Digital Business Preparation Framework©
A set of process and tools to work through the stages of readiness. Begin to take steps toward a Digital Business future with the CNFA Technology Alignment cycle. Improve internal alignment, understand what’s needed to overcome existing hurdles, identify your course of action and realize the value of ‘digital’ to your business.
Move forward at a pace that matches the business objectives.
Many SMB companies today have limited discretionary spending or scale for major IT investments. They are focused on growth, delivering their products and services while supporting the bottom line. Digital business seems like something for the ‘big’ guys or ‘other’ industries. However, if they aren’t considering IT as a growing part of their business plan, that approach may prove to be detrimental.
Artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, cloud, IoT, augmented reality - are the celebrities of digital business right now. These can feel out of reach due to the company size, budgets, time available, attention, and challenges of the existing business. But the scope is much wider - cloud, SaaS, business intelligence, personalization, mobility, performance management, and many others are very real.
5 Steps to Prepare for Digital Business
Businesses and industries are different, so therefore there can be many different approaches and paces to address the changing technology impact to your business. The Digital Business Preparation Framework© allows for the flexibility suited for many business situations.
First: The technology plan supports the business plan.
Start with the business strategy and goals. Assess performance and progress. Everything should flow down from there. If the focus of the business is on the strategy and goals, then so should the Information Technology function.
Second: The current state of technology in the business.
If you don’t know where you are now, how do you find the path to where you are going? Determine the key systems, platforms, services, resources and challenges currently in use. Find the costs, benefits and purpose to get to the value provided to the business.
Third: The opportunities of business improvement and growth.
Identify the opportunities and how they support the business strategy. Evaluate the potential benefits, costs and risks to move the business forward. Consider alternate approaches to minimize risk and proof initiatives before major investment.
Fourth: Plan & Execute.
As in investment strategies, execute within the constraints and pace of the business. Clear planning, including year over year, communicates the dependencies necessary for success. Solid project management discipline is necessary to keep the selected initiatives on pace.
Repeat.
Digital Business is discovered in this cycle. As you continue through cycles, the business/IT linkage evolves tighter and more integrated. IT becomes part of the business strategy. Business leaders will be able to articulate the technology strategy of the business and understand the impact of ‘digital’ in their business. Minimizing the hype and confusion, putting it in business terms and impacts.
