Should digital transformation happen outside IT?

Since the early 1990s internal IT departments have been adopting new technologies to digitize existing business processes. IT management started to evolve using a process focus, where consistency and efficiency meant fast incident resolution. Later, IT moved on and elevated its capabilities to provide business services, the focus was shifted towards the delivery of IT defined services that meet “customer” (understand business) requirements. In the last 20years agile has disrupted traditional IT management with a prioritization of speed, responsiveness and time to market. In the early 2000’s e-banking and e-commerce held a competitive advantage; speed and continual delivery of software developments was the competitive advantage moving quickly to meet changing needs. There has been no significant modernization of IT management in the 20 years that have passed since this new paradigm was created, but the change in our world has accelerated – AI, complex self-managed systems, exponentially complex security, the need for exploration and innovation became the driver of digital transformation. Yet IT management has remained stuck in the past, acting as a separate organisation, expecting that the rest of the business will bring their requirements. As we enter 2021, IT management must radically change once again to meet the new reality we all now face.

Today problems:

• IT is approaching the business as a customer, adopting a passive role.
• Finding innovative idea’s is enormously complex, high risk and resource demanding, yet IT does not. see their role in delivering its benefits to the organisation.
• IT management overhead is largely ignored, IT is self-centric, they do not consider the business context of their activities focusing on tasks which are unimportant to the business creating a perception of high cost, little return.
• Service logic became has obscured the more strategic role of IT departments.
• Digital transformation requires redefinition, the questions of; What is IT, what is IT’s role in digital transformation have, until now, been left unanswered.

Adopting the DCMM model means the following.

• IT will act as a neural system within the organisation.
• IT is positioned as an enhanced digital capability function.
• IT will become a source of continual innovation.
• IT focus, will be on knowledge work to support organizational growth.
• Management complexity is greatly reduced, freeing up resource and increasing business agility tenfold.
• Digital agents (algorithms, digital employees) are recognised as a critical asset, managed by IT.

The evolution of IT management is described in the next picture, and DCMM is the next stage in that evolution, where IT is an active participant in successful business transformation.

DCMM : Digital Capabilities Management Model is comprehensive model documented in book, ISBN 9781723571923

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Digital transformation is an opportunity for many organizations to grow and engage with different digital ecosystems,

However, the role of IT in the digital transformation is unclear to many IT managers, as they have identified with the IT management paradigm as a service provider (ITSM) or software (Agile, DevOps) according to business needs. However, this logic is currently obsolete, the role of IT has moved to the strategic level and therefore the digital capabilities of the organization are a prerequisite for the future of any company.

The role of IT therefore changes over time:

The 1990s – the transfer of work from paper to digital, where processes remained unchanged – emphasis on Technology
2000s – digitization of processes, workflow, approval, reporting – while maintaining the original internal logic of business processes – focus on processes
2020 – digital transformation means involvement in complex digital ecosystems, cooperation with innovation clusters, innovation and new business models – focus on innovation and cooperation
Each of these stages means a different position for IT in the organization. The digital transformation requires a change in the paradigm of IT management, transforming IT into knowledge work, exploring the possibilities of new technologies and engaging in external digital ecosystems with extensive data exchange.

For CIOs and IT management as such, the strategic focus must shift from cost and speed to innovation, and the ability to collaborate. The new management model, the goals of IT management, the importance of the skills of IT staff is changing massively.

The modern CIO is aware of this change and actively implements and communicates this change in the company. The digital age means turning IT into the nervous system of an organization that provides new capabilities and opportunities.

If you want to learn about the role of IT in digital transformation, there are more details in the courses DCMM Masterclass and Digital transformation for CIO

For CIOs and IT management as such, the strategic focus must shift from cost and speed to innovation, and the ability to collaborate. The new management model, the goals of IT management, the importance of the skills of IT staff is changing massively.

The modern CIO is aware of this change and actively implements and communicates this change in the company. The digital age means turning IT into the nervous system of an organization that provides new capabilities and opportunities.

If you want to learn about the role of IT in digital transformation, there are more details in the courses DCMM Masterclass and Digital transformation for CIO