Why do modern businesses need to invest in digital transformation? The short answer is because it has a number of benefits. Digital transformation can help a business operate with a higher degree of efficiency. It can also improve the quality of talent acquisition while offering a better experience to both employees and customers. But how does one begin a digital transformation?
SWOT Analysis and Digital Transformation
If you’re an entrepreneur or business executive, you have probably already given some thought to transforming your business digitally. How limited and effective the transformation is usually dependent on how much homework you put into it beforehand. Don’t know where to start? A SWOT analysis is a generally good place to begin, whether you’re comparing packages or strategizing for digital transformation. This blog explores the following areas:
- What Is A SWOT Analysis?
- SWOT Analysis in Digital Transformation
- Points to Ponder
Let’s take a closer look at these areas below.
What Is A SWOT Analysis?
Most use cases for a SWOT analysis involve it as a strategic planning model. SWOT is an abbreviation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and strengths. SWOT analyses have uses in both the business world as well as on a national and global scale. Organizations make use of SWOT analysis when they have a major change under consideration.
This change could be a new business model, including transitioning to a digital business. A SWOT analysis consists of a grid (2 by 2), with strengths and weaknesses occupying the first row. Opportunities and threats go into the bottom row.
A SWOT analysis comes in very handy to look at all angles of a proposed outcome, including both positive and negative factors that could have an impact on it. In the modern world, most SWOT analyses rely on data-driven analytics instead of abstract assumptions or theories. It helps decision-makers gain an informed perspective that looks at the outcome from all possible angles.
SWOT Analysis in Digital Transformation
So you want to use a SWOT analysis for the proposed outcome of a digital workplace. What do you do? You begin by objectively looking at the 4 main areas the analysis covers. Details on each individual area follow below.
Strengths
These are the positive contributors that give your organization an edge with digital transformation. This advantage can become visible in operational efficiency, revenue generation, and achieving business goals. The contributing factors are a mix of tangible and intangible attributes. Tangible attributes may include how well-managed your facility is, or how recent is the technology your business uses. Intangible attributes include how skilled your workforce is and how good your reputation is. Look at the areas concerning digital transformation where data indicates your company performs well.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are factors that can negatively impact, slow down, or reduce the effect of the proposed digital transformation to your organization. These weaknesses are relative to your competition and inhibit you from outperforming your competitors. In the scope of digital transformation, this could include poor automation, outdated tech, and even poor data management.
You can also look at weaknesses ass important attributes or assets your organization currently lacks. Your employees may have to navigate between different dashboards during the course of the day, instead of a unified system. You may have difficulties in scheduling digital conference rooms for meetings. The problem only amplifies when you have remote team members and resources to look at as well.
Opportunities
Once we have taken a look at strengths and weaknesses, we can move on to the external factors. The first attribute is to look for external opportunities that can lead to the success of a digital workplace. Look at your data analytics to see if you can identify any digital, market, or cultural trends your business can leverage to its advantage. One of the best opportunities a digital transformation presents is migrating to a third-part cloud SaaS. Another is the ability to consolidate all your operations and reporting in a simple technology stack.
Threats
Threats are also an external factor, and the final one to look at when conducting a SWOT analysis. They include any external factors that could lead to the failure of your digital transformation. You cannot control threats, but you can take precautions if your data is reliable.
Threats could include new data security regulations that may involve a massive overhaul of your system. They could also include new legislation that could harm your business. These would primarily concern taxation, e-commerce, and the digital economy as a whole.
Points to Ponder
Before ending this blog, here are 10 useful objective questions that can help you conduct a better and more accurate SWOT analysis:
- Is my organization’s data accessible and still secure?
- Is my current IT structure flexible and scalable?
- Do we host our systems on-site or the cloud?
- Does my business support employee mobility and agility?
- How secure is our data from internal and external threats?
- How many different platforms do employees use every day?
- Does our IT infrastructure allow the software to communicate?
- Is the existing infrastructure making use of data to make decisions?
- How flexible is my workplace to digital change?
I also suggest getting strong channel partners to support your digital transformation. I upgraded to cox service for businesses when I was growing my first company. Investing in the right supporting technology and vendors is a win-win for everyone.