Here’s why digital transformation has become a necessity for traditional firms and CXOs.

In today’s time, while leading with digital is evident, who owns this transformation still remains a bone of contention. This journey needs to be co-owned by those who will be impacted first – the CXOs. Having said that, the starting point of this journey is an understanding of why this matters to CXOs:

For Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) Aiming To Reboot Growth, Real-Time
Data analytics can aid decision making. With organisations facing modest growth prospects, CEOs are now required to include technology as a frontrunner. As per findings from a Greyhound Research study, Emerging Markets CEO Priorities 2016, over 75% CEOs in the Asia Pacific Japan (APJ) region are currently using (or exploring) latest Technology Systems.

Greyhound Research believes CEOs must include Systems of Insight in their Digital Transformation journey. This will not only allow CEOs and other leaders to make decisions based on real-time data, it will help the organisation to reboot for growth.

For Chief Sales Officers (CSOs) Aiming To Drive Revenue In The Face Of Digital, They Must Own Customer Experience Management. Traditional go-to-market channels like retail stores are being replaced by mCommerce and eCommerce. This evolution is enforcing CSOs to assume a hands-on role in end-to-end Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

Greyhound Research believes while deploying a CRM tool is a starting point, CSO teams must form tighter bridges with other stakeholders in the CRM lifecycle including Marketing and Customer Service.

For Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) Aiming To Use An Insights
Led Approach To Talent Processes, Integrating Data Sources from Existing Apps Is A Must. In their effort to motivate employees, CHROs are willing to explore new technology for improved efficiencies. Per findings of a Greyhound Research study, Emerging Markets CHRO Priorities 2016, more than 73% CHROs in APJ are keen to use newer technology.

Greyhound Research believes before adding new and sophisticated Systems of Insight, CHROs must integrate multiple data sets from applications like HRMS, LMS, PMS among others.

For Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) Aiming To Deliver Exceptional Experiences:
They Must Highlight Changes In Customers’ Technology Ownership. Organisations are increasingly moving away from siloed Systems of Transaction in favour of contextual Systems of Engagement. A Greyhound Research study, Emerging Markets CMO Priorities 2016, confirms that over 72% CMOs in APJ stated leveraging digital marketing for customer engagement as their top priority. Further, while marketing teams show a solid understanding of customer spend patterns, only 4 of 10 spend time and budget to map the changing technology ownership.

Greyhound Research believes this exploration is imperative to gain grip on the new customer touch points and hence define the spend towards new contextual Systems of Engagement.

For Chief Operating Officers (COOs) Looking To Redefine The Supply Chain Paradigm
They Must Harness The Power Of Data. In order to remain competitive, organisations are looking at newer technology systems to redefine supply chain. According to a Greyhound Research study, Emerging Markets COO Priorities 2016, 68% COOs in APJ confirm their plans to embark on supply chain transformation.

Greyhound Research believes COOs must implement Systems of Insights for operational efficiencies from sourcing to final delivery.

For Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) Planning To Redesign Fundamentals of Technology Cost Analysis
They Must Use User Adoption Metrics. Mostly, metrics used by the CFO’s office work on assumptions of the entire user base. Per a Greyhound Research study, Emerging Markets CFO Priorities 2016, 72% CFOs in APJ are keen to reduce technology expenses and explore new Systems like Cloud to better manage cost structures.

Greyhound Research believes the CFO’s office must work on metrics that allow them to track success basis actual number of users and delivered value. This can then be correlated with the overall cost incurred to run this project.

For CIOs Expecting To Make Cloud Work For Their Organisations
They Must Change Mindset & Skills. Despite skepticism, CIOs are exploring, pilot testing or using Cloud offerings. Per a Greyhound Research study, Global Cloud Adoption Index 2016, 95% respondents in APJ confirmed their plans to use Public Cloud in some manner between 2016-17.

Greyhound Research believes making Digital Transformation projects a success requires CIOs to make a fundamental shift in mindset – from provisioning IT to acting like a services provider for the company. Also, IT teams must re-skill for Service Level Agreements (SLAs), Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) among other areas.

Why This Matters To CXOs. Winning in this Digital era will not only require agility; it will require traditional organisations to be bold and explore new ways of doing business. Having said that, while investments in Digital Transformation are already underway, Greyhound Research believes it is critical for organisations to build a new strategy prior to starting out and enforce new metrics to measure outcomes. Lastly, the success of this journey hinges upon CXOs adopting a new mind-set and percolating the need for change throughout their teams.

(About the Author: The article is authored by Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst, Greyhound Research and Chief Futurist, Founder & CEO, Greyhound Knowledge Group)