Advantagenix

It appears that the race towards digital transformation failure continues. It appears that this trend is unlikely to reverse itself anytime soon, in fact, according to our latest survey, the pace of digital transformations is accelerating as the pace of digital transformation failure is increasing at a faster rate.

It appears that many leaders now think that Digital Transformation is “The Best Solution” or a “Must Have Solutiion” for future success for their organisations because of information that could be considered misleading.

It appears that some leaders still consider advances in technology to be disruptors and competitive advantage. Digital Transformation is being sold as a competitive advantage and a potential disruptor.

Technology changes frequently, what is the latest today will be outdated tomorrow. All organizations will continue to be forced to change as technology changes, new technology has forced organizations to transform for decades without the extremely high failure rates of today.

The organisations doing digital transformations thinking they are becoming the innovative disruptors will soon be the disrupted whenever the newer technology is released and adopted by other organisations. Everyone should know by now that technology has a planned obsolescence, all technology companies implementing digital transformations for clients certainly know their technology will be obsolete soon, consulting companies leading digital transformations should also know this. Digital transformation should not be considered a disruptor and should not be considered as a sustainable or durable competitive advantage. The timing of adopting new technology is important, digital transformations decisions need to be considered very carefully.

Digital transformation needs to start with a vision of not only how to transform the organization it also needs to include what the future will be after the transformation is completed. Digital Transformation success requires success in all the established parameters.

Successful Digital Transformation is complicated, change is needed at the highest levels to successfully digitally transform organizations. The CEO, CIO, COO and other leaders now need to thoroughly understand customer centricity, innovation and many other parts of the business and business process reengineering. Cybersecurity becomes an even larger threat that could affect the entire operation.

New levels of Leadership and Management effectiveness should be achieved before Digital Transformations begin. Successful Digital Transformation also requires a shift and transformation of the organization to a digital culture, that is in addition to resilient and agile, flexible and adaptable culture and a catalyst for digital transformation, that takes time and is not easy, continuous optimization and training is required.

Successful Digital Transformation requires the integration of processes, systems and competencies across all functions, levels and divisions of an organization in a staged, scalable, strategic measured way.

As the drivers of technological innovations also shape the directions in which economies and businesses move (and vice versa) the ability to connect the dots and step away from linear view towards elasticity and hybrid approaches. Understanding the impact of transformations in so many areas is probably one of the main challenges for executives in this hybrid and fluid world. In practice this means that executives need to have a far better understanding and skillset regarding the various domains which are involved in digital transformation processes.

Digital Transformation is not about technology, it is about creating value in every aspect of your organization that is intended to create great value for customers. Technology is a small piece of the big picture. Digital Transformation is also cultural change which makes implementation and transformation success much more difficult. Digital Transformation is a process and requires organizations to continually change, adapt and experiment, then relearn and repeat after every update or enhancement.

The rapid pace of technology and digital implementation, digitization of the vast amounts of ever increasing information and new analytical tools have not gone as planned, technology does not insure success. In addition, big data is often misinterpreted and misconstrued leading organizations in the wrong direction, causing large scale problems.

Many over-zealous technology sales engineers and supposedly the best and biggest management consultants are pushing Digital Transformation as if it was the one and only solution to everything at the same time their Digital Transformations are failing at ever increasing, unacceptable rates. They push Digital Transformation as a must have solution with a variety of sales pitches including new competition, the Covid-19 pandemic and uncertainty. We have heard many justifications such as “Your competition is doing a digital transformation so you have no choice, you need to do it now” and “Digital Transformation is imperative”. Digital sales engineers and consultants often cite the risk of possible disruption from competitors as the impetus for transformation, they are driving the fear of “missing out on great opportunities”. Organization leaders, consultants and technology sales engineers seem to be forgetting that the planned processes and systems as well as the management of the systems need to be correct before organisations can be transformed digitally. Some consultants are pushing Digital Transformation at the same time they are admitting it is still a work in progress. Other consultants are pushing digital transformation as a way to solve complex business problems. Many of the top and biggest consultants are clearly putting the cart before the horse, they should know that “work in progress” digital transformations should not be attempted and digital transformation should not be the method used to solve complex business problems. Complex business problems should be solved before digital transformation. At this time with all the problems, the term “Digital Transformation” seems to be not much more than over-used marketing and sales term used to sell very expensive technology platforms which do not achieve client objectives. In the past 13 years with the exception of technology companies there has been very little earnings per share growth, now you can understand why.

Many organizations implementing digital transformation have come accustomed to failure. Organization leaders looking for short term satisfaction and results often look to over-hyped technology. Leaders need to avoid making technology led impulse buying decisions and refocus on effective strategies and results oriented sustainable solutions that may or may not be technology empowered to solve complex problems.

Digital Transformation is important but it is not a strategic competitive advantage when everyone is doing it. At this time, Digital Transformation should be considered as part of Organizational Effectiveness not a miracle cure for all problems. Digital transformation is not a goal, it is a method, or system or tool used to achieve objectives and goals. After reviewing all the data including failure rates and huge economic losses, Digital Transformation as it stands now, because of all the failures and misleading information, it appears to be one more “me too” fad and “must have” solution that many over-zealous consultants and digital technology sales engineers push when the opportunity arises.

