Who will lead the digital transformation of enterprises?

For the whole society, what leads the digital transformation of enterprises is the trend of technological progress and scientific and technological development; Internally, it is the boss who leads the digital transformation of enterprises.

The results of the project investigation include:

1. Less than 40% of companies believe that their business leaders have the ability to control and lead digital transformation;

2. Most CIOs default that they should be responsible for digital projects, but in fact, less than 35% CIOs will be responsible for managing digital transformation projects;

3. Many chief marketing officers (CMOs) also think that they can manage and promote digital projects, but the scope of digitalization will inevitably go beyond their own responsibilities and extend to R&D, development and supply chain departments;

Therefore, many enterprises have hired or are considering hiring CDO, which will directly affect the power balance of the top management team.

Digital leadership

Although some companies have made great progress in digital transformation, most senior management teams have not really realized the importance of digital leadership, and they must do so as soon as possible. Many CEOs admit that the lack of sufficient digital leadership in top management is the main obstacle to future success. The frequent tension between the market and IT is also worse.

CIO, as well as IT leaders of enterprises, are struggling to cope with digitalization, often expressing confusion and frustration and asking, "What's the big deal? Digitalization is just a brand-new and more fashionable label about it. We are already in charge of everything inside, so why make a fuss? "

So this is very important. The digital projects we are talking about are often those that companies think should not be managed by IT departments in the traditional way, largely because they are usually beyond the scope of technology and services managed by IT departments.

Intelligent products, online sales and marketing, customer applications, social media interaction, mobility, advanced analysis, new business models, etc. IT is vital to the future success of the enterprise and should not be managed by the traditional IT department.

This does not mean that a digital and business-minded CIO and IT leadership team cannot undertake digital management in the whole company, but it does mean that in most companies, it will not be their responsibility.

Those traditional CIOs who are unwilling to adapt to the new era will gradually retreat behind the scenes. Cios need to be regarded as efficient digital business strategists by business partners, otherwise they will not be qualified for digital management positions.

power loss

Although the transformation of CIO's functions has caused a lot of confusion, digitalization is not only related to the market. 3D printing technology, Internet of Things, smart devices and a large number of emerging digital innovations fundamentally point to new product development and supply chain opportunities, business opportunities, business models and so on.

Soon, every corporate executive needs to manage digitalization. Decentralizing digital responsibility to Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Chief Information Officer or newly appointed CDO will accelerate the loss of authority and even make it difficult to keep jobs.

Not every company needs to hire CDO, but it may be a good idea in some cases. The survey results show that the person in charge of the project must be made clear at the top of the enterprise, so as to ensure the correct formulation and implementation of the digital project, and comprehensively promote digitalization in the top management team and the whole enterprise, so that every employee can fully understand it and make it a part of the work.

In order to achieve all this, we need to work together to improve the digital IQ of the whole senior leadership team, so as to ensure that the whole enterprise can grasp the emerging digital opportunities and missions. Cultivate digital talents and recruit digital talents from various functional departments when necessary, so as to formulate and complete the required transformation projects.

The other situation is not so ideal. There are still too many enterprises whose IT departments still can't keep up with the emerging digital business projects, and the senior teams of enterprises still hold the attitude that "technology is not my job" and completely don't participate in the digital projects of the marketing and development departments. However, at the same time, the real digital strategy has been formed in other enterprises.