The main challenges of digital transformation in companies

Digital transformation is an inevitable action for companies, considering that it is a large-scale trend that is reaching all markets and sectors of society. An example that we can cite in this sense is education.

With the Covid-19 pandemic, many public universities and private colleges were left without knowing what to do in the face of the demand for distance learning. They did not have the ideal IT infrastructure to offer this service efficiently and productively.

For those who still have doubts, digital transformation is a strategy, generally speaking, that relies on technology to boost a company's efficiency and results. Understand technology here as any means that allows a company to become more efficient, productive and economical.

However, implementing digital transformation is not a simple process, as it requires a general effort on the part of the company, which touches on delicate issues, such as its culture.

For a company's digital transformation to occur successfully, it is first necessary to overcome the challenges that make it unfeasible. Below, find out about the main ones according to a survey carried out by Capterra, one of the right-hand men of Gartner (in 2016, the company was acquired by Gartner).

Budget limitation

In 2019, Capterra, with the aim of understanding the mentality of companies regarding digital transformation, developed a survey, interviewing 288 professionals linked to IT management in micro, small and medium-sized businesses.

So, of the total number of respondents, 35% responded that one of the main challenges to implementing digital transformation in companies is budget limitations. Many organizations, because they do not understand the importance of this process for their growth, do not allocate enough budget to initiate digital transformation, a strategy that involves the entire body of the organization, it is worth highlighting.

Lack of technical knowledge of the team regarding digital transformation

It is not only the top management that does not fully understand the importance of digital transformation for the company, but also the technical team responsible for the IT sector. At least that's what the research carried out by Capterra indicated, which revealed that 20% (out of a total of 288) had no knowledge about this process, not knowing exactly how to start or execute it.

The lack of technical knowledge on the part of the IT team, in relation to digital transformation, also presents itself as a challenge to be overcome so that the company can achieve growth in this sense, thus standing out in the market.

Company culture

Another challenge raised by the Capterra study concerns the company's culture. As highlighted, the digital transformation process involves not only the installation of modern information technology products in the company, such as cloud software, but also a change in mentality or culture.

In this sense, the research revealed that 12% of the interviewees stated that the company's culture is one of the main challenges for implementing digital transformation.

The process of transforming a business culture begins, without a shadow of a doubt, with the implementation of training or qualification courses, which are capable of making a company's professionals see a certain process or solution as of fundamental importance for their growth.

It is necessary to make a company's employees understand that digital transformation is something positive for the company, as it can help it grow, achieving its objectives with greater efficiency, productivity and agility.

Furthermore, by training them, you introduce them to digital reality, to the new demands of this context.

outdated technology

Another barrier highlighted by the research concerns existing technologies in companies, such as old computers and outdated software, which no longer interact with the reality of digital transformation. Of the total number of respondents, 9% responded that this is a problem that needs to be overcome for digital transformation to occur in companies.

In this sense, it is worth highlighting that digital transformation involves not only physical components, such as state-of-the-art servers, but also the adoption of software capable of enabling a company to operate continuously from digital or cloud sources, such as in-house computing. cloud, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence etc.

Internal bureaucracy

Finally, still in relation to the research carried out by Capterra, 8% stated that internal bureaucracy poses a challenge to the implementation of digital transformation in a company.

This is why it is necessary, first, to change the mentality of managers and the organization's culture and only then implement this process. When the members of a company are aligned, it is easier to achieve objectives, such as digital transformation.

Otherwise, internal bureaucracies will assert themselves with greater force, preventing the effective reach of this process.

Lack of perception of urgency

Another point raised, but now not by Capterra, but by Cesar Gon, a specialist in the IT sector, is related to the lack of perception of urgency with regard to digital transformation.

The expert, who was interviewed by the portal Medium & Message, highlights that the market has set a clear example in this regard, which should be followed by any and all entrepreneurs who seek to maintain their business.

He cites, as an example, the blockbuster market (film rental), which was practically extinct, because there was no perception of urgency regarding digital transformation. In his opinion, “several companies even ceased to exist because they did not realize that they needed to transform to keep up with the offers available on the market and customer needs”.

In his view, for example, Blockbuster was extinguished because it did not see the great opportunity that the streaming market allowed. The company saw Netflix born and occupying spaces that its service did not cover.

Therefore, having a perception of urgency is essential for digital transformation to occur quickly, thus ensuring that your business remains in the market. It is necessary to overcome this barrier that has extinguished reference businesses around the world, such as the blockbuster market.

Lack of quick learning

Digital transformation is not a finished product. Better explained, it is a continuous process, which unfolds as the company carries out its day-to-day operations.

In the view of the expert we highlighted previously (Cesar Gon), the lack of rapid learning on the part of the technical team responsible for digital transformation also poses as a barrier for this process to continually mature. Here, the digital transformation process began, but got stuck in execution, something that poses a barrier to achieving success.

“You need to be ready to have a structure that tests hypotheses, builds quick experiments and learns from them. Success in today's world is based on resilience, learning and evolution. Speed is super important. Speed for the sake of speed produces garbage at the speed of light, but the speed associated with learning, with analysis of data and numbers, shows what the experiment allowed,” he says.

As we have seen, there are several challenges to implementing digital transformation in companies. However, now that you know some of them, try to eliminate them, this way you guarantee the success of this venture.

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