Nowadays, in the ever-changing environment and economy, digital transformation has become a necessity for the organizations that want to stay alive and on top of the competition.

Yet, many companies risk internal rejection along the way with such unexpected changes across IT systems, procedures, and culture.

Some companies started this journey years ago, and in the post-pandemic world, early investment has become a strategic advantage. The competition for remote work and, also, regional economic shutdowns have roughly awakened other businesses and urged them to play high-pressure catch-up.

But there are many bumps in the road in implementing new technologies, updating procedures, and creating a culture for transformation, and that can slow down businesses.

Businesses should follow some best practices and avoid the common mistakes made by other enterprises to reduce internal rejection during digital transformation.

Understanding possible challenges in the digital transformation journey

What is one of the most harmful challenges to effective digital transformation? Actually, the people.

It can be really difficult to approach IT leaders who many years ago have developed effective structures and processes and tell them something needs to be changed. Those IT leaders and decision-makers know much better than anyone that it is no easy way to start from scratch and reassign workers.

There will, inevitably, be hesitation. It becomes much harder to have this discussion when there is no clear way ahead. IT leaders are forced to make a choice, do not know which strategies are needed to solve it, are not sure how to deal with legacy systems, and do not have the talent to figure it out.

To remove this barrier, businesses need to build an efficient and clear digital transformation strategy.

Understanding WHY the digital transformation is necessary

It’s crucial how organizations describe the digital transformation. Many businesses, however, describe digital transformation as what they want to do, such as creating a DevOps team, moving to the cloud, or launching an initiative for machine learning.

This perspective is restrained and can confuse technology investments and initiatives that do not produce transformation.

People need to realize why things have to change. Real change happens by making it clear why the change is needed in terms of business results that anyone can comprehend.

The why of today focuses on improving responsiveness to rapid evolution for many companies, often measured by improving speed, time to market/value, or margins. No single technology produces those results.

You can read more about the reasons you should go digital in our article: Why go digital?

Having a clear vision

Focusing on the why lets companies decide which strategies to choose for digital transformation.

Every project must, as well, have its own objective.

Looking at the current IT world and deciding which actual investments can be greatly enhanced and which deficiencies can be removed is the best way to build a plan.

Digital transformation does not involve starting at ground level. IT leaders should be able to find ways to significantly improve the present situation. They should find out what can be achieved by doing so, rather than choosing a business outcome and reconfiguring a digital transformation vision around that objective.

Communicating the vision correctly

In fact, the real obstacle that slows down digital transformation is how the vision is communicated.

The vision must be over-communicated both through the C-suite and at the team level.

Unless the people on the ground and in each department realize the importance of digital transformation, progress will not be made.

IT leaders must be prepared to inform workers how all these improvements are going to improve their jobs on a regular basis. It’s the best way to align the whole organization with the execution of a plan for digital transformation.

You need the expertise to lead digital transformation initiatives

To go through digital transformation, a mixture of talent and technology is needed. One will not cut it without the other.

If you are being held back by your existing systems, it’s time to rethink your technology collaborations and what they have to offer.

The digital transition will bring with it a multitude of technical challenges of its own and you need the right people on board.

Train your employees to be able to use technology and help them develop the skills required for innovation. Or you may simply look outside and find business partners like an outsourcing team, that will be able to understand your vision and align with your needs.

Managing the budget wisely

Wouldn’t it be nice to have an unlimited financial resource pool? Sadly, this is not the reality.

You will probably face financial issues that may restrict some parts of your journey of digital transformation. Be conscious of it and ready for it.

When you develop your digital transformation strategy, use your budget as a reality check to see how much your company can manage. Develop a strategy that includes several stages over several years, if that’s what is needed. Don’t put your company at risk over budgetary matters.

Conclusion

While these are the main challenges to digital transformation, many others exist. Overall, firstly, consider creating a strong foundation, one that generates a broad set of results for your company, customers, and employees.

Digital transformation has so many advantages! Only make sure the challenges are tackled as they arrive and do your utmost to prepare in advance.

The fact is that a good strategy is important for you. You need to define a vision, set goals to achieve it, and offer a direction to your entire team, as you would for any aspect of your business. You may have been able to keep your head above water without strategy and intention, but don’t rely on it much longer.