Digital & Transformation Strategy – How to Keep Moving While it is Developed and Approved

Observations

Background

Strategy is required to provide the light on the hill to guide decision-making, but often takes time to develop. Digital strategy/transformation means different things to different organisations and executive responsibility for digital transformation is shifting. As a result, digital strategy may take extended time to be approved. CIOs need to continue to deliver in order to remain relevant, so adoption of a set of principles can often break the gridlock.

The business environment for many organisational IT functions is going through significant change. Responsibility for digital transformation is now being assigned to new executive roles such as the chief digital transformation officer, that sit outside the traditional CIO and CTO roles. CIOs and CTOs should consider ways in which to remain relevant in leadership of organisational change or else they risk their roles becoming just that of suppliers, so it is important to stay relevant and keep organisation innovation moving in this changing environment.

Digital Principles

There are six digital principles that can be adopted in most operating models and in most architectures. These can underpin the digital and data change journey, and guide decision-making around ICT investment, capability, priorities, and the way we work.

1. Data is Core Business: this principle recognises that data should be a core business activity and be reflected in workforce planning and capability. Organisations need access to trusted data that can be more easily shared, governed, and analysed to make data-driven decisions.The first action aligned to this principle is to develop a data strategy (including data governance) with clear priorities for successful implementation.
2. Maximise Enterprise Platforms: many organisations have invested in sophisticated enterprise systems, such as SAP, Objective, and ServiceNow, which may have additional capability that is not fully utilised. This principle commits organisations to explore and maximise the use of core enterprise platforms, rather than looking for alternative systems in the first instance. The intent is to reduce the diversity and complexity of technology, improve effectiveness of current systems, maximise investment, and adhere to architectures¹.
3. Digital Literacy Uplift: this principle aims to improve digital literacy across organisations, particularly across leadership cohorts, to ensure anyone involved in ICT decisions has a consistent level of understanding of digital technologies and ways of working, such as artificial intelligence (AI). For example, more projects these days have delivery via Agile methods, and in many cases, the business does not understand Agile, nor the changes necessary to their workforce. It is important to emphasise that this is not end-user training.
4. Workforce: modern operating models propose a central ICT service with multi-disciplinary agile teams, embedded across the organisation to self-serve with low-code enterprise platforms. This means the business can quickly respond to minor improvements and business needs on a day-to-day basis, while still partnering with the IT function for corporate activities and strategic projects and advice.Examine the roles you already know about to keep going forward – agile skills, solution architects, integration specialists, data modellers. Examine roles you may need less of, such as infrastructure specialists as we move to Cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms.
5. AI: continue to explore opportunities for the use of AI, and engage with existing platform vendors who are all incorporating AI into their products (for example, Microsoft Copilot). The advantage is that organisations mostly have the key opportunities contained in these systems and vendors can bring in use cases from many different clients. Digital transformation will take this further, but this is a tangible step to maximise benefits in the meantime.
6. Business-Led Change: with an uplift in digital literacy and commitment to explore existing platforms in the first instance, IT functions will be able to work with business partners to ensure business processes also evolve to fully benefit from the capability of digital solutions. In combination with a greater understanding of digital, the onus is on the business to lead change to process (for example, change the culture of ‘this is how we do things around here’) to maximise the benefits of system upgrades and innovation.

Recommendations

• Work closely with those responsible for transformation strategy. This approach needs alignment and collaboration across the executive and governance.
• Socialise and get buy-in from your IT team in the first instance – the what and why of digital principles will need to be explained. Then be inclusive with staff on the how.
• In parallel, work closely with the organisational executive to get support – develop use cases in line with the digital principles and involve the business in collaboration with vendors of the major platforms.
• Develop a comprehensive communication and engagement plan, and empower people at all levels with key messages.
• Ensure the digital principles are embedded in the appropriate layers of governance, especially the budget process and architecture. Remember, alignment with other parts of the organisation responsible for aspects of digital transformation is a key factor.

Next steps

The next steps are all about being able to manage expectations and be clear about roles and responsibilities. It also involves a health check against the principles and recommendations.

The end result will be an organisation that continues to innovate, change, and be responsive to the changing needs of internal and external customers. An IT function that is responsive to these needs.

Footnotes

1. ‘Apply Governance Principles to Core Systems to Achieve Business Outcomes’, IBRS, 2024.