Digitization has changed the face of many industries and technology seems to be evolving with each passing day. Not just work life but lives, in general, have changed. However, it is not an easy transformation for organizations or the employees. The most important thing that one needs to understand about technology is how it functions and get to the core of its properties. Many companies still focus on strategy-development processes that paddle along on year-long cycles. For organizations to succeed in their digital transformation, one needs to understand the basics of how and why the technology is required and what can be changed to obtain a better output. Abhijit Bhaduri, Founder of Abhijit Bhaduri & Associates, in his session at TechHR 2018 helps us understand why organizations fail to implement digital transformations successfully.

He states “Digital world does not work similar to an analog functioning and this has to be the basic knowledge. The major reason organizations fail because they build an analog mindset into digital. Digital technology demands a complete transformation, and it is not a software upgrade.” 

The major reason organizations fail because they build an analog mindset into digital. Digital technology demands a complete transformation, and it is not a software upgrade.

From digitization to innovation

Digital transformation is an opportunity to innovate and recreate the way entire processes work. What organizations need is to picturise the future and see if the technology they plan to incorporate in their system helps them achieve the desired goal and if there are any flaws in the plan can digitization help assess and rectify the loopholes. Companies who are known as digital reinventors, invest at much higher levels in technology, are more likely to make digitally related acquisitions, and are much more aggressive at investing in business-model innovation and are known for their bold decisions.

Digitization is continuous

Just like evolution, digitization is continuous and not episodic. When technological incorporation fails or any other experimentation regardless of digitization or not, it can be disheartening. However, what organizations must keep in mind is that change is constant and if they do not evolve as per time they might lose in the long run. Opportunities to move boldly often arise as a result of changing circumstances and require a willingness to pivot and learning from mistakes. 

Abhijit says “Organisations need to be continuous and not episodic to become digital.”

One of the other key factors contributing to failure in an organization's digital transformation journey is not knowing or understanding the risks and critical drivers of digitalization.

Digitization is all about the mindset

Digitization like everything has its pros and cons. However, it would be able to help each bring out their best potential and train them to improvise skills that will, in turn, contribute to organizational growth. One of the most vital aspects is understanding strengths and weaknesses and how to pave pathways that would help overcome the obstacles and how digitization will help an organization to improve efficiency, work-life balance and meet the desired goals. The pace of change requires new, hard thinking on when to set direction. Annual strategy reviews need to be compressed to a quarterly time frame, with real-time refinements and sprints to respond to triggering events. In the end, just like Abhijit said: “It is all about the mindset.”