What advice would you give CTOs who are trying to expand digital to other areas within their own business beyond IT?
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Digital in areas other than IT is what is really required and delivers value for the investment made in IT. Any project must focus on the outcome that the project would deliver. Initiatives that deliver value to customers are the top priority ones. Similarly those that can delivery breakthrough or bring in disruption, they too should be focused upon
Build your processes around the company's core values -There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to building out the right systems. Ensure you have the right talent leading the initiatives and to who you can delegate key tasks.
Make sure the company's mission statements include direction toward digital transformation. Then articulate the importance to align goals of all business units so that they know the company's direction. Then develop a multi-year plan to ensure clarity of what needs to happen down the road. After that it will be crucial to work with the CFO to develop business plans and allocate sufficient budgets to support the cost for the multi-year digital transformation plan.
Find a champion in each area that understands the benefits of digital. Support that person to spearhead change within their respective areas. Provide analogous case studies as examples for impact.
Technology is there to advance the business. The first order of priority for a CTO is to truly understand the pain points and where technology can create points of differentiation. New technology also creates disruption so make sure you have champions on the ground and focus on change management. Think big and start small with the change. Prove the value and then create mass acceptance. Also don't fall into the trap of digitizing manual processes because that's how they have done all along.