The drive for digital transformation is not going away, nor is it slowing. In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the process as face-to-face business operations are being digitally transformed through a growing digitally connected and remote workforce. A new study from the Harvard Business Review demonstrates exactly how to make digital transformation the most effective- through the dual-track approach.
Harvard Business Review’s Analytic Services has published a milestone survey and report, “Drive Business Success with a Dual-Track Approach to Transformation.” The Harvard Business Review study includes insight from over 400 IT professionals and responses by 445 major executives from some of the largest companies in the world. The report highlights widespread acceptance and of support for dual-track digital transformation, what executives viewed as the obstacles, and how so-called “low-code” application development platforms can be the key to plugging the gap.
Main Findings
Results of the study showed a high level of agreement that the dual track approach is desirable, but the majority haven’t done much to kick start the process. Specifically:
- 92% of executives surveyed say successful digital transformation requires an approach that combines innovation at both the enterprise- and business process levels
- 80% “strongly agree” that this dual-track approach is essential
- 78% aren’t willing to rate their current digital transformation strategies as being “very effective”
- 69% haven’t implemented a dual-track strategy
Understanding Dual-Track Digital Transformation Strategy
With dual-track digital transformation, an organization simultaneously focuses on enterprise-wide transformation (grand scale) and modernizing processes across the organization (rapid cycle).
Grand-scale digital transformation identifies and gradually implements new technology across the entire organization. It is an enterprise-wide emphasis with the goal of transforming the entire organizational culture and business workflows through digitalization. Often this process can leave gaps, though, as smaller departments are not receiving the particular focus they need to adopt these strategies.
Say, your grand-scale plan is to improve overall company safety. You are digitizing your safety regulations with links to OSHA guides, and you are making progress with your automated reporting. That’s the big picture. What you may have overlooked is how to leverage real-time data with live feeds from frontline workers.
Rapid-cycle innovation can take up the slack. It allows you to make incremental improvements and modernize the reporting processes that cross business workflows and workgroups. It is often called “innovation on the edge.” It is more agile and can be targeted for quick improvements in safety and performance.
Using “Low-Code” Applications
The dual track approach promotes the use of so-called “low-code” application development platforms. Those platforms provide tools for business professionals to create their own applications and solutions through rapid-cycle innovation. The Harvard study notes that the relationship between low-code applications and rapid-cycle innovation “empowers individuals outside of IT to modernize their own workflows and rapidly improve the hundreds of existing operational processes” by partnering with IT services to increase visibility and collaboration between digital transformation efforts.
Dual-Track Challenges
Survey respondents saw the potential advantages of dual-track transformation, using low-code applications. They also recognized some concerns:
- Security and compliance are the biggest concerns. Half of the surveyed executives weren’t sure that low-code applications created outside their IT departments could meet security and governance standards.
- Nearly a third identified the danger of so-called “shadow IT,” applications that fail to measure up to security and compliance standards.
- Another 38% were concerned that low-code apps could not meet integrated business needs or that the platforms won’t measure up to the actual business needs (29%).
Let Anvl Kickstart Your Dual-Track Approach
The above concerns are valid: however, that is why it is crucial to take the dual-track approach with a collaborative mindset, such as utilizing services like Anvl’s software. At Anvl, our experts will develop smart dynamic workflows and tailor them based on what your business needs are. We provide solutions that are applicable to a variety of institutions, but like your business, we constantly strive for excellence.
What we do
Anvl will go deep into your defined business problems and map out an end-to-end solution that achieves real results. We help your business on both ends of grand scale and rapid innovation, and we tailor the approach to fit your business’s needs. Our software is the low-code solution to assist with the dual-track approach to digital transformation with a collaborative approach. Our team will work with you directly to get your business acclimated to the technology at your own pace.
Want more information? Send us a message or contact our support team.
