What is Digital Transformation? And when does digital transformation become digital as usual.

You know the phrases, “we have to do that, it’s the cost of doing business” or “that’s just BAU”.

What I’m interested to understand is when does digital delivery in large organisations move from “transformation” to “as usual”.

I’ve met alot of people recently. I’ve recently started my own business, and this seems to be what happens, lots of meetings with new people, its great and really interesting (and hard and an emotional roller coster, but that is for another essay). I’m told “You need to focus on companies doing digital transformation”, I speak to them and I’m told, “We are in the middle of a digital transformation, and we have suppliers for that, so we’ll keep you in mind for when its done”.

I am not actually unhappy with the response I get, but what I am interested in is when does digital transformation stop? Digital as a concept is a moving target, so how can it have an endpoint? I feel like I lived through this transformation my whole career. My Dad started his career as a developer working for Lyons Bakery in the 70s. Amusingly, a bakery was one of the pioneering “tech” companies, creating the LEO (Lyons Electronic Office) computer which started producing calculations in November 1951. Was this the start of digital transformation? If this is the case, when will it end?

Some of you will say, well, digital has really only just kicked off, and personally I would counter that.

Just googling digital transformation comes up with an interesting article on Linkedin by Andrew Annacone, he splits digital transformation into 4 types:

• Business process
• Business model
• Domain
• Cultural/Organisational

Living through this perpectual transformation I agree with him, but didn’t Lyons have to focus on all four of these in 1951? Another example is from my own experience working for a global distribution system in travel, flight booking and management through mainframes started in the 60s and 70s, (and it is still delivered mainly through similar systems today!), does that mean airlines started their digital transformation back then? To be honest, examples like this are endless. With my Dad being the second generation of the transformation and now retired, I wonder if it will also outlive the 4th and 5th generations now joining industry?

Surely we are beyond the point of transformation now and its actually digital as usual. You ask why does it matter?

My view is that it fundamentally changes the way we view the four types listed above. In the view of a transformation, it is a programme and there is an end date, and a new normal is created, but we all know that is not the case. Taking the view of “digital as usual” reframes the thinking that these four types are constantly in flux, which completely changes the way we look at capital and resource allocation against these.

I think this is known in technology companies and budgets and resources are allocated accordingly, not necessarily efficiently or correctly (another interest of mine) but accordingly.

And surely within the technology domain we have bridged that gap to allow for perpetual flux. With the implementation of service led architectures, Infrastructure as a Service, Platform as a Service, anything you want as a service (I along with others will even provide Product Management as a Service), we are now in the world where the flux can be managed. We can move data around, spin up proof of concepts in weeks and have groups of people that are experts in managing this (CTOs, product managers, solution and enterprise architects etc) on hand to deliver it for a fee, limiting the amount of capital to a minimum to try new things.

What does this boil down to? In my view its the sheer nature of the organisation, what that nature looks like I have lots of ideas but would they work I don’t know. What I do know is, my technology Linkedin network and work life is awash with people talking of AI/ML, cross platform apps, microservices, VR etc. and on the other side I know of an organisation that doesn’t see the benefit of giving laptops to all its staff who often work remotely. A bit of an extreme example I know but how is this gap going to be bridged? I think a start is the way we frame the problem, and I know the remedy is not “digital transformation”.

The economist’s view of private enterprise is to provide the greatest return to its shareholders. Is using the term “digital transformation” allowing this to happen? Surely the nature of the balance sheet would change if executives saw it as digital as usual, as the construct of the company would be wholy different. For example, does a non digital company need digital domain experts in house? It needs budget holders for digital (or does it, it could be based on the customer journey?), but can’t the whole lot be outsourced to a digital management organisation? The whole is only as good as the sum of its parts, so surely a digital company would train, manage and create the best culture for digital domain experts. Wouldn’t these organisations gain financial benefits from that through best in industry processes, technologies etc.? Just an idea (that I have a vested interest in😁)

That is just some of my views on why I think removing the moniker of “digital transformation” could impact industry as a whole, and I could probably chat about it all day, but what is your view? Please share! or contact me at philip.taylor@product.works.