Is it necessary to wait for a technological disruption? Is it reasonable for our competitors to always be ahead of the curve? Can we anticipate changes in consumer behavior? Is it possible to create a high-level user experience so that our employees are not only more productive but also generate higher levels of adoption of digital tools and show greater engagement?

Just a few rhetorical questions that have a significant impact on the business and have a common denominator: the notion of digital-first. That is the approach that places the digital world and data at the center of all operations, decisions, and content that a company generates. A digital-first company assumes that every challenge and every business opportunity must be solved in the “most digital possible” way.

In its predictions for 2024, IDC says that spending on digital technologies by companies will grow seven times faster than the overall economy. The same report states that digital-first becomes an investment priority, especially in increasing business agility, and bringing in new revenue products, services, and experiences.

Step by step

There are no magic recipes for developing a digital mindset in the entire organization. But there is no doubt that the support of an experienced technology partner, with a vision of both market trends and business evolution, is a key pillar when it comes to moving towards a digital-first model.

The first step is to understand that this is not an immediate process, but an evolutionary journey that begins with the current state of the organization.

An analysis that makes it possible to understand how things are done today – both internally and about the customer and the value chain – and to draw up a roadmap towards smarter solutions.

Companies that have been in business for many years – and are often the ones that attract the interest of SEs – need to focus on all their core processes. The habit of inertially sustaining numerous functions that could be optimized through technological tools just because they “always worked” can become an obstacle in the journey to a digital mindset.

Similarly, every customer interaction and every employee experience needs to be analyzed. Always, with the same question in mind: Can technology support a more optimized and engaging experience? At Making Sense we consider UX as an essential piece in building a digital product.

Spreading a digital culture

The technology partner plays a key role in two other stages of this transformation to a digital-first model.

The first, based on the premise that “you cannot improve what you cannot measure”, is to help establish metrics that make it possible to evaluate whether the initiatives carried out are meeting their short, medium, and long-term objectives. And, if this were not the case, to define the corrective measures needed to resolve the deviations.

The second is to disseminate the digital culture throughout the organization, to empower users to discover opportunities in their respective sectors and contribute to the digital-first model.

The role of leaders

All of this, of course, requires the commitment of all stakeholders, as well as strong sponsorship from the top management. In this way, two equally important results are obtained: proper prioritization, perfectly aligned with the business on the path to digital-first, and a signal to all members that the leaders are pointing the unequivocal way forward.

The benefits of installing a digital mindset range from the ability to optimize most processes to the ability to gain agility to move quickly in a fast-changing world.

A digital-first organization is also an organization prepared to lead the future.