How to design a digital transformation plan for your business

The digital transformation plan is a hot topic for many companies. However, today, as with the great transcendental changes, many still do not know what exactly it is. Next, it will be explained in detail what it consists of and what will be the changes promoted within the business sector.

The digital transformation plan: a historical trend in entrepreneurship

The implementation of new technologies has been a key step over time. Since prehistoric times, numerous technological advances have been glimpsed that propelled innovative production models. A paradigmatic example is that of the invention of the wheel and the plow.
Today, any change revolves around innovations in the field of information and communication technologies. That is, digital transformation. Humanity is surrounded by digital devices thanks to the revolution that the Internet has supposed.
The logical thing is to take advantage of this opportunity to streamline production processes, while lowering costs during the digital transformation plan.
Therefore, during the management of change and digital transformation, the person in charge who applies the aforementioned transformation must use different procedures and tools.
However, during the management, it is also important to emphasize that a new business philosophy and diverse points of view will be adapted. To change the methodology, you must first change the mindset.

What is digital transformation?

There are many characteristics of digital transformation. In short, it could be mentioned that it consists of adapting the production and communication model of a business to digital parameters.
Therefore, the digital relationship is established with different agents such as distributors, suppliers and customers.
This explanation would cover the characteristics of digital transformation in broad strokes, although as previously mentioned, it also implies a change of mentality. Being a digital employee means thinking like one of them as well.
Next, a series of sections will be shown that expose what are the keys to successfully implement the digital change. It will be proven that it represents a radical change in terms of the methods of developing products and services. Also in the relationship between colleagues and customers.

Take into account the objectives and their impact

One of the most frequent mistakes when starting a digital transformation within a company is not taking into account the final goal. Many managers are those who point to the prevailing trend; However, if you don’t map out a bespoke plan and analyze the data, it’s a waste of time.
Applying unplanned changes leads to despair and chaos; and, worse, to decrease performance.
For this reason, the first subject that a company has to overcome in order to apply digital transformation is that of organization and coordination. In this way, you will avoid the risk of losing your existing customers and wasting the niche markets where you exert your influence.
A methodology to consider to apply the changes is the Zachman framework, since it captures what are the relationships and dependencies within the company. The main measure in terms of objectives is to adapt to the organizational context and the structure of the business.

Obtain technological resources and financing

A large-scale change in a company is almost always synonymous with a large capital investment and high technology. Some of the digital transformation projects stand still on the road because, before completion, they have exhausted their investment funds.
For this reason, when implementing this plan, the managing entity must be consistent with the expense that the business entity can assume. Financing capacities must be assessed and, if the budget is met, whether such transformation will cover the costs. It is not about adapting to the digital field abruptly, but being consistent with the streamlining and cheapening of the products and services offered.

Stakeholders need to be involved

All the members that make up the work team must complement each other and get involved in the digital transformation process. Thus, coordination must take into account both the executive and board levels. This avoids potential stagnation when it comes to achieving approvals and adjustments in digital plans.
Some organizations must answer what cloud computing contributes to digital transformation processes. Not only does it have to stay on paper, but each work team must notice the changes.
Some of these changes may be related to more effective access to information. This is because physical barriers are eliminated, obtaining massive volumes of data.

Establish what the milestones will be, through a roadmap

It is essential to correctly address the problems that may arise when undertaking a digital transformation. For this reason, it is necessary that the group in charge of implementing it has sufficient strategic vision and planning.
Some problems that must be avoided in the strategic plan are, for example, abrupt and rapid changes for the business. These can lead to loss of trust on the part of customers, since these changes have probably not been explained in depth. As for the work team, they have to detail and define the milestones, in order to increase their motivation and involvement.
In this way, the transformation plan will establish a series of milestones that define the horizon to be reached. Of course, different stages of evolution will be included with their corresponding descriptions.
To motivate, quick wins are added that increase the stimulation of all involved. However, the most urgent thing is to ensure that the transformation is understood and that it has its raison d’être.
This has been the explanation to carry out a digital transformation plan satisfactorily. It is an upward trend among the various companies, thanks to initiatives such as the
digital kit
, since they see this scenario as the one of the XXI century.