models that form a consistent foundation for change. They’re organised into
six progressive stages:
Although the maturity model is presented in a linear format, Solis noted research
shows that companies may span multiple stages at once depending on their goals,
resources, and overlapping initiatives.
The maturity model also can be a foundation from which to gain insights into
new behaviours and trends, create alignment, prioritise initiatives, set a new
vision for leadership and develop new models, processes, and a purpose for
technology and the future of work. By following this model, Solis expected all
aspects of business evolve, including management perspectives, roles and
responsibilities, operations, work, and, ultimately, culture.
Interestingly, the report also found CMOs are now outspending CIOs in
technology investments in an effort to drive the digital transformation
process. On top of this, Solis found customer experience is a primary catalyst
for driving change, with CMOs, CIOs and sometimes CDOs forming new models to
jointly lead common efforts.
In order for CMOs to better embrace digital transformation to enhance the customer
journey, Solis recommended taking on-board the report’s ‘OPPOSITE’ framework:
“Digital transformation isn't easy but it is among the most effective ways to future proof an organisation while building an infrastructure to be more agile and innovative,” Solis concluded. “But make no mistake, this is the long road, not the short cut. To disrupt markets, you have to start by disrupting yourself.”
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