{"id":615541,"date":"2023-03-08T08:49:44","date_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:49:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.sellorbuyhomefast.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/08\/culture-eats-technology-in-digital-transformation\/"},"modified":"2023-03-08T08:49:44","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T14:49:44","slug":"culture-eats-technology-in-digital-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/08\/culture-eats-technology-in-digital-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"Culture eats technology in digital transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Investing in technology alone is not enough to bring about meaningful digital transformation, research has revealed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But if cultural and technical change are given equal weight and both align with organisational strategy, business change initiatives can boost company revenues by up to 44% in a year. These are the key findings of a survey conducted among 301 UK IT and security professionals by telecommunications provider Telstra.<\/p>\n

Diana Kearns-Manolatos, global head of digital transformation research for management consultancy Deloitte\u2019s Centre for Integrated Research, agrees. She defines digital transformation as being \u201cthe ability to use technology to continuously evolve and reinvent the enterprise\u201d.<\/p>\n

But to \u201cmaximise value creation\u201d here, she says, it is vital to strike the \u201cright balance across business strategy, technology enablement and cultural change\u201d.<\/p>\n

Kearns-Manolatos describes them as being the \u201cthree important pillars\u201d underpinning success. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Rob Robinson, head of tech services provider Telstra Purple, puts it more bluntly. In his view, any failure to achieve \u201cfull alignment from a cultural and technology perspective\u201d will inevitably result in \u201cdiminished returns on investment and to existing processes\u201d. This means \u201cit\u2019s critical they\u2019re aligned\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, more than three-quarters (77%) of survey respondents also believe that tech has a vital role to play in reinforcing or transforming (82%) company culture. Other key transformation drivers in this context include training (29%), staff resourcing (27%) and fostering collaboration (26%).<\/p>\n

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<\/i>The importance of change management<\/h3>\n

Put another way, this means change management<\/a> activity is crucial if transformation is to be truly embedded into operational processes and employee behaviour.<\/p>\n

As Matt Williams, managing director of Telstra Europe, Middle East and Africa, points out, it is not enough for IT teams to simply assume a \u201cbuild-it-and-they-will-come attitude\u201d. Instead, \u201cthe organisation has to come with you on the journey\u201d, he says.<\/p>\n

One of the most important considerations here is enabling dialogue at all levels of the business about how to improve it.<\/p>\n

Camille Mendler, chief analyst for service provider enterprise at Omdia, says: \u201cIt\u2019s about thinking of all the different layers and establishing what is working or not, and where you can find new ideas and opportunities to improve efficiency. Field workers, for instance, are often the least invested in, but they often have great ideas for improving productivity \u2013 if they\u2019re asked.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is similar value to be gained from discussing ideas with suppliers and obtaining their input, too. \u201cThe most successful enterprises in the digital arena are very demanding about their suppliers talking to them,\u201d says Mendler. \u201cThese aren\u2019t transactional relations, they\u2019re very interactive.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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<\/i>The true value of culture<\/h3>\n

The problem is that too many organisations give into the temptation of allowing their digital strategies to be driven solely by technology, says Kearns-Manolatos.<\/p>\n

\u201cThough most organisations know technology strategy shouldn\u2019t drive business objectives, they fall into the trap of asking \u2018what should our AI strategy be?\u2019 or \u2018should we be in the metaverse?\u2019\u201d she explains. \u201cCompounding this challenge is the fact that every CXO within the enterprise has a different focus area with goals that may be competing, incongruent or not mutually reinforcing.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a result, Kearns-Manolatos recommends developing a \u201ccommon language\u201d so that everyone can use the same terminology to talk about a form of digital transformation \u201cgrounded in technology-agnostic imperatives\u201d. Doing so can help avoid \u201chot\u201d technologies or approaches, such as agile, becoming \u201cthe tail wagging the dog\u201d.<\/p>\n

Other common pitfalls include introducing \u201cgrandiose plans and too much complexity\u201d, adds Mendler. Failing to undertake audits to understand where assets are located is another frequent oversight.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, though, points out Kearns-Manolatos, \u201cvalue is a highly personalised journey\u201d in which \u201cvalue for one doesn\u2019t mean value for all\u201d. This means that each organisation\u2019s approach to obtaining it should be based on their risk profile, while investment decisions should be made with \u201cspecific business goals, measures and constraints in mind\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo successfully move forward in a world of volatility, uncertainty and change, it\u2019s important to have a strong north star that grounds you, whether that\u2019s a purpose to rally around, values that make clear how you plan to execute, or a mission that clearly defines and articulates what you\u2019re trying to accomplish,\u201d she says \u2013 and it is here that the true value of culture lies.<\/p>\n

Here are two organisations that understand the importance of culture when undertaking a digital transformation initiative.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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<\/i>Case study: Marks & Spencer<\/h3>\n

Employee upskilling and the creation of a wider digital culture have been key elements of Marks & Spencer\u2019s bid to become the industry\u2019s most data-driven retailer.<\/p>\n

The shift started in 2019, when Jeremy Pee, newly hired chief digital and data (now digital and technology) officer, launched his \u2018Beam\u2019 strategy<\/a> to help the company \u201cbecome data-driven and digitally led\u201d, as head of enterprise data, Suzanne Howse puts it.<\/p>\n

This strategy consisted of three parts, all of which were given equal weighting. The first consisted of putting the right technology in place to enable users to access the information they needed. This involved implementing the Databricks data warehouse<\/a> and business intelligence tools running on Microsoft\u2019s Azure cloud platform.<\/p>\n

The second component involved ensuring employees at all levels of the organisation had the skills to work effectively with data in an increasingly digital world. The third, says Howse, was to: \u201cDeliver value through data to get our leaders excited about how they could use it to solve problems and help the business.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the move, a centralised data science team was also set up to concentrate on two key areas: customer and enterprise data. The former, which is currently the most mature, focuses on the firm\u2019s Sparks loyalty programme, personalised marketing activities and the digital customer journey.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more people shop, the more data we get, so it\u2019s a huge benefit to the business as we can use it to add value and solve particular problems,\u201d says Howse.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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<\/i>The importance of culture and mindset<\/h3>\n

In 2020, meanwhile, the team also launched its BEAM Academy to upskill the wider workforce in all things data and digital. As a result, tailored training was provided for three key groups of learners:<\/p>\n