• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, November 9, 2023

For all the talk about it, digital transformation is not easy to define. 

Taken simply, it is a way of describing the ongoing journey of enterprises to modernize and become more competitive, according to Investing in Digital Transformation & Product Development, a study from Modus Create conducted by Ascend2. 

But it is a non-linear path with many platforms and processes, the study notes. Like much technology, it trickles down to email production. 

What do companies hope to achieve by it?

In outlining digital strategy, it is clear that data security now outweighs even such concerns as profitability. Organizations have set these objectives:

• Improving data security — 42%
• Increasing efficiency — 39%
• Improving customer experience—38%
• Digital transformation — 38%
• Increasing profitability — 36%
• Improving data collection and use — 26%
• Increasing ROI on technology initiatives — 25%
• Increasing speed to market — 21%
• Improving human capital/hiring the right people — 20%

Last year, only 32% said they were investing in an improved data security. Preventing security breaches is a top challenge for 40%. 

Another goal discussed under a broader framework is digital product development (“products” being where the customer interacts with the brand). Firms that have conducted a digital product  overhaul saw these benefits:

• Improved customer experience — 47%
• Improved data security — 42%
• Increased ROI on technology initiatives — 41%
• Increased profitability — 38%
• Digital transformation advancement — 36%
• Improved data collection and use — 35%
• Improved human capital — 25%

Those respondents saw ROI in these time frames:

• 0-3 months — 8%
• 4-6 months — 38%
• 7-12 months — 39%
• More than 1 year — 10%
• Don’t know — 3%
• Unable to determine/measure ROI — 2%

Executives and those in the trenches have different views on timing. For instance, 42% of the leaders say their targeted timeline to ROI is four to six months. But only 31% of non-executives agree. 

The latter are more likely to estimate a time frame of seven to 12 months (41%), while 39% of top execs say the same. 

Perhaps more telling, 29% of non-executives say the timeline is one year, while only 9% of people at the top concur. 

In general, companies face the following challenges to their overall success:

• Securing the right talent — 43%
• Preventing security breaches — 40%
• Outdated and inefficient business processes or systems — 35%
• Competition from industry disruptions — 30%
• Lacking an overall digital strategy — 29%
• Inefficient development process causing long release cycles — 27%
• Lagging customer engagement and retention — 25%
• Disconnected data and/or systems — 25%

What kind of outside help are they seeking? They use consultants for:

• The supporting way we resource development — 54%
• The primary way we resource product development — 29%
• We rarely use them on product development — 13%
• We will not use consultants — 2%
• We do not use consultants yet — 2%