According to the ITSM Group, the discussion on digitization with terms ranging from Industry 4.0 to IoT creates exaggerated pressure on many companies. The consulting firm warns against actionism and presents tips on the strategic orientation of digitization.
Classic business models are called into question, newcomers are expected to put established industry names in danger soon, and former winners could suddenly become losers in the market. The current discussion on digitization unnecessarily creates the impression that their business will immediately suffer considerable damage if companies do not completely switch over to digital in a short time, Frank Zielke argues. The Executive Board of the ITSM Group has therefore developed tips on the strategic direction of digitization.
Do not override proven rules without ado
According to the current discussion trend, business models are only modern and good if they bear the stamp of digitization. But if you look at economic standards, a closer look reveals a contradictory result: according to Zielke, it is above all those business models that are based on classic business approaches that are profitable. Hardly any start-up concept is already in the black, instead living on investor funds and the hope of future profitability. This does not argue against a commitment towards a direction towards highly digitized processes and digital products or services, but on the contrary, due to the digitization trend, the previous and proven market strategy and business rules should not be overridden.
Open questions are not a reliable basis for decision-making
Many questions in connection with the further digitization issues are still unclear, eg lacking in the topic of Industry 4.0 still in the end models, the complex interface problem was not solved due to the extensive networking and have been developed for the attendant security aspects, yet, no adequate solutions. According to Zielke, it does not look much different in many other future technological topics. Those who shy away from investment risks in view of the current variety of ambiguities should, for the time being, observe the further development for the right initial momentum, but constructively use this phase for digital strategy development and internal process digitization.
Transformation in the digitization of business processes begin
Although the digital transformation is often tied to terms such as the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0 or Big Data and Cloud in the public debate, it actually begins with the digital maturity of companies. Many processes in the business departments and the production are still manual and characterized by paper or media breaks, so that no consistent digital and electronically integrated processes are possible. However, a comprehensive digital process infrastructure along the value-added chain is a prerequisite for agile competitiveness, organizational flexibility and reduced process costs. In this respect, the transformation strategies should first of all devote themselves consistently to this need for optimization.
Do without the gold crown in the projects
According to recent studies, the digital maturity level in corporate processes still shows significant deficits, which in turn means that the digitization efforts would generate a variety of projects. However, since the human resources are limited and the realization of the necessary measures should not be too far into the future, a deliberate restriction of the project claims to workable and efficient digital processes with the necessary integration is necessary. The limitation of the expansion stage means that a faster digital penetration of the organization is achieved. Functional extensions could be realized at a later date.
Courage for more central control
Even if many digitization topics are or will be located in the departments of the companies, a systematic transformation can not be achieved via decentralized individual measures. For this purpose, the establishment of a transformation management within the IT organization is necessary, which was responsible for the planning, coordination and realization of the entire digitization measures. In particular, his tasks include developing initiatives for the digitization of processes and digital product innovations together with the business units. Another important function is to internally transfer the transformation experience to stimulate the digitization culture in the company.
