Let’s go back 4 years. It’s 2016. Donald Trump is about to become the US president, Brexit is a thing and we’re all catching pokémons on our smartphones. 2016, however, was also the year of ‘digital transformation’. As technological developments drove significant changes in customer behaviour, we were forced to rethink ways to drive growth by ‘going digital’. What that meant was different for every company, but strategic plans were drawn up and we were all going to be at the digital forefront within 4 years.  

In 2020 – 4 years and  many underestimated complexities, delays and descoping rounds later - 84% of companies believe their digital transformation has NOT successfully improved performance or equipped them to sustain changes in the long term*. From our experience, the building blocks are there but due to budget cuts and loss of focus, results are often disappointing, leaving ‘Digital transformation’ with a bad reputation.

Investing in digital technologies, however, has never been more important. Covid-19 is forcing us to step up our digital game to the next level, making it a strategic necessity instead of a nice to have. No less than 80% of companies now see digital acceleration as a strategic priority, whereas at the beginning of the year this was only 60%*.

High time to take this up again and invest in ‘Digital acceleration’. Rethinking the strategic goals, increasing focus and fixing the basics  will be key to tackle those specific barriers that prevent you from achieving concrete business goals.

Okay, but what the heck is digital acceleration?  

While digital transformation involves the process of using digital technologies to create new or modify existing business models, processes, structures, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements - digital acceleration is the agile translation. The same challenges are tackled but in a more focused way by taking on smaller pieces at a time. By doing this, you can eliminate interdependencies and innovate faster. 

It’s key here to keep the end goal in mind – what do we want to achieve? – in order not to get lost in simply adopting new technologies & tools without a clear purpose. You don’t need to buy a Ferrari if you’re going to use it to mow your lawn.   

6 clear benefits of digital acceleration