Rob Llewellyn talks about undertaking digital enterprise transformation and introduces the Digital Capability Framework (DCF).
No industry is immune to the transformational impact of digital technologies but only companies with sound strategies and a digital roadmap to harness the opportunities will be among tomorrow's leaders.
There is a stark difference between people thinking they have a digital enterprise and digital enterprise thinking possessing digital technology is only a fraction of being a digital enterprise and thinking otherwise is akin to avoiding the challenge of becoming a true digital enterprise that generates new value and revenue from digital resources which involves going beyond simply digitising existing ways of working digital devices and apps sometimes low leaders into a false sense of security by making them feel they're already writing the digital wave and keeping up with progress they feel their digital when they touch their tablet or smartphone.
For some, company data which is a little like someone feeling they're well travelled because they watch TV travel shows digital enterprise transformation is a serious business transformation that deserves the right approach. Commitment capability and resources.
Before setting off to create the digital enterprise it's wise to agree a process driven approach to achieving this in a way that methodologies are adopted to manage projects and standards such as I tell or adopted of service management. The same should apply for digital transformation and the overarching business transformation.
The alternative is a random unproven and high risk approach like any well-respected methodology. A digital transformation methodology should be based on extensive academic and Business Research with successful use cases to prove its worth.
Anyone in any company can make up the methodology and claim its effectiveness but unless it has the solid foundations like I've just explained it's best to steer clear and adopt a proven approach. The digital capability framework or DCF for short is a strategic management tool set designed to help companies innovate and orchestrate digitally enabled business transformation.
It helps if companies analyse their current situation and identify new business cases which are enabled by technology trends addressing both the tactical and people side of transformation. The DCF enables transformation leaders to obtain clarity about what maturity level their organization has in terms of six digital capabilities.
What maturity level they wish to achieve and how they plan to do that. Digital use cases help them develop a clear picture of the processes to be optimised and their technologies to be used on a tailored plan to transform the organization into a digital enterprise can then be established and implemented.
The DCF consists of four building blocks.
Building block 1 is digital capabilities
Building block 2 is digital capability maturity models
Building block 3 is digital use cases
Building block 4 is digital transformation roadmaps
Digital capabilities are the key skills and capabilities the company requires to transform itself into a sustainable and successful business.
By considering digital technology as the enabling component digital capability maturity models are the structured assessments used to evaluate the digital maturity of an organization.
Digital use cases provide ways of showing how to reach specific goals which will enhance an organisation's digital capability. They typically show how organizations in specific industries can gain competitive advantages through digital transformation and a digital transformation roadmap provides six steps to proceed to a digital enterprise transformation.
The process of developing a digital transformation roadmap lends itself well to a natural collaboration between I.T. and business leaders. This results in I.T. leaders such as the CIO things seem to take a more business orientated approach by involving business stakeholders in a process driven approach from the very outset thereby enhancing the I.T. business relationship.
I'd just like to rewind back to building block 1 digital capabilities for a few minutes because there's lives at the heart of the DCF and is fundamental to the success or the failure of an organisation's ability to become a digital enterprise.
Building Block 1 consists of digital transformation enablers and digital transformation goals. These two types of capabilities encourage organisations to take a look in the mirror and ask themselves whether they have the capabilities required to undertake business transformation and whether they have defined the right business orientated goals that will provide an attractive return on investment.
The three digital transformation enablers are innovation capability transformation capability and I.T. excellence and an extensive body of knowledge exists within each of these organizations that intend to achieve some of their strategic objectives through business transformation will struggle if they don't possess digital transformation enablers of an adequate maturity level the three digital transformation goals are customer centricity the effect knowledge worker and operational excellence.
It's important that organizations centre their digital transformation efforts around business goals as opposed to the latest and greatest digital solutions only when the right business goals and business benefits have been established. Should the technology be considered a good analogy is that the horse needs to go before the car and not vice versa.
So where does the digital capability framework come from. The DCF is a result of extensive research and collaboration between the business transformation Academy and SAP Business Transformation Services and their partners from academic and business arenas around the world.
Companies such as Unilever, DHL and many others have used the digital capability framework the DCF helps digital transformation leaders such as the CIO take a structured business orientated approach to transformation. This gives rise to closer collaboration between I.T. and the business and increased stakeholder confidence.
To learn more about the digital capability framework I suggest picking up a copy of the book Digital Enterprise Transformation.
You can also download 10 Steps to Digitally Enabled Business Transformation
