Why digital transformation is so painful, some insight.

Digital transformation may starts at a given time, but as to when it finishes... nobody really knows. This is because it affects business fundamentals (people, culture, technology, processes...) that take a long time to change. Very complex and highly strategic in nature, it interferes with all levels of stakeholder's habits (employee, partner, and user) that require a full rethink.

Some history

That is all fine, but why is it important to do? Let's go back in time: In the 80s companies installed many proprietary software solutions (meaning that it belonged to the software venders, contrary to open software today) like enterprise resource planning or ERP that built some bridges between business services like human resources, finance, accounting, etc. But as they were proprietary, they relied on the vendors to make updates and/or to 'interface' with other software. Consultants specialised in the main software vendor craft and began being assigned, if not hired by their clients. But even with these consultants and experts sitting within the 'real' walls at the time of the companies, the software required a lot of technology and databases. Then, in the 90s, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) began.

This was the beginning of the digitalisation. In trying to generate optimisations and efficiencies of manual operations, it was rethinking the way companies were doing business. Then came eCommerce and the banking boom which stabilised this trend. Early 2000, Internet brought down the distance between companies and countries having transactions that were managed in-house outside the office. Followed by social media that altered the way we communicate and think.