Biggest Risks in Digital Transformation and How to Overcome Them

Adaptivity to change is what differentiates a successful business from competitors who are unwilling to transform. When it comes to digital transformation, the situation is even more dramatic since the successful implementation of new technologies gives a competitive edge that is hard to beat without adequate preparation. Ready to get such an edge? Today is the best day to start your journey in an ever-changing digital sphere. However, you should be aware of the digital transformation challenges you’ll inevitably face. We compiled the most important of them in this article to help you prevent common issues and successfully innovate your business.

What are the most common digital transformation risks?

To understand the risks, let’s first recall what digital transformation means. This term stands for implementing technologies to change business models, operations, and infrastructure. This process helps optimize processes, modify products and services, and get new business opportunities. By managing risks in digital transformation and being aware of possible obstacles, you can innovate smoothly and avoid unnecessary hassles. 

What are the most common risks of digital transformation?

• Skill gaps and lack of specialists
• Data security and privacy concerns
• Operational and organizational challenges
• Low speed of technology implementation
• Tricky cost management and unpredictable ROI
• Technologies that are too complex to adopt

Let’s explore the digital transformation risks and challenges in more detail and discover solutions that help businesses not to be left behind and manage these risks properly.

Skill gaps and lack of specialists

Chances are that your organization doesn’t have the desired level of technical expertise at the moment. In this case, you’ll need to find a reliable IT consulting services company to plan your digital transformation with the required technologies and specialists. The next challenge is that the demand for technical specialists sometimes outpaces the current talent pool available in the market. To overcome this, you can either partner with educational institutions, training programs, and agencies or create your own talent incubation program tailored to your company’s needs.

Data security and privacy concerns

Every company that strives to innovate is at digital transformation security risks, such as cyber attacks, phishing, fraud, and data leaks. Companies that operate with sensitive information are even at more significant risks and should invest in robust security measures. This implies both establishing comprehensive security frameworks and training your employees to comply with data responsibility standards.

Operational and organizational challenges

New technology integration sometimes leads to a lack of seamless coordination between company departments and may provoke team and data management complexities. Solutions to reduce this hassle are protocol standardization and encouraging cross-department collaboration. In such an environment, you’re more likely to reduce friction in your digital transformation journey and motivate your team to adapt to changes quickly.

Low speed of technology implementation

Companies with too much bureaucratic routine have a greater risk of not keeping up with the fast pace of technological change. Low speed of implementation and slow decision-making processes lead to the faster obsolescence of the approaches involved and the inability to integrate the best possible practices. The ability to experiment, decentralize, and make quick iterations instead of speed up the implementation pace motivates teams to offer their innovative ideas and integrate cutting-edge solutions when they’re just right for your organization.

Tricky cost management and unpredictable ROI

Digital transformation requires substantial investment in new technologies, specialists, and infrastructure. However, these investments could become unreasonable if they do not demonstrate tangible returns to stakeholders. So, whether you hire an individual consultant or opt for professional digital transformation services, you should establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and evaluate the digital impact by tracking ongoing performance. If some implementations show insufficient results, consider refining the strategy and finding alternative solutions.

Technologies that are too complex to adopt

Technologies might be too complex to integrate and make processes in an organization more complicated than before. To avoid these situations, you should meticulously plan and understand beforehand how the new technology will fit your current systems. Another essential point is conducting tests and implementing updates within phases to have time to fix arising issues. Within each rollout, you should also organize training sessions for your employees to ensure the team keeps up with the technology advancements.

Conclusions

In order to manage the biggest challenges of digital transformation, you need a clear vision, strategy, and detailed plan for technology implementation. What else?

• A pool of specialists provided by educational organizations and agencies or your own talent incubator.
• Comprehensive security measures and data responsibility standards inside your team to prevent data leaks and cyber-attacks.
• Protocol standardization and practices that encourage cross-department collaboration.
• Decentralization and space for experimenting and quick decision-making to speed up technology implementation.
• Clear KPIs to track performance and replace ineffective solutions with those that best fit your needs.
• Gradual integration with phased training sessions and pre-rollout testing to fix arising issues.

If you properly manage the risks of digital transformation, you’re likely to integrate solutions that improve your business workflows, infrastructure, and services. And if you want to make this journey even more smooth, consider looking for a trusted partner with profound digital expertise.