Business leaders often struggle to measure the maturity of their digital transformation efforts. From assessing business processes and analyzing data management practices to evaluating your technology stack, everything needs to be evaluated.

In brief:

1. Measuring digital maturity involves assessing business processes, data management and technology.
2. Businesses can gauge their digital maturity by analyzing automation, evaluating data practices and assessing use of new tech.
3. Digital maturity models provide overview of digital capabilities, but should not shape strategy and should be used with other tactics.

Business leaders are often quite perplexed about how to measure their digital transformation maturity. As digital advisors, we tell our clients that the answer to this question is not simple and goes beyond boardrooms and technology.

“In digitally mature organizations, legacy marketing systems, organizational structures, and workflows have evolved -- and in some cases been replaced -- to enable marketing to drive growth for the business,” Jane Schachtel, Facebook’s global director of agency development, told The Wall Street Journal. “Digitally mature organizations are constantly moving forward on the digital continuum -- always assessing and adopting new technologies, processes, and strategies.”

Here are some key indicators to gauge your company's digital transformation maturity and keep your efforts on the right track:

Assess Your Business Processes

One of the most significant indicators of digital maturity is the level of automation and digitization of your business processes. Are your operations still reliant on manual, paper-based methods, or have they been streamlined and digitized?

By assessing the current state of your processes, you can identify areas that need improvement and prioritize digital initiatives to address those gaps.

Analyze Your Data Management Practices

Data is the lifeblood of digital transformation. A company's ability to collect, store, and analyze data will enable it to create a digital-first business model. Are your data management practices robust and in line with industry best practices, or are there significant gaps in your data collection and analysis capabilities?

We advise you to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) for your digital capabilities. These values are a great way to measure performance in real-time. Create a strong feedback loop and adjust corporate strategies based on this feedback.

Evaluate Your Technology Stack

Adopting emerging technologies is not simply about acquiring new tools. Rather it's about how a company approaches technology development in terms of flexibility, collaboration, and iteration.

To ensure success, companies must consider how their marketing and technology resources can work together to develop a comprehensive digital technology plan.

Utilizing APIs and cloud computing can provide a competitive edge by increasing speed and agility. Additionally, customer experience assets like personas and journey maps can effectively guide technology design and yield measurable results.

Are Digital Maturity Models Really Beneficial?

There are different Digital Maturity Models (DMM) available to measure your company’s digital transformation maturity. Some of these include  Deloitte Digital Maturity Model and BCG’s Digital Acceleration Index (DAI). These models revolve around measuring some core competencies such as customer, data, technology, strategy, and partnerships.

A Digital Maturity Model provides an overview of an organization's digital capabilities but does not tell where to invest resources. DMM can't replace strategy; it is a tool to identify areas for improvement and can be used in a tactical or operational context.

Lastly, the digital maturity model can provide a sense of orientation, but it doesn't indicate where you should be headed. It is important to note that industry leaders don't rely on digital maturity analysis to shape their strategy.

For example, it's unlikely that companies like Amazon base their decisions on digital maturity assessments. As an agile organization, you are not in the market to play a game of catch-up.

Reach Your Company’s Digital Maturity with UniAspect Digital

UniAspect Digital provides an integrated operations platform to drive digital transformation and regularly measure your digital maturity against industry benchmarks. Integrate all your assets and information systems, processing them using Big Data technology. Get in touch today to find out how we can help your digital transformation succeed.