The term “digital transformation” is almost a cliché, but that makes it no less an urgent priority. The most astute CIOs will lead that digital charge — yet most still aren’t. Why are so many companies so slow to make the digital jump? What are the roadblocks?
To answer that question, we posted it to the Society for Information Management’s LinkedIn group, which boasts over 2,400 IT leaders. Here’s what they had to say:
From Bharat Amin, CIO of Newport News Shipbuilding:
A CIO’s primary mission is to enable the business to perform at a highly competitive rate that delivers value while managing the ever increasing technical debt. Because of this intensified focus, along with tightening IT budgets and having to meet regulatory/compliance requirements, CIOs often lose the innovative edge to lead a digital transformation. I often utilize an iceberg pictorial (image link) to conceptualize the relationships between opportunities and the ever increasing challenges to our shipbuilding business.
The part of the iceberg that floats above the water contains the opportunities that can change how we build ships. For example, adoption of Cloud, mobility, and Augmented Reality digital capabilities are good opportunities to pursue in a digital transformation. We must stay ever focused on maximizing business value through innovative solutions with an outside-in approach, leveraging innovation in the open market place, and adapting it to our unique business.
Below the water are the challenges that one must keep focus on from “shearing our hull” and potentially inhibiting us from being disruptive. Some of these challenges that we have seen are: digital literacy, cybersecurity, cultural change, regulatory/compliance, and talent acquisition. Many of the items underwater are known issues to every industry but cannot be ignored. A proficiency must be developed to navigate through these challenges and oftentimes require more effort than others. CIOs must balance the focus of transforming the business into the digital era while not losing sight of the challenges that are ahead. It is critical that the CIO disrupt or face being disrupted in this hyper-changing environment in which we are enduring. I have partnered with my peers to remain focused on these challenges while identifying our opportunities to transform into the digital age!
From Mark Elder, Chief Technology Officer at Acquiro:
John Lennon was quoted as saying “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”
It’s a bit like that with Digital Transformation. As CTOs and CIOs we have a long list of things we would like to get done related to digital transformation. Then there’s the reality of the daily grind of budgets, hiring, educating other CxOs on the team, keeping the existing infrastructure running smoothly, managing vendors, etc. etc.
Anybody who has been in tech management for any length of time has already passed through multiple digital transformations — maybe known by other names. For example: Pre-90s=Legacy Systems; 90s=ERP, EMail, Workflow, early Web Apps; 2000s=ECommerce, CRM, BPM, EAI/ESB; 2010's=Social Media, Mobile Apps, IoT, Machine Learning.
Effective digital transformation will always be governed by the same drivers and constraints: Budgets, Time, Tools, Business Need, and Market Forces.
It’s more of an art than a science sometimes to balance all those factors.
From John Prescott, Director of IT Infrastructure at Unified Physician Management:
As salmon toil to swim upstream toward unknown destinations, so do business toil to reach their spawning grounds. The obstacles are many and the reward yet unknown. The phrases that promise to lead our businesses to greatness are many: The Cloud. Hyper-convergence. DevOps. IOT. Wearables. Nanotech. 3D-Printing. Virtual Reality.
Companies are slow to make the jump into the sea of “digital transformation” for many good reasons. Let’ss assume that IT has reached an optimized maturity model and that the business is likewise mature and running smoothly. What benefit would the company gain from exploring the unknown depths of a new technology?
True transformations are business transformations first and technology transformations second. The desire to reproduce that which has been successful nearly always triumphs over that which is unpredictable and turbulent.
Digital Transformations happen when the tide of opinion turns and the leaders of technology and business set sail for an uncertain future. A petroleum company starts producing plastics and designs a software application to sell, distribute, and market the new product. A toy company starts selling virtual copies of their products, allows for online design build and buy, and markets through movies starring their figurines. A virtualization company leverages content management, all device access, and user experience to build a new product line.
Each company has their own river of options to navigate and each CIO must learn to swim upstream with their business if they hope to come up with a strategy for the future.
Thanks for all who participated, and to take part in our next discussion topic, be sure to join the SIM LinkedIn group!
The Society for Information Management (SIM) is the world’s premier organization for IT leaders. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Visit us at simnet.org.
