Why Digital Transformation Matters – and Why It Fails

Originally published by New Context.

Digital transformation is no longer a buzzword casually thrown around to add an air of innovation to organizations. It is now an absolute necessity for business resiliency at all levels, from frontline workers to the C-Suite. Any business leader who is just now considering digital transformation is already well behind the curve. The list of reasons why digital transformation matters is near endless, but the most important is simple—it’s necessary for survival. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a massive office exodus that has shined a spotlight on the digital infrastructures of organizations. Employees working from home, clients reaching out online, cloud migration of company workflows, and programs and data-driven decision making are all vital components of business continuity. Unfortunately, as organizations rush to get online, one of the biggest things to fall by the wayside is security. It’s clear why digital transformation matters. What’s less obvious is why integrating security within that transformation matters even more.

7 Reasons Why Digital Transformation Matters

Digital transformation is a way of integrating technology and security into all parts of a business, rather than leaving it as a single segment of the IT department. Changes occur across four distinct sectors of the company: processes, business models, products, and culture. When implemented correctly, they allow organizations to enjoy: 

1. New market opportunities: Digitally-enabled accessibility makes it possible to expand into new markets without maintaining a physical presence. Significant market opportunities like India and China are much more accessible when remote workforces, sales teams, and customer outreach is possible. 
2. Remote workforces: Allowing employees to work from anywhere improves morale, drives productivity, and can ensure business continuity. About 65% of individuals report their productivity increased when they were able to telecommute. 
3. Data-driven decision making: Data is the lifeblood of an organization. With it, leaders better understand customer behavior, sales trends, markets, and processes. As a result, they make better decisions. Organizations that leverage analytics in their decision making are more likely to exceed their business goals. 
4. Improved operational efficiency: Integrating automation and artificial intelligence into many standard business practices can help streamline work and eliminate mundane tasks. It’s also a necessary pairing for a data-driven culture, as AI and automation are both powered by data.  
5. Enhancing customer experiences: Customers today expect a higher level of personalization from companies. Technology allows companies to gather more information and cultivate messages specific to that consumer, providing a personal touch typically not possible without tech.  
6. Business continuity and resilience: COVID-19 showed everyone how important it is to be able to transition into a digital environment when it comes to maintaining business during a catastrophe. The response to COVID-19 should act as a model for how companies can respond to all business disruptions in the future. The most successful accelerated their digital transformation efforts to reach business goals and serve changing markets.   
7. Flexibility: An agile business is one that can pivot quickly in the face of any type of industry disruption. One only needs to look at how major retailers like Target shifted to digital models rapidly in the face of a worldwide pandemic. Due to their digital efforts, eCommerce sales surged by 141% compared to 2019’s first quarter. Such a surge would not have been possible if Target was not positioned to pivot to digital sales quickly during business disruption. 

With all of these benefits, it’s surprising if leaders don’t embrace digital transformation as the next big opportunity for their businesses. However, all these benefits depend on one thing—that the implementation of new technology is actually successful. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case, especially when these efforts roll out in a hurry. 

DevSecOps Can Prevent Failures In Digital Transformation 

Many digital transformation efforts fail. While there are many reasons organizations fall flat when it comes to these initiatives, one of the most preventable problems stems from security. In one study, nearly two-thirds of organizations failed to consider it during their transformation’s planning stages. This is why DevSecOps in digital transformation must be a priority. 

Integrating security into the underlying architecture of the digital transformation is the best possible way to eliminate issues. The continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines are the backbone, so layering security onto these processes, and building it into everything from the integrated development environment to application testing, will limit threats and ensure a smooth transition. 

In data governance, an automated policy enforcement ecosystem helps preserve the integrity of data both as it’s stored and while it’s transmitted. This strategy ensures compliance the moment a company transfers its assets to the cloud and limits the risk of a breach, lost data, or bad actor access. 

Partnering with a DevSecOps Consultant to Power Digital Transformation
The reason why digital transformation matters is because it is a competitive necessity. However, many of these programs fail, and security is often a root cause. By integrating security at the program development level and automating processes to monitor and eliminate threats, leaders can get around that common issue. A DevSecOps partner like New Context can help you streamline the digital transformation process and implement a successful program.