Covid-19: Curse or blessing?

You're probably surprised by the title alone. Supply chain disruption, dysfunctional workflows as teams and organizations are out of the office, customers increasingly ordering online, ill-equipped home offices - we've seen all of this and more in the last year and a half. We have all also seen or supported many companies finding solutions or workarounds. This means that measures have been and are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the pandemic.

It is important to distinguish these measures from the actual digital transformation. The measures may be the same, but they should be seen as tactical rather than strategic - unless projects that are in the strategic pipeline anyway are preferred.

At the same time, a reassessment took place in industry, politics and among the population: Greater digitization is vital for the survival of Central Europe as a business location. This increased the demand for certain services, hardware and software, because many companies now wanted to take similar measures.

In a study by Harvard Business Review, 95 percent of respondents say that the importance of digital transformation has increased in their industry. And that there are three factors that make for a successful transformation: the right corporate culture, the right business processes and the right technology.

The working hypothesis is that the changes in our work environment since Covid-19 will slow or limit some or all of these factors. Smart companies will establish processes that make informal meetings possible even when working remotely, Thomas Davenport, Babson College, is quoted as saying in the study. This is to be agreed with. The technical possibilities of working from home are now being implemented neatly at many companies. I notice it with many of my clients that the technical possibilities in the home office have become similar to those in the office. 

Also, since the beginning of the pandemic, there are many software tools that are used remotely in the team and are used efficiently. In retrospect, the changeover was surprisingly easy for many companies. That leaves the third factor: the right technology. This involves three aspects: proper selection, procurement and implementation. The selection process can be done remotely, even if different companies or consultants are involved. Procurement is also back to normal in many cases, except for the current challenges of global supply chains.

Even if we were not prepared, the positive effects on digital transformation outweigh the negative. Many challenges have been solved by the companies and their suppliers. The start has been made and the turbo ignited. We are in the midst of a marathon, not a sprint, with enterprise digital transformation projects. The challenges posed by the pandemic have accelerated this process, despite the constraints along the way.