Getting started with digital transformation

Digital transformation isn’t a technology project. It’s a culture shift.

That’s the part most organizations get wrong. They throw money at new platforms, migrate to the cloud, and call it “transformation.” But nothing changes because nobody fixed the underlying processes first.

Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party poorer of our lives.

Steven Spielberg

Think about what cloud computing did to retail bookstores. Or what internet connectivity did to the home thermostat. Social media ripped open a window into how businesses operate - for better and worse.

No industry gets a pass here.

And it’s not just external pressure. The workforce itself is changing. A new generation of workers doesn’t own a landline. Many skip desktop computers, printed magazines, and televisions entirely. They live on tablets and laptops, and they bring those expectations for instant collaboration into the workplace.

But you already know all this.

Every business sits on the front line of these changes. And nobody feels the pressure more than IT - the team responsible for keeping business technology running, relevant, and sharp.

Here’s the uncomfortable reality: most IT departments grew up in a world where technology was a scarce resource, provisioned and controlled from the inside out. Today? Cloud computing and mobile devices are pulling essential workloads and data outside the enterprise data center.

Turns out, IT isn’t the only one buying technology anymore. Smart IT leaders are recognizing and adapting to this reality.

We’re moving from scarce computing resources (technology-first) to abundant processing with ubiquitous connectivity. This empowers individual departments and business users to drive technology change themselves. In discussions we’ve had about digital transformation with mid-market teams (who represent about 55% of our conversations at Tallyfy), the pattern is obvious: the most successful transformations happen when IT stops trying to control technology and starts enabling people to solve their own problems. Feedback we’ve received suggests that organizations see 80% or more of their processes remain undocumented as tribal knowledge - and when key employees leave, that knowledge walks out the door.

Today’s IT environment is flipping from an inside-out model of central control to an outside-in model that puts the business user in charge. That’s what digital transformation in IT really means.

If you’re ready to move from theory to practice, workflow automation is often the first real step.

People first, not technology

Technology doesn’t disrupt businesses. People do.

Social, mobile, and cloud technologies are rewiring behavior - at home and at work. With smartphones and tablets, people expect constant connectivity. They want to access information, make a purchase, or connect with anyone on the planet at any time.

Employees bring those same expectations to work. They want tools that make them faster, smarter, and better at their jobs. At Tallyfy, we’ve seen this firsthand - teams abandon clunky enterprise software within weeks if it slows them down. They’ve got no patience for outdated tech, long ramp-up times, and mandatory training sessions.

They want to collaborate with colleagues without barriers. And with cloud computing and personal devices, they’ve got more options than ever for working around anything that gets in their way.

Why current IT models can’t last

This creates a nightmare for legacy IT organizations built on the assumption that technology is a scarce, expensive resource - centrally purchased and managed for a select few, from the inside out.

IT teams understandably want visibility into and control over enterprise data. Data privacy and security regulations often demand it. Fair enough.

But cloud adoption keeps accelerating. People are using cloud services and personal devices for work, with or without corporate IT’s blessing. Can IT stop this? Not a chance.

The scope of the problem shows up in the “war stories” IT and security professionals tell. One major technology company discovered its employees were using 19 different file sharing and collaboration services. Nineteen.

Blocking specific cloud sites is a game you can’t win. Another new site is probably launching right now.

And as many companies discover, blocking a file-sharing app at work doesn’t stop employees from syncing their files at home - beyond the corporate network’s reach. Both mobility and cloud computing keep trending upward.

People aren’t bypassing enterprise IT systems or policies to cause trouble. On the contrary - it’s because they want to be smarter and faster at their jobs. IT needs to find a way to empower employees to work how they want while protecting business interests.

IT workflows that empower rather than control

Example Procedure

IT Access Setup

1Collect new user details

2Get manager approval

3Set up laptop

4Set up iPhone

5Set up desk phone

+8 more steps

View template

Example Procedure

Authorized Device Management

1Submit device authorization request

2Perform device security assessment

3Configure trusted device settings

4Revoke device access when needed

5Update device inventory records

View template

Rethinking IT from the user outward

Technology is forcing people to rethink entire industries. Educators, for example, are exploring the concept of “flipping the classroom” - lectures happen online, and discussion and problem-solving happen in person.

