Digital transformation promises tantalising advantages to Australian organisations. Higher efficiency, stronger security, and less wasted money are just a few examples. But for community and health organisations, these benefits often fail to materialise. The time, money, and effort they spent on the process are entirely wasted.
But why does this happen? And is there a way to prevent it?
Why Digital Transformations Fall Apart
Unclear Ownership
Large IT projects usually begin with genuine enthusiasm. Meetings take place and funding is set aside. But often, organisations fail to follow this up with clear role delegation. Nobody feels responsible for the various tasks involved, and the project slowly fades into the background.
When the transformation does finally go ahead, often the team who initially planned it has nothing to do with implementation. The disconnect this creates can result in preventable challenges and miscommunications that throw the entire initiative off-track.
Poor Planning
Digital transformation is one of the most complex business initiatives an organisation will ever undertake. It’s an ongoing process that involves every single part of your IT infrastructure, which means there are many opportunities for something to go wrong. Careful planning is absolutely crucial to ensure that it goes smoothly. Unfortunately, this often isn’t implemented properly. The scope is badly defined, the difficulty of certain tasks is underestimated, and there isn’t a clear vision for how the organisation gets from Point A to Point B. This usually results in the project’s total collapse.
Absence of Change Management Planning
When major changes occur, resistance is not uncommon. Employees have a healthy fear of disruptions and would often prefer to keep doing things “The old way”. Organisations who neglect change management planning often find themselves forced to backtrack, wasting time and money in the process.
The Strategy-Frontline Disconnect
Technology decisions are rarely made by the people who will actually be using it, and this disconnect can create major issues. When frontline employees and middle management are not meaningfully involved in the process, leadership risks committing to solutions that seem useful, but provide no real value. In the worst-case scenario, these new additions may even cause brand new issues that weren’t previously present.
Lack of Expertise
Community and health organisations often work with extremely limited resources, which prevents them from hiring as many employees as they might like. This lack of internal expertise can come back to haunt them during digital transformation projects. Knowledge gaps result in poor decision-making, overlooked issues, and weak strategy.
Even if an in-house team is present, there’s no guarantee that they have the necessary industry-specific knowledge to pull off a successful transformation. What works for other companies may not be effective for you. Without hands-on experience, your internal staff may not understand which methods are most likely to work in your favour.
No Sustainability
The transformation itself is only step one. Afterwards, every solution implemented becomes a piece of the IT infrastructure that must be maintained. But as time passes, the transformation team moves on, vendor contracts begin to expire, and the organisation very quickly discovers that it hasn’t built the internal capacity needed to prevent backsliding. If they’re not careful, they might end up right back where they started: struggling with a digital environment that barely functions.
How Digital Transformation Services Set You Up For Success
Fortunately, you don’t need to fall victim to any of these common traps. There’s a simple solution that will allow you to implement successful digital transformation initiatives without wasting a fortune on additional employees. All you need to do is hire a managed service provider (MSP).
These experts bring unique skills and benefits to the table that help you prevent the problems listed above:
Expertise Without the Salary
By partnering with an MSP, you gain access to a full team of IT experts at a much lower cost than hiring the same number of employees internally. This is because they leverage economies of scale – in short, because they serve many clients at once, they can afford to charge each of them less. This means you can benefit from all the knowledge and experience needed to develop effective digital transformation strategies, without the massive in-house price tag. For any organisation with limited funding, this is a game changer.
Structure and Governance
Most MSPs worth their salt have assisted in digital transformation efforts before. They understand what’s involved, how long it will take, and what is required in order to ensure success. This allows them to provide crucial governance during the process, including:
- Clear project scoping and milestone frameworks that keep the project accountable to defined outcomes
- Regular reporting that gives executive leaders and boards genuine visibility into progress, risks, and decisions that require escalation
- Structured change management support that addresses the human dimensions of transformation alongside the technical ones
- Documented handover processes that build internal capability rather than creating ongoing dependency
Independent, Unbiased Advice
One of the most important decisions you will make during your digital transformation journey is which solutions to implement and which to cut. Unfortunately, truly unbiased information is difficult to come by through independent research. An MSP with no direct financial investment in particular vendors can provide honest advice on which digital innovations will best enhance your IT infrastructure.
Assistance with Implementation
Errors during implementation are one of the biggest dangers organisations face. An incompatible or poorly integrated solution can leave you in an even worse position than you started in. An MSP helps prevent this, by taking over the implementation process for you. They ensure that everything works as expected, allowing you to focus on other key initiatives.
Long Term Support
The right partner won’t just assist you during the digital transformation process. They will continue to provide support long into the future. This might include:
- Monitoring for potential issues
- Identifying and removing security risks
- Adjusting configurations to eliminate inefficiencies
- Addressing outages and incompatibilities
This is perhaps the most important benefit of outsourcing to an MSP. Ultimately, the transformation itself is only part of the equation. It’s your long-term management that truly matters.
Make Sure Your Transformation is a Success - Not a Failure
Digital transformation projects are highly complex, but they usually fail for simple reasons. Most of the time it isn’t some vague technical issue that gets in the way, but a fundamental planning failure or lack of necessary expertise. If you struggle to fill these gaps on your own, an MSP can help bridge them. That way, you can ensure that your digital transformation provides real organisational value.
If you need help getting started, why not reach out to ICTx? Our methods are PhD researched and proven to be effective for Australian community and health organisations. We learn what you need, take the time to understand your limitations, and then figure out how to get you there. Learn how we can make your digital transformation a success.