In recent months, CIOs faced an urgent requirement to facilitate organization-wide remote working and totally transform how data was held and made available.
Some businesses were more prepared than others, meaning many had to hastily adopt new technology and tools to enable the company to remain productive, have access to their data and be able to communicate and collaborate securely with staff, customers and suppliers.
Whilst these were short-term fixes, now is the time for CIOs and IT leaders to reassess the situation and look for a long-term solution. COVID-19 exposed how insufficient, out-of-date, restrictive, and expensive many businesses’ data infrastructure really was.
Now they must look at improving the safety and security of their data, improve accessibility, and ensure the right tools are in place for their workforce, as well as reducing not only IT spend but also supporting organization-wide cost reductions.
Now is the time for digital transformation. But with a twist.
Digital Transformation Post-COVID
There’s no more room for error. No more tolerance for inaccessible or poorly structured data. Especially as those organizations who were well-prepared as COVID-19 hit are accelerating further and further away.
Armed with new knowledge of what works and what does not, and know exactly where the shortcomings in their strategy lie, CIOs have the ammunition they need to build a digital infrastructure that will be impactful today and future-proofed.
But digital transformation has to be different this time.
This time, CIOs cannot resort to their historic “go to” approach of simply deploying new technologies that meet the business needs no matter how innovative or well-integrated they may be. Under the heightened scrutiny of recent months, this “technology down” approach has been shown to be too short term, narrow and often expensive.
IT leaders need to instead make data the starting point and create a strategy that starts with how data needs to move around the business, and in ways that support workforces’ needs today and also their new ideas – and most of all, securely and compliantly so that every data interaction is safe.
This approach – and this approach alone – will allow businesses to rebuild quickly, reliably and competitively.
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What sort of CIO are you going to be in 2021?
Read why CIOs must become data-focused and build data strategies over outdated technology strategies
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What’s the difference between a technology strategy and a data strategy?
A technology strategy looks at business’ requirements and identifies which tools, platforms and policies can best meet those needs.
The infrastructure and tools will be tightly cost-controlled and reviewed to prevent overspending, especially on superfluous licenses or features. And the entire IT environment will be protected against internal and external IT security threats. In some cases, there will also be organization-wide processes and policies in place that follow recognized standards such as ISO 27001, as well as frequent awareness training to ensure processes are understood and followed.
This looks like the right approach. It is certainly not incorrect. But for cost-efficiency and competitiveness today, it is not enough. It fails to address the wider and more modern requirements of data – including its secure global accessibility, its privacy, its ethical use, its continuous governance (not just “point in time” audit compliance) and its suitability and readiness for automation and insights.
These are the extra factors that enable an organization to put data safely in the hands of the teams that needs it to be more productive, reduce costs and earn greater customer loyalty and value.
What business benefits does a data strategy provide?
Productivity:
Organizations that improve their access to data and make their data more visible have a better understanding of what is relevant and what is not. This provides clarity on data workflows, enabling businesses to focus on the data that will deliver the most returns. It also enables more ambitious organizations to introduce automation to remove risk and error as well as providing more time for employees to focus on new tasks.
*Statistics taken from Calligo’s survey of 500+ businesses across Europe and North America,
comparing those with data strategies to those with technology strategies
Customer satisfaction and retention:
Data strategies have an enormous impact on client experiences, from initial engagements to the delivery of services to clients.
Having a greater visibility of data workflows enables businesses to have a clearer and more accurate picture of every engagement and touchpoint, meaning organizations can offer a more personalized experience, tailoring services and communications, identifying any failings before they manifest, or even just delivering a faster and better service – all of which lead to better client satisfaction.
Profitability:
Needless to say, if you have a more productive team and happier clients, this will lead to an increase in profitability. Businesses that adopt a data strategy are twice as likely to see a 50% increase in profitability than those who have taken on a technology strategy.
Reinventing Digital Transformation
Whether your digital transformation project seeks to improve productivity and data accessibility, reduce costs, or ensure continuous IT security and data privacy adherence, Calligo can help.
Calligo is the world’s first end-to-end managed data services provider. We have a global track record in improving organizations’ productivity & profitability by making their data more available, secure, and safe.
We will guide and deploy your entire digital transformation project, ensuring your immediate and long-term objectives are met. Our data strategy consultancy teams include experts in:
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Strategic consulting |  |
Infosecurity | |
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Cloud technology |  |
Data privacy & data residency | |
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Machine learning & automation |  |
Data architecture | |
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Business productivity & data workflows |
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