How to Plan and Budget for a 2017 Digital Transformation Project
Companies launch a digital transformation initiative for a variety of reasons. Some are looking to respond to changes in customer demands and preferences, others are trying to remain competitive and some companies see the opportunity to expand into new markets. Whatever your organization 's reason for undertaking a digital transformation project, you will need to plan and budget wisely if you want the project to be a success. Considering that IT budgets are set to increase by almost 2 percent in 2017, according to Gartner, the pressure to provide detailed, accurate budgets is likely to increase as well. If you are responsible for the task, the following tips can help you plan …show more content…
Forget what everyone else is doing. For a project to succeed, you must consider what your organization needs. Trying to determine how much another company is spending on digital transformation projects is a bit like trying to determine how much a house might cost without knowing the size, age and location. If you are curious, however, Gartner found that top performers allocated 33 percent of their 2017 IT budgets to digitalization, typical companies allocated 18 percent and trailing performers allocated 7 percent. All groups stated that these numbers would increase approximately 10 percent for 2018.
2. Do not make technology the most important part of your plan. Instead, look at your company as a whole. What are the company 's business goals? What opportunities are available for growth or expansion into additional markets? Once you understand where your company is going, you can determine the best technologies for achieving the company 's goals.
3. Talk to internal stakeholders. Digital transformation involves the entire company. Go beyond the CFO and COO. Talk to the sales team, your CEO, your marketing team, your customer service representatives and your product teams; these people are excellent sources of information that can inspire innovative
Companies launch a digital transformation initiative for a variety of reasons. Some are looking to respond to changes in customer demands and preferences, others are trying to remain competitive and some companies see the opportunity to expand into new markets. Whatever your organization 's reason for undertaking a digital transformation project, you will need to plan and budget wisely if you want the project to be a success. Considering that IT budgets are set to increase by almost 2 percent in 2017, according to Gartner, the pressure to provide detailed, accurate budgets is likely to increase as well. If you are responsible for the task, the following tips can help you plan …show more content…
Forget what everyone else is doing. For a project to succeed, you must consider what your organization needs. Trying to determine how much another company is spending on digital transformation projects is a bit like trying to determine how much a house might cost without knowing the size, age and location. If you are curious, however, Gartner found that top performers allocated 33 percent of their 2017 IT budgets to digitalization, typical companies allocated 18 percent and trailing performers allocated 7 percent. All groups stated that these numbers would increase approximately 10 percent for 2018.
2. Do not make technology the most important part of your plan. Instead, look at your company as a whole. What are the company 's business goals? What opportunities are available for growth or expansion into additional markets? Once you understand where your company is going, you can determine the best technologies for achieving the company 's goals.
3. Talk to internal stakeholders. Digital transformation involves the entire company. Go beyond the CFO and COO. Talk to the sales team, your CEO, your marketing team, your customer service representatives and your product teams; these people are excellent sources of information that can inspire innovative