Why So Many High-Profile Digital Transformations Fail

Since 2012, some very visible corporate digital transformation initiatives failed to deliver the expected results – GE, Ford, Nike, and Proctor and Gamble. We agree with the authors’ point of view: Digital is not something to be created and plugged into the organization for delivery of transformative results. Digital transformation is multi-faceted and diffuse, it is not limited just to technology. It is an ongoing process of changing the way a company does business.

Digital transformation requires foundational investments in skills, business process simplification, infrastructure, and (often) clean-up of existing IT systems. It requires mixing people, machines, business processes, and managing all of the moving parts that such initiatives entail. Based on the experience we have in helping our clients design and implement highly successful digital transformation efforts, we believe that aligning the initiatives with business objectives and then grounding each initiative in tangible and measurable impact to the business is one of the key criteria for success.