Do you have the Right Digital Strategy for the Economic Recovery?

Is your Digital Strategy fit for purpose in the economic recovery phase of the pandemic?

Your Digital Strategy will be pivotal to your success in the economic recovery phase of the pandemic.

With the passing of the $1.9trn stimulus package in the US, the OECD forecasting G20 GDP to grow by 6.2% and China set to grow by up to 8% in 2021, the world could be at the start of a period of record economic growth.  

Homing in on the UK, the numbers are equally positive too.   It was recently reported on Sky News, that Goldman Sachs predicts the UK economy growing by up to 7.8% in 2021, after the UK recorded in 2020 the largest economic slump in three hundred years.  

With all these positive economic forecasts and the continued success of the vaccination roll outs, the c-suite should be, cautiously optimistic about the prospects for the remainder of 2021 and beyond.   

However, as highlighted in a recent Tarralugo article (2021 Recovery: Where Should Digital and Tech Leaders Focus?), the strategy for success pre-pandemic won't necessarily work in the economic recovery phase and beyond.

Around the world, the pandemic has permanently shifted the way we work, rest, and play.  Many of these changes in our behaviours are underpinned by technology.  For enterprises to succeed, they need to reassess their both their business and digital strategies.

Re-evaluating strategies, whilst still managing the ongoing risks and uncertainties of Covid-19, may seem a herculean task, given existing workloads.  However, the medium to long-term benefits will outweigh the short-term inconveniences.

As part of an organisation’s strategy review there are several key questions we suggest are asked.  These questions include:

1. Does your C-suite have the right skills? 

In particular, do all of your senior leadership team have a digital mindset.  Digital is now pervasive across the enterprise and all senior leadership should have a digital first mindset.  Digital transformation is the responsibility of everyone, not just a select few.  Having the right digital skills at the C-suite level has been shown to be a distinct competitive advantage.  As highlighted in a recent MIT Sloan report, digitally savvy executive teams outperformed comparable companies without such teams by 48%, based on revenue growth and valuation.

2. Do you know your customer? 

The pandemic has changed the behaviours and priorities of customers.  This doesn’t just apply to consumers but also enterprise customers.  The way in which we work will impact supply chains, sales, business operations and customer services.  To effectively meet the changing needs of customers, enterprises need to revalidate that they truly know the needs of their customers, both for today and for tomorrow.  Any assumptions based upon pre-pandemic knowledge of the customer, should be handled with scepticism.

3. Are you Digitally Transforming or Digitizing?

Over the recent years, the terms Digital Transformation, Digitalisation and Digitizing have all become common business parlance.  But in doing so the distinction has often been lost.  This is more than just semantics, digital transformation is about completely reimaging the business model and building long term competitive advantage.  Digitization is mostly about applying technology to the existing business processes and operations to improve the operating efficiency. 

Whilst digitization does have its place, it will not create long term value and differentiation.  Unlike Digital Transformation.   Therefore, organisation should be clear about their digital initiatives and catagorize them accordingly.  This will help create a transparent view for enterprise of where their investments are going and expected returns.

4. How do we accelerate our Digital Transformation?

Whilst many memes have humorously touted Covid-19 as the catalyst for the acceleration of many enterprise’s digital transformation projects, there is a certain truth in it.  Gartner research has found that 69% of Board Directors accelerated their digital business initiatives as a result of Covid-19 disruption.

As enterprises look to ride the waves of economic recovery, they should review the lessons learnt during 2020 and ask how they can use these lessons, plus industry expertise, to further accelerate the digital transformation of their business. 

This acceleration of digital transformation may include further investment in new technology & capabilities.  But equally, it could include improving utilisation of investments enterprises have already made in their platforms, data and people.  In a recent DII survey, just 15% of executives say they have realized the full value from their cloud investments. 

5. Are we making the right investments in our people?

The pandemic has been transformative at many levels, and as leaders continue to digitally transform their enterprises, they should also question if they are making the right investments in their people. 

An enterprise’s human workforce is the heart of any organisation and it is the people who will either enable or veer off course, recovery from the pandemic.  As organisations set out their strategies for the future, they should review the investments they are making in their people.

These investments should include equipping employees with the skills to successfully navigate the transitioning process. Plus the skills they will need post each phase of the transitions. 

At Tarralugo, we believe asking the right questions is fundamental to success.  Whilst the five questions above is only a start, it is a good start to defining the right strategy. 

As we work through the long-term impacts of Covid, having the right business strategy will be pivotal to success. Having the right digital and technology strategy will be crucial to achieving that success.

If you would like discuss your digital and technology strategy, please feel free to contact us or drop us an e-mail.