数字化转型:如果东西没坏，就不要修理它

马特奥Kotch

2019年1月22日

Understanding when ‘rip-and-replace’ is needed and when it’s not can save your business time and money.

在前面 博客, which discussed five steps businesses should take to ease their digital transformation, I provided guidelines to help steer companies toward a successful transformation process. 2018年的预测是 70% of all digital transformation initiatives undertaken that year would not meet their full objectives, so it was not surprising to find that the 博客 proved to be a popular topic. 很明显，这个话题引起了你们很多人的共鸣. That interest compelled me to take a deeper dive into the five steps.

One of the reasons that many businesses struggle through a digital transformation is the large sums of money spent on replacing systems that, 坦率地说, 通常不需要更换. Businesses have been known to embark on incredibly disruptive journeys. 在某些情况下，不是因为需要转换, but rather that the appearance of undertaking a digital transformation ‘initiative’ will appease investors. That’s why I want to take this opportunity to discuss the importance of conducting a thorough audit of your processes and technologies, 在冒险去替换它们之前.

Even though ‘digital transformation’ is a widely recognizable term, one thing that I’ve noticed during my time at ALE is that some decision-makers think of digital transformation as a ‘one and done’ project from which their business will reap the benefits of technological bliss. 然而, the reality is that digital transformation is an ongoing journey. Ripping and replacing legacy systems in favor of new ‘AI-enabled’, “区块链”, 或“物联网”技术, 不总是最好的答案吗. 对过程和技术的审核, and an understanding of goals must take place at the start of any digital transformation if it is to be successful.

作为企业主或决策者, your desire for the latest and greatest software is understandable, based on all of the media-hype that often comes with ‘competitive-advantage-providing-technologies’. 然而, what they may neglect to mention is the cost that these ‘bright shiny objects’ can impose on current day-to-day business operations. Remember, your tried-and-tested technologies have gotten your business to w在这里 it is now. An audit that clearly identifies whether or not your business requires these new technologies can save you valuable time and resources that could be allocated to more pressing business improvements. It can take a considerable amount of time for employees to familiarize themselves with new technology, 导致生产力暂时下降, output, 甚至是利润. 也, replacing technologies that are integral to your business can have far-reaching consequences that are not even on your radar.

而 普华永道 predicts that companies around the world are expected to spend a total of $2.2019年投入1万亿美元用于数字化转型, a 2015 Genpact Research Institute study found that of $600 billion USD spent on digital projects, 4000亿美元 was invested in projects that did not meet expectations nor the anticipated return on investment (ROI). 换句话说，67%的时间和金钱都被浪费了.

Perhaps even more disconcerting was the outcome of similar study by Bernstein Research. 在分析了三十年的研究和发展(R&D) spending by large, publicly traded tech companies, they concluded that “在研发上花费最多的公司&D tended to have shares that underperformed the markets over time, 也相对于那些花费较少的公司."

而 the Bernstein report focused on companies in the tech industry, 这些发现可以外推到各个火狐体育手机. So, before agreeing to pledge a considerable amount of your businesses’ finite resources to new technologies with the promise of optimizing processes and workflows, it would be prudent to consider whether they need replacing in the first place. Rather than mimicking the changes that your competitors make—out of fear of lagging behind—your company may benefit from maintaining existing technologies and processes, 并简单地用新技术进行扩展, 在需要的地方. 你甚至可能在游戏中领先.

让我说清楚, 然而, I am not suggesting that t在这里 is no merit in businesses wanting to modernize their technologies and processes. 显然，这样做是有好处的. 我的建议是, 然而, is that rather than embarking on an aggressive ‘rip-and-replace’ approach, decision-makers should seek out technologies and vendors that can augment and enhance existing investments. Decision-makers should also be clear about why they are recommending that systems be replaced and should be encouraged to share, 与所有利益相关者, 一个详细的案例说明为什么改变是绝对必要的.

毕竟，“如果东西没坏，就不要修理它”.