Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 56 | Page 86

FINAL WORD
According to a survey carried out by Harvard Business Review , 63 % of executives saw cultural challenges as the biggest barrier to their transformation efforts .
Gareth Hutchins , Director , Solution Architecture – Europe and North America , OpenText
another . There ’ s little point extolling what some may see as a benefit , but others consider to be irrelevant .
Overall , though , clear and open communication is vital . Not only will it reinforce the unique ways in which Digital Transformation will benefit different individuals and parts of the business , but in pre-emptively answering any questions that might arise , it will save time and improve the efficiency of the rollout .
3 . Address change resistance
Even when it delivers benefits and its impact is positive , change will often meet resistance . Addressing that change is key . According to a survey carried out by Harvard Business Review , 63 % of executives saw cultural challenges as the biggest barrier to their transformation efforts .
Much of this resistance comes as the result of unmet – or unrealistic – user expectations . For example , Gartner research suggests that in instances where cloud transformation initiatives aren ’ t delivering the results expected , the gaps between those initiatives and business results ‘ are often pointers to cloud adoption challenges that need attention ’.
It ’ s vital , then , that organisations go beyond just training on new tools and features , and address any change resistance challenges , managing expectations by highlighting the real value these tools can bring to users .
4 . Target specific technologies at the right users
It ’ s important to bear in mind that there ’ s no such thing as a ‘ one size fits all ’ solution . Adoption will always be specific to a particular product , user group , or use case . In many instances , a single Digital Transformation initiative might introduce several new or updated technologies , only for some tools to be widely embraced while others were only minimally used .
This , then reiterates the point made earlier ; that ensuring strong adoption of any new technology depends on delivering the right messages to the right audience to show the value of each tool in addressing their specific needs . User training in a technology will be significantly more valuable if it ’ s paired with targeted engagement initiatives to highlight how that technology supports existing business – and often personal – needs .
Digital Transformation initiatives , many of which were accelerated due to the sudden disruption caused by the pandemic , remain a key priority for most organisations today . But implementing new tools and solutions isn ’ t enough in itself . When it comes to successful Digital Transformation , adoption shouldn ’ t be thought of as the icing on the cake – it ’ s actually a fundamental ingredient . If a company ’ s people aren ’ t convinced of the value of its new technology , then any investment could be for nothing . p
86 INTELLIGENTCIO EUROPE www . intelligentcio . com