Digital services 2020: Time for a reality check
Cliché, but true: Digital transformation takes more than a village. The Forrester Analytics Global Business Technographics Business and Technology Services survey for 2019 revealed that working with services providers to accelerate transformation is the top transformation action that surveyed services decision-makers are taking this year. Despite the importance of and significant investments in these relationships, the realized value is failing to meet expectations for providers and customers alike in key areas.
In our recently published infographic, we explore the biggest gaps.
However, what strikes me the most is not divisions in expectations in newer areas but rather ever-present challenges related to business relationships, culture, and change management that leave both services providers and their customers wanting more:
As the pace of change in technology continues to increase, we find overall that services providers can ramp up quickly to deliver new skills and capabilities to their clients. But no tech project is just a tech project when businesses differentiate with digital. Without effectively aligning the business users and business processes with the technology teams and bringing all employees along on the journey, companies realize only a fraction of the expected outcomes in their tech investments.
But these are not new challenges, so how do we close this gap?
Make change management nonnegotiable and modernize your partner selection practices
It's time for change management to be considered, and packaged, as fundamental to transformation services . . . not a line item that can be cut in the name of cost savings (it doesn't work like that!). But it's not enough to check the box on a communication strategy and call it a day. Companies must also source for partners with effective change management methodologies that will also be effective in engaging the business within their customers' organizations. These competencies are not easily evaluated by an RFP.
This post was written by Analyst Amanda LeClair, and it originally appeared here.