Seven Success Factors in Digital Transformation

Continuing our discussion of the Big Data and Digital Transformation Journey, we dived even deeper into the topic at our YesData Insight Event, Unlocking Big Data Insights.  If you were unable to attend, you can view the event on-demand here.  Our keynote speaker, Brandon Owens, who serves as the Global Energy Technology, Innovation, and Strategy Leader at GE, framed our exploration of unlocking Big Data insights to fuel your digital transformation journey.

Owens defines digital transformation as the technological shift businesses undergo in order to leverage data, transform their organization, and add value to the business.  Digital transformation is most certainly a trending issue - digital investment is growing at a rate of 15.5% per year and globally, digital investment amounts to 6.8 trillion (IDC 2020).  Based on his experience guiding the digital transformation of GE’s clients, Owens offers seven key guidelines for success.

1. Start with the business case.

   Digital investments should be quantifiable and have a clear ROI for the business. The impact on the business should be the focus and driver of all digital investments.

2. Seek organizational alignment.

   Digital transformation should be a top-down initiative.  Designate a digital transformation leader accountable for the initiative and organizational alignment. 

3. Cybersecurity is central.

   Cybersecurity should be at the center of all digital transformation efforts. 79% of global executives rank cyber attacks and related threats as one of their highest risks (Marsh McLennan, 2019).

4. Make smart build vs. buy decisions.

   Build only the pieces that fall within your business’ unique domain expertise, strategic control points, or those that cannot be found externally.

5. Build a partnership ecosystem.

   Identify partners to integrate into your ecosystem, allowing you to learn from others and develop more productive and attractive solutions and products. 

6. Don’t drown in the data lake.

   Simply collecting and storing data is not enough to make you successful in your digital transformation. You must take that data and transform it into knowledge.

7. Develop a workforce strategy.

   Develop a strategy for closing the digital skills gap.

To dive more deeply into these top seven success factors, you can watch Unlocking Big Data Insights on-demand. Additional thought leadership from Brandon Owens is captured in his whitepaper, The Digital Energy Transformation which can be found here.