You have a vision for your future organization. But navigating the implementation of a digital transformation strategy can be complicated, especially if you are constrained by existing infrastructure or lack the right mix of skills and personnel. 

Being digitally fit is essential for enterprise growth and survival, and critical for maintaining a competitive edge. But with so many barriers to consider, how do you start addressing the challenges of digital transformation in an effective and cost-efficient way?

Kick start your digital journey by learning the steps to a successful digital transformation: 

People and partners 

For every vision to succeed, you need a strong team to execute it. For the infrastructure and security transformations you want to implement, it’s important to have the right resources, expertise and input from across the organization. These solutions are not just for IT. 

Avoid organizational silos and focus on establishing a collaborative culture around these programs. It is important that every area of your business has bought into your vision, understands the impact on their processes, and has a chance to provide input on the plan. Recognize that your finance team will likely have different business priorities and concerns than your supply chain organization. Also, be sure to communicate regularly any changes in direction so no one is surprised. 

But it’s not just about your team. 

You will also need to navigate the complexities of the supplier landscape, potentially working with several partners who each manage different aspects of your infrastructure and security. Consider engaging a system integrator who can work with you to manage the whole project from ideation through installation. This provides visibility into your entire stack, how it is performing, and where it is or isn’t delivering according to your needs. This will enable you to assess the areas you need to continue investing in to evolve and grow.  

Security 

Security concerns over cyberattacks, data breaches or ransomware should not be barriers to digital transformation. Threat levels will inevitably rise as you expand your workforce or scale up the capabilities of your network to deliver new services and handle increasing traffic volumes.

While there is no denying that these threats are real, it’s vital to understand the risks without compromising your vision. If you don’t focus your efforts on establishing an agile, resilient and centrally managed approach that maximizes IT investments you may become less competitive.

Start by ensuring you have a clear vision of your organization’s digital objectives and how they align with your network transformation strategy. A defined roadmap will help develop a flexible security architecture that remains relevant over time. Next, acquire the threat intelligence you need to realistically assess the threat landscape you face. Each organization will have a unique threat profile based on their industry, business model, location, etc. Understanding what threats you face now and in the future will help you focus on acquiring and implementing solutions that will help you to defend proactively against them. 

Alignment 

Just as we discussed the need to align your teams earlier to get a transformation everyone will buy into, you should also focus on aligning your network and digital strategies. 

Enterprises want to move faster, scale bigger and innovate smarter—none of which is achievable without network transformation. As your organization grows, you acquire more data and expand your portfolio of customer services, equipping you with a wealth of insight that can open numerous opportunities for innovation. 

However, as you grow it’s important to make sure the customer experience isn’t negatively impacted. Speed is fundamental to performance and a key differentiator for your customers. If you maintain full visibility of your capabilities and adapt accordingly, you should successfully scale and transform customer interactions to be more immersive and engaging. With 83% of digital leaders claiming they trust their communication service providers (CSPs) to help them overcome their organizations’ challengesⁱ , the evidence is clear that this strategy works and can deliver meaningful results.

In summary 

In a recent surveyⁱⁱ,  70 percent of digital leaders believed that the network underpins digital transformation initiatives. A successful outcome is dependent upon a full assessment of your network infrastructure and working with your internal teams to drive buy-in and support. Doing so will enable you to overcome any of the common digital transformation challenges along the way, and help you achieve transformation with a network that will support your growth initiatives and keep your data secure. 

Creating your digital roadmap today will help you unlock a wealth of possibilities. For more information, and to begin your transformation journey, visit our digital transformation resource site.