One of the biggest challenges in digital transformation is turning a business problem into a technology request too soon.
Companies want to operate more efficiently, make better decisions and respond more quickly to customer needs. These are fundamentally business goals.
Yet the search for a solution often turns into a technology procurement exercise surprisingly quickly. The organisation needs a new platform, an application, an analytics system or perhaps an AI solution. And that is where an interesting process begins.
Someone translates the original business intent into functional requirements. These become a technical specification, followed by procurement, development and, eventually, a working system. Everyone may do their part well. The project may even be delivered successfully. And yet the original business problem may remain largely unchanged.
It is like translating a text through several different languages. Each sentence may still be correct, but the original meaning gradually gets lost along the way.
Could the same thing be happening in many digital transformation projects?
It may be time to rethink how customers and technology partners work together.
What if the technology partner were involved from the start, helping to understand the business problem? What if the solution were shaped jointly, and success measured not only by the functionality delivered, but by the business outcomes achieved?
We may not need more technology. We may need better questions, shared responsibility and genuine partnership.
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