Top 10 Challenges of Digital Transformation in 2021

Digital transformation is catching on rapidly. Many companies are ready to adopt digital technologies or modernize their business models. But do you know a few successful companies have a back story of numerous failures? 

So, what did they learn from their failures?  

Digital transformation is something that is not everyone’s cup of tea. To prepare yourself for the disruption or accept the new change, you need to know various challenges or pain points, which makes the digital transformation success story of those few companies.  

Teams must be willing to learn from their mistakes if a digital transformation endeavor does not proceed as planned. This entails figuring out what went wrong and gaining the courage to try over. 

An efficient digital transformation company covers all the challenges and focuses on creating the ideal solutions so that your organization work towards running your business process smoothly. 

Below, I am writing down some common challenges so that you can be well-prepared for digital disruption. 

The Same Old Fashion of Work Model

 Many businesses make the error of dragging and dropping all of their procedures and controls from the previous 5 decades into their new venture. 

This response is the main factor of digital transformation failure. A good digital transformation company automates its checkpoints and conformity validations and shows them off via dashboards and visualizations.  

This type of response is enough to beat this challenge. 

Budgetary Issues and Constraints 

Not having any unequivocal strategy always leads to budget issues, which is a major hurdle and also a way to transformation failure.  

Without a plan in place, you’re likely to make selections that provide little to no advantage while also increasing your budget and timeframe. This concern puts pressure on the organization to meet the needs of their clients within an expected tight deadline.  

Therefore, it is necessary to prepare the strategy in advance so that the budget becomes no issue to face while working for your users. 

The Idea of “Technology First Than Customers”

Every business works for the satisfaction of their customers and this is the right mindset. But the way the company works brings the bias behavior of it.  

Today, the customer is the king, and customer feedback affects the growth of any company’s digital progress. It suggests that if a firm fails to give the finest customer experience, customers will leave. 

Your customer will be unconcerned about how you set up your service mesh. They want solutions that are appealing, sturdy, and reliable, and that friction in their life.  

Brands that are hesitant to adapt to the digital transition will find it difficult to keep their customers. Companies must realize that customers that leave your platform owing to a negative experience are unlikely to return. 

Lack of Leadership Support

It usually happens that organizations fall flat-face due to no clear vision. Because digital transformation necessitates a large number of activities, top C-level executives are hesitant to embrace it. Furthermore, some of them are unable to communicate a clear understanding of it to their staff. 

Due to this, internal teams never stay on the same course, which leads to plenty of bottlenecks. 

Top C-level leaders also don’t have a clear understanding of digital transformation themselves. They will not make a decisive move ahead and will instead accept the change because they are unaware of the evolutionary change. 

Inefficient Data Handling 

Customers’ data is a big part of digital transformation success. You can use it to obtain valuable insights into your buyers’ tastes, habits, and prospective future decisions. 

It can be tough to integrate this information to make it centrally accessible if you are still working with siloed systems. The same may be true if it is all kept in a single data center. Data management becomes a cakewalk and can be accessed by all authorized employees. 

Excessively Ambitious Goals Failing to Generate ROI in Time

Imagination is good if we know where we are heading, but over-imagination without any clear path leads to the failure of your project. Take your time-run pilot tests to see how your project is progressing. 

To test your assumptions with real customers, use design sprints, cross-functional teams, and minimal viable solutions. 

Inadequate IT Skills 

Digital transformation can only be driven by successful staff with super IT skills. However, assembling this team is becoming more difficult. As more businesses invest in new technologies, a staffing shortage is emerging.  

As per one survey, more than 50% of firms stated that skill shortfalls were preventing them from achieving their transformation goals. 

Below are some lacking skills: 

• Advanced analytics 
• Cybersecurity 
• Enterprise architecture 
• Technical architecture 

No Clear Business-Driving Model 

Moving ahead without a clear strategy is like going in a dark alley, which is quite dangerous and can take a toll on your business growth. To keep your business safe, it is a pressing priority to decide your goals and blueprint, which of course, give power to you. 

If you are not confident, you have two options. Either start a project apart from your main business to test the progress and provide insights and lessons to your main business.  

Alternatively, you might begin as you mean to continue initiating changes gradually, and gradually pulling your entire firm along with you. This is more time-consuming, but it has the potential to be revolutionary.  

Lack of Strong Security 

This is one of the top reasons why companies fail so badly. Cyber-attack is the main reason contributing to such a miserable failure of companies. 

Furthermore, the rapid expansion of new-age technology makes life difficult for businesses that are unable to keep up. Inadequate security leads to a failed digital transformation, which causes uncertainty and volatility. 

Taking Away Decision-Making Authority from Your Employees 

Experimentation and entrepreneurship must be fostered and recognized across the firm. As part of your innovation activities, your employees should be given the authority to make decisions. 

To include proactive safeguards at each level of your software development lifecycle, use cloud-native security patterns and DevOps techniques. 

Challenges Push You to Success Pathway 

From all the failures and challenges, companies learn to strive harder ad come out with flying colors. It is understood that succeeding in the digital disruption era is very tough, but having a clear-cut strategy and process blueprint guarantees successful transformation. 

Apptread is a leading Digital Transformation Company, which serves the need of such companies and provides cost-efficient and competitive solutions.  

Connect with us over a free consultation session to discuss your concerns or project and get an idea of our strategies and work process.