Technology enables a radically different vision of education where the student is in control, with a teacher as guide.

Enterprise technology is overdue for the same shift. What happens when computing workloads don’t live in the data center? When the corporation isn’t buying all the equipment, corporate networks don’t carry all the data, and the concept of an enterprise perimeter just evaporates?

Traditionally, IT people think in linear application stacks. “Back-end” servers and storage connecting through “front-end” servers.

The end-user is irrelevant. Nobody cares about them.

This model doesn’t work anymore. The stack is everywhere - in the cloud and in the data center - and people are everywhere too.

If you flip your perspective and make the person the starting point, a new vision of IT falls into place.

Digital transformation inverts the traditional approach by starting with the business user. Instead of a linear stack, it’s more like a series of interrelated systems where data and applications interact on behalf of the user.

The layers closest to the user include access-related services (devices, locations), directory and identity layers, and applications. Supporting these are underlying services, controls, and infrastructure - the domain of enterprise IT, generally invisible to the user but essential to everything.

Using the image of a sphere, these are the layers that hold everything together.

Five principles that make transformation work

Does digital transformation represent a technology shift? Sure. But honestly, incremental technology changes alone won’t get you there.

You need to embed new guiding principles in the organization, culture, and technology systems. After all, what you’re really trying to achieve is a complete business process transformation.

Here’s what that looks like in practice.

1. Empower people, don’t just equip them

IT’s evolving role is to empower people to work better and smarter. Getting people to engage, connect, and act in real-time adds incredible velocity to a business. IT leaders should look for ways to improve how individuals and departments work while protecting data security, compliance, and governance.

2. Adapt to how people work

Instead of requiring people to twist their workflows around technology limitations - or delay projects by weeks waiting for configuration - business technology should fit smoothly into how people already work.

It should be easy to use, flexible, and customizable for each team. This means new IT systems need to be extremely flexible at the edge while staying consistent and secure at the core.

3. Connect people and knowledge in real time

Collaboration isn’t optional for today’s knowledge workers. Hoarding knowledge is out. Sharing is in. In a transformed environment, people have intuitive, natural ways to share and collaborate with colleagues, partners, and even people outside the organization. IT enables collaboration rather than blocking it.

4. Treat mobility as a work style, not a device

When you’re worried about managing mobile devices, it’s easy to lose sight of the people using them. Mobility is a way of life.

People expect access to information from anywhere, at any time, on any device. A transformed organization empowers people to be productive from anywhere, using the best device for the task.

5. Make security invisible

Security and compliance are both mission-critical. Security matters more than ever as the information economy keeps expanding.

But here’s the thing - when security goes head-to-head with convenience, convenience almost always wins. Heavy-handed security measures are counterproductive because users will find workarounds. Every. Single. Time.

Security must be ever-present but invisible - integrated into systems without creating friction or delays.

The business case

As businesses adopt cloud computing, they’re seeing payoffs in productivity, time to market, and overall IT spending. In a Vanson Bourne study (as of 2012, commissioned by Google), 96% of surveyed CFOs said cloud computing delivered quantifiable benefits, including:

• 21% average reduction in product time-to-market
• 18% average increase in employee productivity
• 17% average reduction in IT maintenance costs
• 15% average reduction in IT spend

How IT’s role is evolving

The IT organization is just as critical to digital transformation as it was to the legacy model. But the shift demands changes in mindsets and roles. IT leaders need to start building the strategies and tools for this evolving role.

Stronger business relationships: Digital transformation starts with understanding what business users need. IT teams need to collaborate closely with business units. IT should be a key player in every new initiative from day one.

The question we get asked most often about this is “how do we even start that conversation?” - and the answer is simpler than people expect. Stop talking about technology and start asking business users what frustrates them about their daily work. What takes too long? What breaks when someone’s out sick? What process do they dread running every month? Those questions reveal the real priorities, not whatever’s trending in the vendor pitch decks. I learned this the hard way at Tallyfy - we spent months building features nobody asked for because we hadn’t asked the right questions first.

