Most business leaders recognize the need to transform digitally and are keen on investing in strategies that have the potential to propel the company forward.
However, despite their efforts, many find that embracing digitization produces the promised impact on their revenues or customers.
Often, this is because whilst implementing a strategy, they do not have specific business goals in mind.
Many a time there is too much of an emphasis on how to digitize operations and processes, and little attention is paid to the expected outcomes from these changes.
When this happens, it does not matter how much data and technology an organization has, they would cease to be of use, as there is no business value that can be derived from them.
Thus, simply being data-driven is not enough. To reap the full benefits of going digital, businesses must also be outcome-driven.
To ensure that their strategies are on point, business leaders must first be able to justify acquiring a technology.
Projects that involve technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning (ML) can be costly. Therefore, prior to embarking on these projects, organizations must first look at the company’s current state, and identify a specific business goal that can be addressed directly with the technology.
Next, the outcomes identified should be clearly defined and measurable. For example, will acquiring this technology increase revenues, reduce costs, or improve customer satisfaction?
Only when business leaders have this clarity should they move forward with a project. Thinking of technology projects in such a manner will save time and money, two of the most precious resources in the business world.
Further, it is important for organizations to recognize that they must implement digital solutions. It is no longer a nice-to-have, but an imperative.
Markets across all industries are already highly competitive and saturated. Hence, industry players are in a race to leverage various technologies as a competitive differentiator.
Therefore, businesses cannot stay complacent. They must constantly seek new technology solutions to drive their organization forward.
Transforming a business into a digital, outcome-driven one is never easy, and requires the commitment of the whole organization.
Everyone must be clear on why a project is being implemented, and what it will deliver in terms of outcomes.
Also, it must be made clear that projects like big data analytics take time to implement. Working with the stream of data coming in, they have to be continuously refined for maximum accuracy.
It is crucial the project status and methodology are clearly communicated across the board.
Without it, there might be an impression that the project is not running smoothly because of modifications and retesting.
This might cause discontent amongst the organization, and some would not be willing to utilize the technology.
Transforming into a data-informed, and outcome-driven business might be a long process, but it does not have to be a painful one.
Leaders just need to keep business goals at the forefront, always ensuring that strategies revolve around these goals.
With this mindset, they can focus on the technology investments that really matter, ensuring they always choose the solutions that will deliver the best outcomes to their organization.
Source: techwireasia
