Ahead of our IT Leaders Lunch on 2nd October, we published part one of this mini blog series, where we covered three of the common barriers to a high-value digital strategy and how to overcome them.
Now in part two, we turn to the remaining three barriers, diving deeper into what holds back digital workplace transformation and giving you actionable ways to move forward with impact.
When businesses are too narrowly focused inward on internal systems and processes, they risk losing sight of what’s happening beyond their organisation. The danger is missing out on emerging tech, evolving customer expectations, and the innovations competitors are already putting into practice.
Benchmark against peer and industry leaders
Regularly compare your digital strategy with others in your sector to identify gaps and opportunities. Learning from competitors can highlight where to leapfrog, not just catch up.
Take an interest in how your peers are approaching digital workplace strategy by attending community events like our IT Leaders Lunch to hear how others are tackling challenges and taking advantage of new technology.
Leverage market research and case studies
Use independent research and real-world success stories to inform decisions. This helps separate hype from genuine innovation and shows what’s working in practice.
By scanning the horizon, IT leaders can position their organisations to seize opportunities ahead of the curve.
Under-investment in IT frequently arises when technology leaders propose solutions that, while logical from a technical perspective, fail to resonate with the broader strategic priorities of the business. This disconnect often leads CFOs to reject IT projects and the result is a cycle where IT is seen as a support function rather than a strategic partner, and investment requests are met with scepticism or outright refusal.
Speak the CFOs language
CFOs are under increasing pressure to ensure every pound spent delivers measurable business value. They are tasked with balancing operational efficiency, risk management, and short-term financial performance, while also supporting long-term innovation and growth. When IT proposals are framed in technical jargon or focus on enablement CFOs struggle to see the direct financial impact. For IT it is better to focus on outcomes instead; this might mean articulating how the investment will increase revenue, reduce costs, improve efficiency, or mitigate risk.
Align to strategy
Better still, IT should fight for investments where technology projects will directly drive the business forward.
One of the biggest hurdles for IT leaders is proving the ROI on technology costs. While IT understands the long-term benefits of digital transformation, leadership teams often perceive little real change and so view IT spend as a cost rather than a growth lever.
Collaborate closely with the leadership team
Understand the ROI that the business will enjoy from investment requests and ensure the leadership team understand it – and what’s in it for them.
Be clear with the SLT about the costs of not doing something too – often they do not immediately understand the impact(s) on their day to day work where important IT work packages are de-prioritised.
Use your digital roadmap as north star
To ensure alignment, CIOs and CTOs must translate strategic goals into digital experiences as part of a clear digital transformation roadmap. This roadmap must be anchored around measurable outcomes such as revenue growth, operational efficiency, or customer satisfaction, not just new tools. Context setting against the same roadmap over and over anchors requests for budget in a tangible vision that gets reinforced each time a request for investment is made. This stops SLT perception being that each request is net new and dismissible.
Many technology leaders are working to turn strategic ambition into measurable results, often while facing similar organisational and operational barriers. To explore how leading organisations are overcoming these challenges and to identify what is most relevant to your own environment, reach out to our team for a focused conversation.
