The pandemic has significantly transformed the way most businesses operate, and there is no sign of a return to the pre-COVID-19 way of working.
The pandemic has forced the home owner phone number data adoption of new tools and practices in record time, and many digital departments are still getting used to the impact of these changes on strategy, priorities and software implementation processes. The acceleration of digital transformation requires companies to keep pace and not let down their guard if they want to remain competitive.
What has been the real impact of the pandemic?
COVID-19 has had consequences all over the planet. The entire world has experienced a series of changes that have prevented, in many cases, direct contact with customers and forced companies to react quickly to avoid a negative impact.
In order to measure the effects of COVID-19 on the digital sphere, Forrester has conducted a study in which it has interviewed 18 digital department managers from companies with different levels of digital maturity in various markets and sectors. What have been the conclusions?
What we have learned during the pandemic will continue to impact companies' digital transformation strategies in the long term.
A before the pandemic
Of the 18 executives who participated in the study, only two consider that their organization had a high level of digital maturity before 2020. The other 16 admit that their companies have had to face significant challenges that have slowed down the transformation process. Among the most frequently mentioned problems are the following:
An ambiguously ambitious roadmap, with digital transformation strategies more focused on deferring costs than on increasing growth.
Lack of cohesion, especially in large companies, where the transformation has been addressed in a fragmented way, without a cohesive comprehensive vision and without a defined strategy. There is an imbalance in the updating of processes and the automation of the different business areas, since not all were at the same stage of the transformation. This lack of synchronization has resulted in unnecessary efforts and expenses, reduced efficiency and slower implementation.
The weight of the status quo. Employee resistance to change has been another obstacle to growth, as accelerating the pace of digital transformation requires a clear vision and buy-in from the entire team. The Forrester study found that despite having ambitious goals, many companies have failed to execute.
The change
These issues have not only hampered the digital transformation process, they have also led to frustration, delays, and missed opportunities. The sudden and forced adoption of a digital model has forced efforts to be concentrated. As a result, Forrester observes that more and more companies are accelerating digital transformation to take advantage of the new context.
