The AIIM Blog - Overcoming Information Chaos

Digital Transformation: Start with Simple

Written by Peggy Winton | Jan 29, 2020 7:52:00 PM

It’s no secret that AIIM believes every organization is on — or should be on — a Digital Transformation journey. In fact, AIIM itself is on its own Digital Transformation!

But, before I get into that, let’s take a deeper look at Digital Transformation and what it actually entails. At the heart of this transformation journey, is understanding, anticipating, and redefining internal and external customer experiences. Simply put - make it easy for your customers to do business with you.

“Easy” Comes Down to Two Key Attributes:

  1. The Product Itself Is Easy - It simplifies or enriches lives by removing any friction from everyday processes.
  2. The Delivery/Consumption of the Product or Service is Easy – Users can access it anytime and from anywhere.

MIT researcher, Dr. Jeanne Ross, defines transformational success in a similar way. She says that an effective digital strategy relies on the capabilities of a powerful 1) digital services backbone and 2) operational backbone. 

When our community members ask me how to get started on a Digital Transformation strategy, I suggest that they consider these two “easy” aspirations and focus on one at a time. (I don’t think many organizations can attempt to do both simultaneously).

To Begin, Ask Yourself and Your Team the Following Questions:

Is it easier to create a new product/service that truly adds value?

-or-

Is it easier to deliver an existing product/service in a whole new way?

I challenged my staff to answer these questions. Their collective response surprised me, and we've used this information to put together AIIM's plan for Digital Transformation. Your answers may be different from ours, but no matter which direction the answers lead you, you’ll be ready to take your next steps toward easy!

I'll be engaging the AIIM Conference 2020 participants in this conversation because I think it gets to the very heart of Digital Transformation. Our conference sessions will feature information management leaders who have applied this philosophy in conveying the value of information to key stakeholders. Before we talk about technology solutions, we need to start with the simple question of organizational mission.