Page 45 - EngineerIT October 2022

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

Hybrid work: How to create a digital

transformation strategy that actually works

he working world has changed drastically. Today, survey
after survey shows workers want a hybrid work model.
TBut what does the future workplace look like and how
can organisations create a digital transformation journey that
fits the new paradigm?
Marilyn Moodley, country leader for South Africa and WECA
(West, East, Central Africa) at digital transformation specialist
SoftwareONE, says the working landscape has changed forever.
“While the idea of a digital workplace has been taking shape
for several years, the start of the pandemic accelerated the
trend where we witnessed over three years’ worth of digital
transformation in just three months. Organisations across the
globe are trying to fine-tune their hybrid work environment.
Doing so often requires a faster transition to a digital
workplace, so all employees are afforded the same experience you have. Then, think about where your business is going and
regardless of whether they work from the office, at home, or whether your current IT infrastructure can get you there. Identify
on the go.” gaps, duplicated efforts, and what you could do differently to
In this shifting landscape, it can be tough for organisations reach a better outcome. With the right intelligence it becomes
to keep up and create a digital workplace that meets the needs much easier to identify the opportunities to optimise your IT
of their business and employees. infrastructure, which has the potential to have a huge impact on
your business.”
Hybrid challenges The benefits of a solid digital transformation plan are far-
At first, hastily adopted remote working tools and systems were reaching, but two perks you’ll experience almost right away
not properly integrated. This opened the door to bad actors, are reduced costs and improved focus on strategic direction.
and cyberattacks increased sharply. Over 7 in 10 employees “Right-sizing your infrastructure, getting rid of technologies you
need to access, share, and receive sensitive customer data in don’t need, and consolidating vendors will all impact the bottom
their day-to-day work, yet 1 in 4 homeworkers claim to ‘rarely line. Then, using technology to automate processes will free up
or never’ consider data protection when sharing information. talent to focus on strategic initiatives and enable growth,” says
“Rather than perform high-level strategic work that enables the Moodley.
organisation to keep pace with change, experienced personnel Of course, this seemingly straight-forward assessment, not
are constantly being pulled in to fight security fires,” notes to mention the implementation thereof, can be an immense task
Moodley. to complete. Consider getting expert help. “Most organisations
Even if IT teams now have remote security under control, right now have application sprawl and technology debt due
many digital transformation issues remain. Far too many to hastily adopted measures during the pandemic, as well as
digital transformation projects either fail outright or don’t legacy system issues delaying their journey to cloud. If you
achieve their digital transformation aims. “Two of the biggest don’t take the time to properly integrate new systems into your
reasons for failure are unclear goals from top management and existing environment, or fail to introduce its full functionality to
inadequate resources to scale projects. You cannot jump into employees, you won’t get a good return on your investment,”
a digital transformation journey and expect it to fix all your says Moodley.
problems. Successful transformation is reliant on following “Microsoft 365 is a great example: According to research
a process, which starts with strategic planning, laying solid from Forrester, the ROI should be in the region of 163%
foundations, and then building new capabilities and ways of over three years, with over half coming from business user
working that enable the business to grow and achieve its vision automation and process improvements. Yet many organisations
of success,” says Moodley. won’t achieve this because they adopted this application in
a hurry before realising the setup and optimisation would be
Getting it right labour-intensive. On top of that, many organisations face a skills
Any organisation embarking on digital transformation must shortage right now. Outside experts with relevant, up-to-date
perform a ‘health check’ as a first step, says Moodley. “Assess skills can ensure that ROI is achieved, make the process much
where you are and what systems, platforms and applications smoother and make the changes stick.”

EngineerIT | October 2022 | 43