Does your digital transformation process start with people?

The way we think about technology and our future state needs to start with people. Rethinking the sort of insights and data that inform the decision-making process on digital is a good start.

Datacom’s eBook, ‘Digital transformation: progress starts with people’, explores three ways you can add the “people factor” to your digital transformation process.

Nearly one in two New Zealand employees feel their organisations don’t offer the right tools and capabilities for hybrid work in today’s digital world. Despite Australia and New Zealand leading the world in the adoption of cloud technology, as many as 58% of New Zealand organisations have struggled to tap into notable benefits from the cloud. Improving the policies and practices around your company's digital transformation process can be achieved with a few key steps:

1. Make data the start of the conversation, not the end.

AI, machine learning, analytics, and other technologies are helping more and more leaders make greater sense of their data, turning it into insight that naturally leads to more effective choices.

• Focus on data which directly reflects the way people work, learn, and transact with services - the sort you might get from bringing data from your CRM, supply chain, and productivity software into one consolidated picture.
• Invest in and find champions for processes (and culture) that challenge first-guesses and gut assumptions.
• Incorporate time to listen to the entire organisation as a critical point in the requirements-gathering process.
• Actively engage both internal and external critics to identify possible blind-spots and avoid over-optimism.

2. Understand the past before you plan the future.

Asking the right questions - and knowing what to do with the answers - doesn’t just take good data. It also takes experience.

• When choosing technology partners, look for firms that learn from their industry experience.
• Wherever possible, build relationships with other leaders in your industry.
• Test vendors’ claims about “industry best-practice” by asking existing customers and unaffiliated third-parties about performance in the field.

3. Change the focus from expansion to experimentation.

Many organisations have incurred large amounts of tech debt or lost substantial investments on digital “big bets” that haven’t paid off.

• Start with a well-defined MVP (minimal viable product) for your technology deployment, but don’t get attached to it as final. Treat it as a stimulus for feedback from your customers and employees on what really works.
• Take advantage of tools that let you develop and change your tech quickly, like low-code environments for faster, simpler software development.
• Decide how you plan to enlist your customers and employees in co-directing your technology choices.

At Datacom, we pride ourselves on finding solutions that tackle the real challenges your organisation is facing. Specific technologies and platforms can help in not only empowering your people but understanding them better. Microsoft Dynamics 365 brings together Office 365 and Teams with powerful CRM functions, business intelligence, and low-code capabilities for deeper insights and responsiveness to change.