A company with a digital business strategy fundamentally accepts that technology is a core driver to help reinvent and transform business and operating models. When we talk about digital strategy we’re talking about a technology-led growth strategy.
One of the most frequent questions we get is: when is the right time to start a digital business strategy? The real question they’re asking is: is my business ready? And the answer depends on the enterprise’s maturity and goals—if the industry they are in is seeing disruption by digital-first companies that are more nimble, or if technology innovation is rapidly enabling cost reduction in operations, or consumers demand personalized digital engagement—they’re ready.
A key part of creating a digital strategy for an enterprise business is defining goals for success, embracing customer centricity and envisioning the future-state. Before knowing what the right path forward will be it’s essential to understand the strategic business objectives and desired digital outcomes.
Businesses that are in the beginning or middle of a reinvention have to put in place the mechanisms, teams, and organizational structure to make the transformation happen. This may mean changing the operating model for example changing the way they do marketing, IT, customer service, or CX. A digital strategy is perhaps the most meaningful component of a business transformation because it is at the center of every decision. A global digital strategy is what ties all the pieces together: it is central to defining and executing on business goals through technology and innovation.
Before a business makes any operational decisions or technology changes, they need to understand how this will impact operations, performance and customer experience—everything from services to timing to cost has outward impacts. A digital strategy roadmap will unearth and visualize gaps and impacts, as well as align to the business’s overall goals and opportunities. It is essential to understand where the gaps are and how to address them in a practical way.
A business might engage with a digital strategy company if they are unable to develop a robust strategy themselves or need outside expertise and deep knowledge of industry and technology trends.
Some of our clients come to us with an idea of what their digital future looks like and others seek our help because of our understanding of cutting edge business technology and decades of experience in the healthcare, finance, and retail industries. Our job is to align the organization around a pillar and how they’ll execute on their goals. We work together towards this new phase by combing through each component—people, process, and technology—to form a digital strategy roadmap.
The value of the digital strategy roadmap is that it identifies gaps and priorities throughout the transformation process. It not only describes what the priorities are, but how to enable them through technology.
We’ve seen businesses at all stages of maturity benefit from our enterprise digital strategy services. Whether it’s building a fluent data strategy to convert data into insights, developing a new product or offering, going direct to consumer, or accelerating innovation and growth. We ensure optimal operationalization by outlining how to enable technology-powered priorities.