New skills and knowledge: Beyond broad business knowledge and communication skills, IT teams need a deep understanding of data structures and how data flows between apps and users. There’s a growing role for the IT generalist who can take a systems-level view of business processes - plus people who understand the cloud stack. And today’s IT practitioners need to be lifelong learners, ready to evaluate a constant flow of new possibilities.

Refocused objectives: Old-school IT organizations focus on managing servers and infrastructure to drive cost efficiency and minimize downtime. Transformed teams focus on enabling the business and measure their effectiveness in terms of user productivity, time-to-market, and business agility.

Flexible tools and technologies: In a cloud-enabled world, IT fills an essential role identifying, curating, provisioning, and integrating the right tools. These include cloud applications, solutions for embedded security, identity and access management, and integrated systems from user to infrastructure. Open standards and interoperability become critical parts of the architecture.

Let’s revisit the company with 19 different file sharing services. Their working groups engaged with cloud services to share information more easily. Ironically, the end result made effective collaboration harder - each different file service created a new silo of information.

Digital transformation means understanding not just which cloud services employees signed up for but which ones they actually use and get value from. IT’s job is to evaluate those services for risks and benefits, standardize on the best options, put in necessary security controls without degrading the experience, and promote these services across the entire organization.

Where does your organization stand?

The path to digital transformation depends as much on cultural change as technology choices. How you get there depends on where your current IT culture falls on Everett Rogers’ adoption spectrum.

Innovators are quick to adopt new technologies for competitive advantage. If that’s you, you’re already putting users first. Try taking a full, honest look at what business users need and find strategies to integrate identity, security, and controls smoothly. Align with partners who share your vision so you can inspire users and become enablers of business success.

Early adopters try to be first movers or fast followers. Business users have input but may have to wait longer than they’d like. Legacy investments or misalignment between leaders can slow things down. If you’re here, make cloud computing a bigger part of your strategy. You’re ready to embrace the five principles and align IT initiatives with business objectives.

Mainstream organizations wait for technologies to be proven before acting. They usually maintain a firm grip on technology investments. If this is you, it’s time to strengthen business unit relationships and put the user at the center of IT plans. Figure out what people are doing today (with or without your knowledge) and address their most significant work needs upfront.

Conservative organizations are often skeptical about mobility and cloud computing. IT tends to be about command and control. If this sounds familiar, your first step is recognizing that your employees have most likely embraced cloud and mobile services already - with or without your blessing. Start with a small pilot of a cloud-based solution that addresses a significant business need. Measure results, adoption, and user satisfaction at every phase.

From theory to action

IT leaders face a choice: embrace a new model or risk becoming irrelevant.

The forces of the information economy - social, mobile, analytics, and cloud - are unstoppable, and they’re pointing toward a digital transformation approach to IT.

Getting there isn’t trivial. Actually, ‘trivial’ understates it. Putting business users at the center is a tough sell in some organizations. And technology alone isn’t enough.

There’s no way to do a “forklift upgrade” to digital transformation. No single technology template to deploy. That’s exactly the point - the actual solutions vary with business user needs. The core technologies themselves change almost every day and will keep evolving.

What you need is the IT culture, mindset, and approach to creating a technology architecture that’s resilient to ongoing change while relentlessly serving the business.

The reasoning capability is there. The operational playbook is not. Right now, nobody’s building the workflows they need to follow. That’s backwards. Before you layer AI on top of your operations, you’ve got to define and standardize your processes first. AI amplifies whatever process it follows - and a broken process automated by AI just breaks faster.

Having built Tallyfy as workflow software that helps organizations through this exact transition, I’ve learned that the companies that succeed treat digital transformation as a culture shift rather than a technology project. The tools matter far less than the willingness to change how people work. In our experience, non-profit organizations that tracked multi-step member onboarding processes spanning 60 days across multiple software applications saw members become 50% more likely to become contributing members when the process was completed quickly and smoothly.

Helping business users be better, smarter, and faster at their jobs - that’s the real payoff. Not the technology itself.