Digital transformation is a big term in the business world today, and everyone has a different idea of what it means. Lukáš Cingr, Head of Customer & Digital Advisory at KPMG, spoke at the Digital Transformation Summit (DTS) 2023 about what lessons can be learned from companies that have already gone digital. He gave 5 tips on how to make the most of digitalization.
Companies are increasingly investing in digital transformation. However, according to surveys, up to 70-75% of transformation activities in companies fail to meet the original vision and do not bring the desired results. In his presentation, Lukáš presented several reasons why this is the case.
There are several reasons why transformations fail, and they chinese overseas british database can be divided into three categories. The first is a vague or non-existent vision and goals. If senior managers don’t see the transformation the same way, they will communicate inconsistently down the organization, which is a problem. Therefore, always clarify a shared vision and set specific and realistic goals for the transformation.
Change can also be hindered by the executive, i.e. insufficient or unsystematic management of the process within the company.
Up to 38% of the reasons why transformation fails are due to insufficient readiness and culture. As part of the transformation, the company should invest in the transition of employees to new roles – without this, you cannot work with the same people and expect different results.
Digitalization is simple when it’s not complicated
Lukáš continued with examples from practice – Nokia in the never copy text from something you saw on the internet past clung to its software and ignored innovation. The result? Today, Nokia is perceived as “nicely retro” and has become an example of a company that did not understand customer needs and was behind the times.
The opposite is the case with IKEA – a notoriously offline company until they hired a CIO from Google four years ago. This changed the mindset of employees and the company started listening to the needs of customers. Customers can now try products in the store and order them online. As a result, IKEA now records 30% of its sales online, compared to 7% a few years ago, despite being historically extremely non-digital.
Lukáš also shared with DTS 2023 participants five methods for making the most of digitalization .
1. Base your vision and goals on the client
Most companies transform to improve the customer experience. Unfortunately, 67% of companies fail to translate the theoretical strategy of “the customer is the boss” into the DNA of the entire organization. You can imagine it as a factory where employees “work hard”, they produce a beautiful car, but they put the steering wheel on the other side, so the customer doesn’t buy it.
So what steps should you take if you want to focus on the customer? Describe your goals, results and vision well. It is not enough to say that you will be pro-customer oriented. Ask yourself specific questions: In what sense do we want to be pro-customer, what does this mean for us? Who and what do we sell? How do we ensure that the customer returns?
2. Fine-tune the future architecture before you start
Lukáš gave the example of a government website that was to be used in the USA to register people interested in health care. The website required an investment of 840 million dollars and the involvement of 30 supplier companies. However, without coordination and a clear division of tasks, the website ended in a fiasco. The system constantly crashed and thailand data only about 1% of those interested could register. Even so, it can end up like this if the integration architecture is underestimated.
How to avoid such problems? First of all, stick to one architectural picture at all levels. Do not focus on one specific area of the company, but cover all departments affected by the changes – IT, business, data, operations, etc. This way you will avoid finding out after half a year that you have to rework the entire project.
3. Reduce complexity and avoid development
Answer the question honestly: Do all your processes and applications add value to the company? Do you really need all the processes, or can you eliminate or shorten some of them? Don’t forget to rely on data.
You can also reduce complexity by using ready-made solutions. As Lukáš Cingr says, in 2025, 70% of new enterprise applications will be built on low-code and no-code technologies. You don’t have to start from scratch and spend months developing existing tools.
4. Don’t do anything without data
Up to 58% of companies are unable to navigate strategic steps based on data. And data is key. Just look at Amazon, which started out selling books, but today perhaps knows more about us than we do. Data is the source of profit and revenue, so take it seriously.
In practice, this could mean creating a unified data repository or at least connecting systems that use the data. For example,