At this point, because of all the misleading information, digital transformation failures and because everyone is doing it, leaders should rethink their priorities and consider total cost vs total benefits, and create real plans with specific digital objectives as well as detailed strategies before jumping onto the digital transformation bandwagon. Leaders should also search for alternatives that achieve the same goals.

The Digital Transformation Disaster Numbers
Most digital transformations fail causing huge economic losses and many other costly problems for organizations. In many cases Digital Transformation failures and losses increase over time. Our last estimate showed that last year alone $2 trillion will have been spent on Digital Transformation globally and of that $1.64 trillion was wasted, that money could have been used for much more worthy causes that would help make the world a better place. Digital transformation is beneficial only when it provides real benefits and creates sustainable exponential value. Some consultants may have other lower estimates but none can disagree with the fact that at this time, most digital transformations fail causing huge economic losses.

Technology should be considered as only a tool, a system used to implement previously determined solutions. Innovation is the source of new products, services as well as new and enhanced methods, processes, brands, management and customer experiences. Technology is only a method used to deliver innovation.

We also help other organisations get back on track after their digital transformations cause problems for their business. We understand why digital transformations fail, everyday we are on the front lines overcoming the challenges and repairing problems related to Digital Transformation failure. We see many of the same recurring problems. In some cases organisations contact us to fix problems with recently completed Digital Transformations that never performed as the clients intended. In other cases the technology was outdated before the the digital transformation was complete. Some transformations were considered unusable, other organisations determined their old systems performed better. Some clients decided the cost of continuing the transformation outweighed the potential benefits. These problems should be considered unacceptable not as a “work in progress”. Because of the planned obsolescence of technology digital transformation cannot be considered as a work in progress.

Some technology companies and consultants try to change organisations to fit the technology, they also try to change the way leaders lead and change the way managers manage to fit the digital platforms, this is usually not the way to achieve success. All systems, processes, cultures and management need to be optimized before digital transformation success can be achieved, trying to digitally transform organisations that are not ready will certainly result in failure.

We consider successful technology implementation and digital transformation as a change agent or an accelerator when the technology achieves our clients’ objectives and the technology is creating sustainable value in excess of all costs.

We provide a unique outside perspective organisations need to make the best decisions. We are the catalyst and driver of successful digital and business transformation.

We we help ensure organisations including management and leadership are ready for digital transformation, we help optimize business models, corporate strategies, processes and systems; we help leaders develop, empower and motivate cultures; define clear and precise objectives, plan the digital transformation and select correct technology, platforms, systems and applications that best match our clients’ capabilities to ensure the most effective results. We monitor and manage the implementation to ensure objectives are achieved in a timely manner. We help management avoid common and costly mistakes. We help leaders manage and optimize the costs of digital transformation. We help clients create exceptional value with digital transformation.

It all starts with us asking the correct questions, a great deal of research, planning and creating an effective digital strategy, followed by hands on preparation, implementation and supervision. We take the time to plan to get it right, we research, analyze, evaluate and assess everything needed to make correct decisions including culture, needs, future needs, digital transformation objectives and goals, technology options, training requirements, planned obsolescence and total costs vs benefits and many more factors needed to make the best decisions, before clients commit to digital transformation. We also evaluate alternatives to determine the best path forward to achieve the desired results.

We take a holistic approach to digital transformation. We help organizations maximize the power of digital to improve all aspects of their business. We focus on lean and agile, scalable digital strategies and solutions to provide the most cost effective digital solutions. We have a team of exceptional people that focus on augmented artificial intelligence solutions to increase efficiencies and effectiveness when needed. All to help optimize the organization to provide great customer benefits.

We take the time necessary to understand our client’s unique needs and capabilities, then start the process of Digital Transformation planning. When we have all the information and solutions, and the organization is ready we implement the technology and finish the digital transformations as quickly as possible, to minimize costs and non-productive time, to deliver the results organisations need to create value. With more than 6800 exceptional digital transformation consultants we help local, regional and global clients do digital transformations at speed and scale.

We do non-vendor specific, custom digital transformations designed for the unique needs of each client only when we are sure they are needed and provide exceptional value for our clients.

Digital transformation decisions need to be very carefully considered, digital transformation is a never ending process, not a one time investment. Technology is a tool not a solution, we focus on the needs of our clients not what platform is being pushed by technology companies. We create effective technology empowered solutions and total digital transformations when needed. We ensure that effective digital capabilities compliment organizational capabilities and the digital transformation will provide exponential value. There are various types of digital transformations, we help clients determine which type of transformation is needed and how to best achieve their goals.

With our digital transformation and management consulting, and our end to end digital transformation solutions, we help deliver better business outcomes and create sustainable exceptional value.

Our advice and solutions impact real people, real organisations and real revenue, our solutions affect the future of organisations and all their stakeholders. Honor and Integrity is paramount, we take custodial interest in our clients, our solutions and advice are designed to create a positive impact. We consider second and third order effects before giving advice. The most effective solutions that provide that best long term results may not be easy or simple but they may provide the most benefit. Our exceptional people in 125 countries with many different life experiences and perspectives produce the best insights and solutions.