The 5 traits of digitally advanced companies

The 5 traits of digitally advanced companies

Software to accelerate digital transformation in child welfare.

by Joe McKendrick of Forbes

Digital transformation not only means adopting a constellation of technologies — including cloud, data analytics and online channels — but also making fundamental changes to corporate culture.

Employees up and down the ranks should have a stake in the process, and be given latitude to experiment with new approaches. However, few companies appear to be making the fundamental changes their leaders believe are necessary to achieve these goals.

Digitally advanced companies
Rising with digital requires rethinking as well as rewiring.

That’s the takeaway from a survey of more than 3,500 organizations, released by MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte Digital.  The study finds that 71% of digitally maturing organizations have conquered this barrier by encouraging their organizations to experiment and accept the risk of failure, compared to 29% of early stage companies. The study compares the digital transformation habits of “digitally maturing” companies versus “digitally early-stage” companies.

Software to accelerate digital transformation in child welfare.

What are the leading components of a digital effort? Here’s what executives say is underway this year:

  • Analytics      34%
  • Social media (internal or external)     19%
  • Mobile     14%
  • Internet of things (IoT)     11%
  • Cognitive technology/artificial intelligence     5%
  • Robotic process automation     2%
  • Additive manufacturing      1%
  • Virtual reality     1%
  • Manufacturing/warehouse robots     1%
  • Other      5%
  • Don’t know/not sure     4%
  • None     2%

The study’s authors, led by Gerald Kane and Doug Palmer, state that digitally mature companies have the following common traits:

They implement systemic changes in culture. Digitally mature companies are more than four times as likely as non-digitally maturing companies to have a clear and coherent digital strategy in place than other companies (80% of digitally maturing organizations versus 19% of early-stage companies), Kane and his co-authors relate. Overall, less than half of executives (48%) agree, to any extent, that their leaders “have the vision necessary to lead our digital business efforts.” Somewhat fewer, 45%, agree that their organizations provide employees “with the resources or opportunities to develop skills and opportunities to thrive in a digital business environment.” Only 40% agree their organizations “effectively utilize the digital knowledge, skills, interest, and experience held by our employees.”

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