It may sound prescient to say that digital transformation is now a businesscommodity. That everyone has already flexed their muscles or is in the process of doing so, and no further exercise is needed. The truth is that, given the expectations that this combination has generated in recent years, there has indeed been enormous progress in business environments when it comes to channeling efforts. So much so that, depending on who you ask and how you look at it, in many cases we can talk about realities of execution and no longer just strategy. However, we must not relax and think that "everything is done," as prestigious entities such as Digital Europe continue to point out the number of disruptive phenomena that we have yet to witness.
The renowned Japanese global company Fujitsu recently published a fairly detailed study (access the report in PDF format) on the degree of implementation of digital transformation processes. Its main conclusion is that Digital Transformation has moved from strategy to execution in most companies around the world, although it warns that experiences are far from "uniform."
For the analysis, the Japanese firm sent questionnaires to 1,535 senior executives responsible for decision-making in medium and large companies in key industrial sectors, distributed across 16 countries worldwide. We cannot fail to draw attention to the term "CxO," as thead hoc executive for Digital Transformation at the same level as the "C-level" executives of companies: CFO, CCO, CMO, and of course CEO. One letter, the "x" (trans), is hardly used today in Spanish-speaking markets.
"The transition to new digital models and operational approaches is happening at different speeds in different industries, and companies are seeing a wide variety of results depending on their levels of digital maturity and the priorities of their sector," says the study, which sought to answer four key indicators: where and how digital technologies are being implemented, what challenges companies are encountering, what business results they are achieving or observing, and what is the degree of effective organizational capacity to undertake Digital Transformation.
The data obtained has more value than just quantitative value, and those responsible for the study have sought to do more than just take a snapshot of the moment we are currently experiencing. In their own words, "the results not only reveal the current digital state around the world, but also offer a guide to the critical success factors for real digital transformation, the kind that leads to radical change in business success."
Regarding the "uneven digital landscape" encountered when interpreting the results, four out of ten companies that operate exclusivelyonline have adopted Digital Transformation almost universally; this is not the case for companies with more traditional operating models, where the majority (two-thirds) have transformation projects underway.
Even more revealing, however, are the "whys" behind decision-making. That is, the vectors or business drivers that lead to the development of transformation initiatives. Because they are not consistent across the different sectors analyzed. For example, finance, manufacturing, and healthcare are primarily motivated by "the need to increase operational efficiency," while transportation companies are primarily driven by "responding to competitive threats" and retail companies by "the hunger for growth."
Among exclusivelyonline companies, the financial industry is the most advanced, with nine out of 10 financial services companies planning, testing, and/or implementing digital transformation. And, as you might imagine, it is also the most advanced sector in terms of results. No less than three out of 10 projects are successful, a percentage they share with the retail sector.
And what accounts for the success of these projects? According to the research, there appear to be six key factors: leadership, people, agility, business integration, ecosystem, and value derived from data (smart data). Fujitsu represents these six factors as the digital muscles of a company.
When it comes to muscles, remember that it's not just about building them up. It's almost more important to maintain tone afterwards. If, once we have achieved a goal, we think that "it's all done," that's when atrophy and "love handles" appear. It's good to have undergone Digital Transformation in so many cases, and now it's time to keep going. We've said it before and we'll say it again: it's not the goal of a journey, it's the journey itself.
Photo byKate TryshonUnsplash
