As technologies such as the internet, humanized big data, blockchain, automation, AR/VR, and artificial intelligence have spread their roots deep into the business landscape, digital strategy is now a vital driver of the global economy.
However, in an ever-changing business ecosystem with intense competition, your challenge is not just to form a digital strategy for your success, but also to ensure that it is a future-proof roadmap for your business’ tech needs.
You cannot foretell the future, but you can certainly prepare your organization for the future when you future-proof the digital strategy roadmap in the following ways:
Keep an Eye on the Constantly Changing Needs and Expectations of Users
Despite advancements in technology, humans will always be behind each digital device or system. By studying human nature and behavior and using it to find your target audience, you have a base to future-proof your strategy roadmap.
If you are to future-proof your digital strategy roadmap, you must have a clear vision for your organization. Usually, you can achieve this by holding meetings and interviews with users and key leaders. Ultimately, you want to understand what they feel is most important in digital transformation so that you may map strategic components based on perceived importance and urgency.
Speaking of his work implementing digital initiatives, Guy Baroan, president of Baroan Technologies, says, “We meet with all a majority of our clients… and always review the next 36 months with the specific goal of understanding what is currently in place from technology and digital workplace perspective.” He adds that his team then goes through new and updated solutions with clients to ensure that they continuously improve their capabilities.
Look to the Past to Help You Anticipate Your Future Strategies
Looking back at the evolution of digital technology shows that various technologies are now changing the way people work, which once seemed like fantasies. No technology emerged suddenly out of nowhere. All of them evolved from a variety of preceding technologies. If you look back at the past strategies that worked well for your organization, you can analyze digital evolution patterns and anticipate future developments.
In the same way, Henry Ford studied consumer demand in the era of horse-drawn carriages. He revolutionized transportation by developing the first car. You should take advantage of past experiences to determine the digital strategies that could be successful in the future. Additionally, you should look out for digital trends to establish a digital transformation pattern that you may factor in your future-proof strategy.
Use Your Collected Data to Shape Your Roadmap
With the advent of digital technology, organizations have amassed billions of bits of data regarding user behavior. By starting from generation and storage of this data to understanding patterns and developing unique technology strategies, the data can ensure your success by making your business more intelligent.
To fool-proof your company’s digital strategies, you can convert raw data to actionable insights. You could also leverage Business Intelligence systems to do the heavy lifting related to big data to help you make the best decisions for your business. BI systems that analyze real-time, as well as stored data, are a big help in developing up to date digital strategies.
Take Advantage of Mobile Technology
As global mobile phone penetration continues to rise, ignoring mobile technologies is certain to leave you playing catch-up with your competitors and could require you to draw up new plans to replace an outdated roadmap. It would be best if you ingrained the latest mobile technologies into your core strategy as more functions move to mobile devices.
You need to pay attention to the connectivity that the internet of things (IoT) brings as well as other vital mobile-related technologies that continue to evolve like blockchain cryptocurrency transfers, private clouds, Bring your own Device (BYOD), Mobile Device Management (MDM) and contactless payments must have a place in your digital strategy roadmap to future-proof your organization for the mobile age.
Build a Digital Strategy That Adapts to Changes in Your Business
If you are to digitize your business and stay up to date successfully, you need to commit to continuous innovation actively and watch out for advancements in your field of business that could require a change in your digital strategy. However, while you must be hawkish about developments in your field and the digital sphere, you should be sure that your plans are sustainable, and you can adapt them to future events.
Digital solutions and strategies for business are not things that you can ‘set and forget.’ You need to consistently update them in line with innovations that your clients require, leaving room for further changes as they occur.
Carry Out Scheduled Revision and Fine-Tuning of Your Digital Strategy Roadmap
Based on your prioritized solutions, hat maps, deployment options, and implementation strategies, you should map out a detailed roadmap for your organization’s digital transformation.
Philipp Baumann, from managed IT services provider BoomTech, says that, due to evolving needs, his firm continually reviews employee productivity, growth plans, software, IT tools, and new business expansion plans at scheduled intervals.
“The one constant is everything changes, and that’s especially true with IT. At BoomTech, we sit down with our clients to re-evaluating their IT and adjust their roadmap quarterly.” He adds, “Our objective is to ensure they remain on target with plans and aren’t surprised by any unexpected IT expenses.
To successfully future-proof your digital strategy roadmap and ensure its success, you need to put together a cross-functional team consisting of IT specialists, heads of marketing, and visionary leaders. Ferrell Fuller of Chacetech says, “We generally recommend companies have an IT Steering Committee consisting of key stakeholders that meet once every quarter. We offer to facilitate the Steering Committee for our customers to keep them on track with aligning the technology to the business instead of the business to the tech.”
Following the steps outlined above, this team can formulate and implement your digital strategy and ensure that it stays up to date.
