Is your business transformation agenda covering these six key areas?

1.  Business operating model – A new set of operating models is needed to support new business models. For instance, when you move from selling a product to selling a service you have to build in systems to monitor usage. You have to change the billing systems. And you have to ensure the product runs smoothly with timely maintenance etc. While adopting new business models hi-tech players must not lose sight of how operating models need to be redesigned or improved for the new normal.
2.  Business partner experience – Digital is about speed, simplicity, and convenience. As they change, hi-tech companies must think of ways to improve the ease of doing business and impact customer experience, partner experience (distributors, resellers, channel partners) and community experience (developers, ecosystem partners).
   
3.  Offerings – Evaluate, build, and adopt new age products, services, and pricing strategies. Think about how legacy products can be harvested or divested, what type of margins make sense, how can you approach different market segments with innovative pricing strategies.  
   
4.  Employee experience – People are the backbone of any business. You need to enable your workforce with digital tools, technologies, and systems to improve productivity and employee satisfaction. You need to adopt new technologies to meet the needs of the new ways of working – mobility, remote working, systems of engagement, and intuitive design etc. – that can help you attract and retain talent.
   
5.  Sources of work – As hi-tech players evolve new products and services with an innovation agenda on the driver’s seat, they need the ability to tap in to the gig economy. It does not make business sense to hire specific skills for short duration projects. Companies need to be able to get things done quickly without onboarding new talent. They need skills-as-a-service - the ability to tap in to workforce sitting anywhere in the world – that platforms like Topcoder provide.  
6.  Organization culture change management – In a survey, 80% of the respondents said culture is the biggest challenge when it comes to adopting new initiatives. The importance of organization change management cannot be ignored if hi-tech has to ensure their new business models deliver. Especially in an increasingly hybrid workforce where humans and bots work together, right structures, attitudes, roles, and skills are very important.
   

Business transformation is not just a shiny new layer put on top of an existing model. Its only when you address all the above areas that keep the gears turning, can you truly become a modern, digital business.

Want to discuss more on what makes digital businesses tick? Connect with me @aruntrivedi