Done with Digital Transformation. What’s next?

In my previous article, I wrote about the importance of digital transformation and why companies need to start the journey now. Your company can choose to go digital either by going all in on cloud or by choosing a hybrid model. Irrespective of the approach, to achieve the business outcomes, you must optimize the total cost of ownership (TCO).

The biggest advantage of going all cloud is the transparency it gives you to know your spend. It is extremely easy to know the TCO of your product/platform. Needless to say, the next step is to optimize it. So, what comes next? How do you do it? What are the goals and milestones that you should set? What are the outcomes you should strive for?

Firstly, set your business objectives. Document and make it public. Now, identify your tools, processes, strengths and weaknesses. Your teams are your biggest strength, they go and implement everything for you. Know their strengths and weaknesses.

Secondly, if you have waste, in process, infrastructure or partnerships consolidate it. During consolidation, you will realize that some of it will require software and hardware upgrades. This is the time to go to the last step.

Consequently look at all cloud native options available. The business vision and your strengths and weaknesses serve as decision filters. They will help you choose the right technology suitable for your business. In addition, have a roadmap and evaluate the outcomes of every milestone. As a result, use the outcome data to determine if you should persevere or pivot.

Finally, I would definitely recommend reading some of these books below. They will help you choose what works the best for you and your company.