Digital transformation isn’t a clean and simple process. There is no one singular path when it comes to implementing digital transformation within a company. No one knows this better than Chris Hsu, who was the EVP and GM of HPE software business. He was also the Chief Operating Officer of Hewlett Packard Enterprise. After HPE sold the software business to Micro Focus, he became the Chief Operating Officer of Micro Focus. Chris joined our COO, Lalit Singh to discuss how companies can lead effective digital transformations in our latest Thought Leader Webinar Series.

Digital transformation marks a radical rethinking of how an organization needs to use  technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance, Chris Hsu stresses. “Frankly, in today’s day and age, I think that if you are living in old systems and processes, you will be disrupted.”

Fearful of being outflanked by more nimble competitors, companies are seeking to accelerate innovation, experimenting with new digital services and capabilities to augment existing offerings or to slide into adjacent markets. One of the first things companies should do in embarking on a digital transformation is answer this critical question: What business outcomes do you want to achieve?

“It starts with the business outcomes and the new business models you’re going after and working backwards from there,” says Chris Hsu. “There are a number of perspectives to consider including technology, data, and more than anything the people and operational side of the business.”

Companies can follow some key digital transformational tips to affect the kind of change they desire, including:

• Focus on a clear set of objectives. Whether you’re transforming an existing model or starting from scratch, leaders must reach a consensus on the best path to pursue.
• Adopt agile execution. Encourage risk taking, enabling even lower-level employees to make decisions, fail fast and learn.
• Instill focus. Business leaders must recognize it  is a marathon, not a sprint. And in order to present and to be effective over a long period of time, leaders must be mentally and physically fit so they can focus.

While emerging tech and revamped processes are crucial, having the right skills on staff is essential to any digital transformation.

Software engineers, cloud computing specialists and product managers remain key roles for companies seeking to roll out new products and services. DevOps leaders galvanize software development by merging development with operations, enabling companies to continuously iterate software to speed delivery.

Data scientists and data architects are also in high demand, as companies seek to glean insights out of vast troves of data, and transformations lean increasingly on machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Companies can lag in digital transformations for several reasons, a few being poor leadership, disconnects between IT and the business, lagging employee engagement and substandard operations. But, according to Chris Hsu, “I think digital transformation, if you’re doing it correctly, should impact all parts of the organization. Digital transformation has the ability to flatten an organization, and to really start to streamline and remove those manual administrative processes that no one really loves doing, and creates the capacity for more customer-facing interactions,  for more innovation, and fundamentally more building of things.”

This is one webinar, you don’t want to miss. View it here.