A successful digital transformation requires strategy, intention, and deliberate action. But equally importantly, it requires objectivity. Numerous considerations go into a transformation — what data migrates over, which new cloud-based applications to explore – a lot of second-guessing that can take place. Interoffice politics, misalignment of top priorities, confusing the forest for the trees, and other subjective baggage can bog down a transformation or even set it to fail. Bringing in a trusted partner for digital transformation consulting delivers an informed yet objective perspective.
What is a Digital Transformation?
A digital transformation is the adoption of digital technology across all or parts of a company. Companies have been actively transforming analog assets into digital stacks since the 1990s , and the practice has accelerated in recent years thanks to the rise of cloud computing and the importance of data-driven strategy. Data modernization is the second-most popular reason small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) migrate to the cloud, behind data security.
With an initiative this important, why is it necessary to bring in an outside entity to assist? Below, we look at five reasons why an objective partner can make all the difference.
1. Minimizes Decisions Made Through Office Politics
There’s nothing like a fresh perspective to remove the baggage of interoffice politics. Some departments can get a bit prickly regarding new IT solutions. We’ve all seen it or experienced it: people can have strong opinions about how technology works for them. Past IT solutions can create mindsets like governance hoarding, ownership envy, risk-avoidance, and the classic “if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality. People can get sensitive when it comes to their mission-critical systems and what they use to get work done.
An objective and knowledgeable partner can help your business plan and execute a digital transformation free of bias.
2. Reduces Operational Redundancies
Workplace silos can create redundant resources and produce wasted efforts. For example, two employees might require access to the same data set. Yet, instead of communicating with each other (or their IT department), they copy and migrate data to their own systems. This creates data siloes and disparate teams, and both are bad for business.
Now, the company has duplicated data sets and no continuity in how that data is being used or analyzed. This creates a problem, especially when it’s time for a company-wide digital migration.
A digital transformation consulting partner can mitigate these issues and deal with other common redundancies like duplicate software licenses during the migration planning phase. By bringing in an objective voice, it’s easier to find common ground and a common solution.
3. Uncover New Opportunities
A more knowledgeable perspective can unlock new avenues of operating, revive previously discarded or passed-over solutions, and generally provide more expertise when qualifying a digital migration solution.
A partner experienced in evaluating new technologies can suggest more appropriate and efficient systems that internal teams haven’t yet considered. When your SMB has a specific challenge, they should have informed ideas on how to address them.
4. Eliminate Things That Don’t Make Sense
Old habits die hard. In an office, the same can be said for old technology. No matter the industry, most workplaces have one thing in common in IT: they’re riddled with pet projects, personal preferences, and legacy software that just doesn’t make sense for the business any longer.
Objectivity takes the emotion out of these decisions, making it easier to see what works and what doesn’t for the future of the business. A digital transformation is free to optimize for success.
5. Takes the Anxiety Out of the Equation
Planning and executing a digital transformation is a high-stakes endeavor. It’s essential to bring in a partner that can objectively look at what will ultimately benefit the company in the future.
An experienced partner can help reduce worrying, second-guessing, and overthinking, which often bog down important decisions. A digital transformation should be technical and exact, and you just can’t achieve that with anxiety in the mix.
A Partner Adds Objectivity to a Digital Transformation
With extensive experience planning and digital transformation and deploying cloud migrations, Soliant Consulting prioritizes objectivity and expertise.
If your business is considering starting a new digital transformation effort, our team of consultants can help you with the entire end-to-end process—from scope-building and solution development to data migration and deployment. Contact our team to learn more.
