Digital Transformation 2021 Predictions

The events of 2020 have caused many organizations to find flaws in their approach to digital transformation. In fact, of the more than 500 global executives recently surveyed by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, only 27% said they would rate their company’s digital transformation strategy as “very effective” both before and after the Covid-19 outbreak. What’s separating transformation leaders from laggards? Leaders tend to have strong cultures that encourage transformation and view innovation as an essential part of everyone’s role.

More companies will adopt low-code to support digital transformation

As a result, 73% of leaders are currently capitalizing on low-code development, whether in a single department or across the entire organization. Going into 2021, we can expect to see more transformation followers and laggards model the success seen by industry leaders using low code technologies during the pandemic. 

Operational agility and business continuity will be the main priorities for IT transformation

COVID-19 caused many IT leaders to quickly deploy solutions to support remote work and new operating models while maintaining business continuity. This effort required shifting business goals from traditional areas, like profitability, to more strategic areas like resiliency and agility, which have risen in importance because of COVID-19 disruption. Companies quickly realized the criticality of altering and accelerating their transformation strategies to become more resilient, to flexibly adapt to unforeseen business disruptions like COVID-19 - all to maintain business continuity - and to capitalize on new business opportunities that may come up in the months ahead. Disruption is the new norm, and operational agility is how companies can flexibly adapt. 

Culture will dictate digital transformation success

For change to stick, executives need support from people in the business. This can be easier said than done, as transformation can be met with resistance from employees who are hesitant to change the way they work. In fact, this is the reason why so many top-down digital transformation efforts fail. But by fostering a culture that invests in its people by building them up to be innovators in their role, front-line employees become an essential component to the entire organization’s transformation efforts – and help organizations work at the speed of their people. 

Who is Deb Glidersleeve

Deb Gildersleeve joined Quick Base as Chief Information Officer in June 2020, where she not only sets the overall vision and strategy for the technology organization but also is at the forefront of the movement of enterprise CIOs embracing low-code technology. Deb brings more than 15 years of experience in technology and has a proven track record of managing relationships across the business, driving new processes, and developing and leading teams across all areas of IT.