The business mindsets that could be stalling your digital transformation journey - Part 2

You may have seen the first instalment of this blog, where we discussed 5 attitudes that may be holding you back from adopting a digital-first approach.

With another 5 common misconceptions surrounding digital transformation, here’s part 2; could one of these mindsets be holding you back from achieving your business’ full digital potential?

“Digital transformation is for new, fresh businesses – my staff struggles to turn the computer on!”

As we’ve discussed before on the blog, skills shortages can be a major obstacle for most businesses and it is likely this could pose even more problems in the future when attempting to make progress in transforming digitally.

All businesses should be placing digital skills training at the top of their agenda – you don’t need your team to be experts if IT isn’t your field, that’s our job. But with the availability of online training tools that can be rolled out across any size of business, your staff will be prepared and equipped to take your business to the next level.

On top of the knowledge that could be gained, training and development will also bolster the confidence of your workforce and can empower them to embrace the digital transformation concept. Build strong digital foundations and the rest will be a breeze.

“We have very modern systems already, we don’t need any new technologies.”

It’s great if you’ve already adopted a digital-first approach, but digital transformation is an ongoing process and adapts to business needs. Other businesses within your industry will be making it their mission to stay ahead of the game when it comes to technology, so being agile and adaptive will be your secret weapon for success.

You may have gone in with an ‘all or nothing’ approach to digital transformation at the get-go, but this could be placing obstacles in your way as less is sometimes more when it comes to technology. It’s all well and good having everything shiny and new, but getting carried away can leave you with applications that don’t integrate well with one another or business processes that have now become over-complicated and require 1000 different log-ins to multiple applications to complete a simple task.

It’s not about having all the tech, it’s about having the right tech for your business and customer needs.

“We can’t afford to have any downtime to introduce new technologies.”

‘Digital transformation’ can sound scary for any business, conjuring up visions akin to an episode of Extreme Home Makeover. Don’t panic, increased accessibility to the cloud has made it a lot easier to implement new technologies without it being too costly or disruptive, so you won’t have a team of burly engineers ripping your office apart any time soon.

Many solutions can be rolled out seamlessly across any size of business, even if you have multiple offices, with little to no disturbance, such as Office 365. Here at TSG we also have a 24/7 support team who work around the clock to ensure your systems run smoothly, with many changes or issues dealt with remotely overnight so you can come into the office the next morning and start where you left off.

“We’ll wait until the time is right and we’ve done our research.”

There are obviously many benefits to doing your research before making any big decisions for your business, as starting your digital transformation journey blind would be a recipe for disaster. At the same time, there’s only so much research you can do before you start to eat into valuable time and resources.

Discussing your needs with TSG could help you understand your options more clearly and will prepare you for taking the leap. Spending too much time hanging about means you risk falling behind and often by the time you feel ready, the digital landscape will have transformed, leaving you back at square one. Not only that, but while your business is hanging in limbo anything could happen; hackers are rife, and Mother Nature waits for no-one. Disaster-proofing your business and tightening security are key parts of business transformation that can’t happen until you kick-start your digital transformation journey in the first place.

“We’ve been using the same systems for decades, we don’t need to change.”

At TSG we don’t look to implement new products for the sake of it, as the old saying ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ rings true. But often businesses using older systems end up stuck in a rut, unable to adapt to industry changes or implement any new add-on technologies, as they do not integrate well with one another.

Updating legacy systems is also more important than ever due to regulatory changes such as Making Tax Digital (MTD) and GDPR, which render some versions of core systems non-compliant. Digital transformation is a continuous process, so the way you approach updating your technology should be too. By keeping your systems up-to-date, rather than spending time, money and resources for huge sporadic overhauls, you could save both a lot of money and your sanity – it’s often the case that the longer you wait, the more eye-wateringly expensive and difficult it gets.

Another likely scenario is that you’re working with a patchwork quilt of applications, adopted over the years by every Tom, Dick and Harry that has come and gone from your business. By implementing new technologies that work harmoniously together, your business data should flow effortlessly through processes and workflows. Setting your business up to work in this way will give you a clearer perspective of your operations, whilst streamlining processes provides added efficiency.

Don’t get left behind

It’s easy to get comfortable and play it safe when your business IT is concerned, but with challengers and disrupters in every industry, there’ll always be someone one step ahead if you don’t start making the right digital decisions for your company.

Taking the road to digital transformation can be as simple as changing your business mindset, equipping yourself with the drive to question the way you are currently working. Are you making positive progress, or do you find yourself missing out on opportunities time and time again? What are your competitors doing that you are not? Can you streamline your processes to enable better decision-making and increase efficiency? Knowing what your business needs and how it works is key to making informed decisions about your tech.

But one thing’s for sure, widespread innovation has made it faster, safer, cheaper and more secure to enter the digital realm, whether that be with a toe dipped in the water or a running dive-bomb; every digital transformation journey is different but shares a common goal of an improved working environment and better results for all.

So, don’t start next month, don’t start next week, start today. Arrange a chat with our knowledgeable team to discover which innovative technologies could support the success of your business and how you can kickstart your digital transformation journey. Still not ready to take the big leap? Why not sign up to one of our informative webinars!