Digital transformation (DT) is when a company adopts new technology
At its core, digital transformation relies on the adoption of technology and leveraging the data and information derived from that technology to drive better operational performance. But what is the difference between the two?
Data are raw facts & figures (e.g., sales numbers, inventory counts, social media views, usage numbers, etc.). Information is aggregated data organized and interpreted to provide context & meaning (e.g., reports, analyses, variances, charts, etc.). Information is ultimately derived from data, but the modern business environment dictates these critical assets be managed as separate objects.
Data warehouses store data from multiple sources securely and in a manner that is easy to manage & retrieve. Common data warehouses are Microsoft Azure, Amazon Redshift, Snowflake, and Google Big Query.
A BI platform, also known as a “data visualization” platform, is a collection of dashboards that organize, interpret, and report aggregated data “Information” received from the data warehouse. The BI tool presents this information in an interactive, user-friendly & visually appealing format. Common BI platforms are Power BI, Tableau, Google Looker Studio, and DOMO. The most common example of a dashboard would be the website you access to view personal finance information such as checking accounts, savings accounts, retirement account balances, and more. The username & password data you enter are used to validate access & retrieve corresponding balance amounts from the data warehouse of your financial institution.
In short, Data Monetization! Chances are your organization has already made significant investments in technology and already began your DT journey. Now that your organization has started down this path it is important to take a moment and reassess your DT strategy to ensure those investments are maximized. Maximizing technology investments is a broad concept but generally includes the following areas deemed critical to immediate & long-term organizational success. If you are not exploring ways to leverage data & technology resources in each of these areas, your organization may not be fully maximizing those resources & investments.
Knowing the power of digital tools is one thing; knowing how to implement them is another. Here are several suggestions to ensure your DT efforts are successful.
Collaboration & communication are essential components in most professional capacities. These attributes are especially critical during the DT process which does not take place and will not be successful in a silo or vacuum. Keep in mind, not everyone involved in the DT journey will be a technology expert and education is a critical component for successful technology adoption.
What question are you trying to answer? What problems are you trying to solve? What outcome are you trying to influence or effect? Answering these questions will provide a clear starting point in your DT Journey.
Enterprise-wide initiatives, such as Digital Transformation, can be overwhelming. Especially at the onset and especially is this is your first macro-level project focused on data & technology resources. To maximize your probability of success try breaking complex problems down into manageable pieces and tackling them one by one, think baby steps! Order of operations matters in how you go about tackling each piece of the bigger equation. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Remain open-minded as you explore potential solutions, use-cases, and modern ways-of-working “WOW”. No detail is too small when considering its impact on the future success of your organization.
It can be tempting to invest in technology and make it work for your business but hold off until you know it is something you can adopt—and adopt well. You want whatever data & technology solution you choose to grow with you over time. Scalable solutions make you more agile so that you can more easily adapt to the needs of your organization and the expectations of your customers. It also helps avoid disruptions or down time as your business grows, evolves, and/ or additional technologies are incorporated into your “Tech-Stack”.
Measuring the impact of DT initiatives can be tricky. How do you measure something like increased efficiency or happier customers, where there was no methodology to measure these KPI’s in the first place? A great way to tackle this problem is to dig a bit deeper into whatever you’re measuring. For example, if you want to see if a DT solution increases your profit, consider looking at average profit-per-project. You can compare average profits from today’s projects to the average profit-per-project completed before you implemented the new technology. This type of comparison was not always feasible in legacy reporting environments, such as excel, but can easily be established & leveraged moving forward, using a modern business intelligence platform.
The DT journey is intended to positively impact all facets of your business. Instead of a data element only serving one department or team, consider the application & value of that data element across the entire organization. There is a good chance the same data can be leveraged (maximized) to benefit multiple stakeholders. With the help of a BI platform the distribution of that data can be automated & controlled to ensure each stakeholder is looking at the most accurate, current, & relevant information available. In other words, there should be one set of data (or single source of truth), but many use-cases for the derived information.
Contact us today to learn how we can help you adopt new technology for your business, improving efficiency, boosting productivity, and staying ahead of the competition.