How to accelerate digital transformation post-pandemic?

To avail of this era's opportunities, many organizations are radically overhauling their existing operations to compete with newcomers and serve educated, demanding customers. Yet, for many organizations, all the talk of digitization is imperative. Decisions on new initiatives would take some years as committees discussed and considered. Business units had to make a case for further investment in digital tools and projects.

Pandemic- Transformation catalyst:

As the coronavirus pandemic upended in March 2020, the business had to clamber fast to keep functional the way we worked and lived. Those organizations that had reached up a digital maturity were able to react more quickly than those who had unconvinced the merits of transforming. Businesses with established e-commerce operations, for example, struggled to cope with the upsurge in demand.

Amazon followed a global recruiting spree to deal with the burst in lockdown consumers switching their shopping online overnight. On the other hand, supermarkets struggled to deliver, click, and collect slots to their customers. For some, the biggest challenge was to get on to a website. They had to install quite a few new things to keep their digital shopfronts from toppling over.

These instances are tangible proof of what occurs when businesses have to bring their organizations into the digital era. It could be hectic for those who championed transformation projects. However, if you looked at it positively, the pandemic was a clear catalyst for change. A survey by eFax survey shows that 77% of IT decision-makers would have accelerated digital transformation sooner if they were known for the impact it could make on their organization in just a few months.

60% of respondents are accelerating their transformation projects' speed as a direct outcome of the disruption. There are five factors based on the survey what stopped them before:

Insufficient Budget:

51% of respondents believed that more budget if the budget had been expanded for transformation projects, their organizations would have been encouraged to stimulate digital transformation sooner.

Lack of leadership buy-in:

Two out of five IT decision-makers also felt that more buy-in from leadership teams would have encouraged a sooner acceleration of digital transformation projects.

Siloed Departments:

The third major factor was a lack of coordination between departments and functions. 34% more cooperation would have helped.

Restrictive Vendor Services:

Technology suppliers are being held back, which is another issue. With 30% more flexible services, it could have been more helpful.

Upgrade of Legacy:

The challenge of wrestling with old systems and applications, with 29% believing that focussing less on making legacy processes work they would have accelerated more.

Tackling Obstacles

It hardly means the coronavirus came along and swept all those issues. Budgets need to be justified, specifically as cash becomes tighter in an economic downturn. While highlighting objectively, those top five factors are at their core, symptomatic of cultural hurdles/obstacles. Part of IT decision-makers and employers post-pandemic plans need to consider how they ensure those obstacles are tackled as they look forward.

Scott Wilson, Director of Customer Experience at eFax, says, "Digital transformation's main obstacles are symptomatic of cultural obstacles."

If it focuses on leadership buy-in, most organizations will have evidence that transformation projects can deliver enormous value when adequately funded. What requires to be considered is to remain operational. Many enterprises had to radically focus on their core goals in the initial stages of the pandemic. For example, as lockdowns rolled out, the priority changed from office-based workers to online remotely as quickly as possible. Now that has been conquered, the focus requires switching to confirming that any shortcuts taken like bypassing security leave business unexposed.

In March and April, the decisions were crisis-focused, but now the findings need to be about future-proofing. We need to focus on the cultural changes that can be implemented so that siloed departments will never create a blockage on accelerating transformation. Another issue to address is how they can be implemented in a working environment. Securing stable online connectivity is essential, as is the ability to share, review, and collaborate on documentation and files. However, it requires being in a manner that can be accessed from any location. Either it's in office, in the field or at home, or on any device.

In other words, decisions made earlier that enabled fast transformation are one thing, but the choices made now will be in place for some time in the future.

The Post-Pandemic Transformation

The message of IT decision-makers is evident. It conveys that accelerated digital transformation is possible with the right support in place. The initial months of the pandemic proved the worth of digitally transformed operations. What organizations are now required to do is that they cope up with the cultural obstacles. It could be done by holding back progress, providing the necessary support, and making decisions that will safeguard their future operations to tackle whatever occurs in the coming months and years.