According to April Walker, Microsoft “Digital transformation is not going digital but a strategic repositioning of business in a digital economy.”
Companies cannot just jump into the digital economy by using some digital tools to enhance their existing methods of doing business.
The current dynamic environment threatens the survival of many small, medium industries. Big organisations can offer customised solutions to their customers on any platform they choose.
many small businesses have invested in digital tools to support their operations. They have implemented tools across HR, Finance, CRM, Security, ERP etc. However very few have gone into the next level of digital tools namely AI and analytics. Even as teams work to gather data across various tools and integrate them it takes much longer to find answers to basic needs like customer turnover, satisfaction, customer loyalty, average billing value. More importantly, they lack insights into why the changes are happening.
These small, medium businesses need an integrated approach to digital technology implementation together with AI and analytics to extract the maximum value from their investment.
- They need specialised analytics expertise.
- They need to change how an organisation makes decisions.
Implement a data-driven decision making culture.
A survey conducted last year by Oxford Economics revealed the fact that very few companies(less than 40%) had data analytical capabilities needed for decision making. They are not able to offer personalised solutions to customers. They lose out to other companies that have these capabilities in place.
Today, where a huge amount of data is being collected by every function within an organisation, it requires a data scientist to develop a data strategy to meet company goals and drive profitability. They will determine the quality of data being collected, develop a technological architecture to
- store the data,
- analyse the data,
- make decisions based on data analysis.
- ensure corporate governance requirements,
- enable full range of analytics,
- sharing rights across the organisation.
- data visualisation, a dashboard for quick decision making.
With this, the analytics team will set up processes across the organisation to foster data-driven decisions. They will also analyse trends and develop strategies to benefit from these trends.
Small, medium businesses must plan and acquire adopt these tools over the next few years to meet the requirements of the market and take on the stronger competition.
It will enable companies to deliver more resilient end-to-end solutions, higher customer satisfaction and improve their overall finances.
Transform top leadership into digital leaders.
The main goal of having a data specialist is to prove the value of investments in data analytics. They should show the importance of data sharing, treat data and analytics as an asset, create value and ensure data-driven decision making. this requires top leadership endorsement and support to ensure its success.
The traditional leadership team consists of leaders with analogue expertise who are product-focused, profit-driven and monitor external forces. The new leadership team consists of digital experts who are customer-driven, delivering value through technology, looking for partnerships to grow. By having an ambidextrous team you will have a mix of traditionalists who can help remain competitive in the current market and digital experts who can gradually bring in new technology, partnerships and become more customer-focused.
Small and medium businesses have always enjoyed the loyalty of their select customers, forged by a consistent level of personalised service. It helped generate meaningful insights allowing companies to add value. They could also make decisions faster than competition as they know the customer requirements very well.
It is important to remember that the new age digital upstarts, are disrupters using speed as their primary weapon. To avoid this pitfall, take ownership and transform the organisation to grow your company using the digital transformation in its entirety.
Where Digital Transformations Go Wrong in Small and Midsize Companies
by Cynthia A. Conway and Mitch Codkind
HBR 2021/08
R2G 