The Optimal Approach For Implementing A Digital Adoption Platform

The rapid growth of software applications coupled with the accelerated pace of digital transformation in the new normal has definitely eased the deployment of new software. According to IDC, the global spending on technologies and services that support digital transformation is expected to grow at a CAGR of 17.1% between 2019 and 2023 to reach $2.3 Tn in 2023. This implies that organizations that are still on the fence about investing in technology to support digital transformation will soon do so.

However, far too much focus has been laid on investing in enterprising technology than on effective technology adoption and usage. The ongoing pandemic has negatively affected every industry and impacted the economy on a global scale. As organizations ramp up their digital transformation efforts, it will be critical to invest in digital adoption platforms (DAP) to embrace every aspect of the digital tools available at their disposal.

For organizations that are looking to implement a DAP, the DAP Playbook by Everest Group provides in-depth guidance on how enterprises can go about their DAP journey through these five steps.

Understand The Current State

First, you need to assess your organization’s current state and decide where you want your organization to go from there – the target state. Understanding the current state involves assessing the current business processes, how effective the technology is and the efficiency of users. You will need to undertake a thorough data analysis which will help discover the gaps and help determine the goal you desire to achieve through the DAP. Everest Group’s Pinnacle Model™ provides a comprehensive framework for enterprises to measure their DAP journey’s current and target states.

The model looks at certain “Pinnacle Enterprises™”, which stand out in terms of their business outcomes and capability maturity so that organizations can gain insights on where they are on the path to realizing their target state.

Create A Business Case For The Desired Outcome

The next step is to identify which applications require the support of digital adoption tools and if they are suitable for implementing a DAP. You can do this by dividing all the applications into enterprise-applications and customer-facing applications.

While enterprise applications are ideally prioritized, preference must be based on two critical factors. One is the DAP potential, which is based on the number of users for the application, frequency of usage, complexity of the application, and frequency of application changes. The other is based on the type of application being evaluated.

For enterprise applications, you will need to consider the cost of training employees and that of support tickets. For customer-facing applications, it is the revenue potential of each customer that will be important. You then need to map out the business case for the target outcome state after evaluating all the potential use cases and target options to land on an achievable target outcome state.

Determine Capability Target State

Now that you have determined the target outcome state, you need to identify the capability level required to achieve this state. Based on the Capability Maturity Model (CMM), there are five key factors and corresponding capability components to consider here.

Vision And Strategy

Here, you need to understand the organization’s vision and consider the primary drivers of DAP adoption, and assess the organization’s preparedness in terms of security and risk that could come with the DAP

Implementation

As a part of implementing the DAP, you will need to assess the scale and scope of DAP adoption along with the pace at which DAP has been adopted

Organization And Talent

Being a new aspect for the organization, you will need to determine the DAP team structure and set up the governance model for DAP initiatives

Technology

Content formats and application-types supported, robustness of walkthrough, security and hosting options are some of the technology capabilities to consider

Resourcing

You will also need to consider how you sourcing of DAP talent and skills

Identify Determinants And Map Path

The DAP journey will take different forms based on two sets of determinants – DAP-related and environmental. DAP determinants include elements such as current outcome and capability, business case, the achievable target state outcome, and the corresponding target state capability, while the environment determinants are initiating stakeholders, risk appetite, existing DAP partnerships, and availability of resources, will define the execution path to be followed.

The execution path consists of four key phases – planning, piloting, scaling up, and steady-state – which encompass the path from selecting tools to running pilot projects to refining the DAP strategy to finally, institutionalizing the DAP governance model and creating awareness about the DAP implementation. Although two organizations may have the same current state and target state, the environment determinants will affect the executive differently for both organizations.

Execute Against The Mapped Path

Now that you have a clear-cut strategy in place, the final step is to execute the plan. Make sure that the framework you have developed for prioritizing applications, based on costs and revenue, and DAP potential, is a structured and repeatable one. Run all the applications through the framework and pick the ones that fare highest on both factors for Phase 1 and 2 of your DAP implementation.

While choosing the best-fit enterprise-grade solution for your organizations, you will need to consider some things such as: Do the product capabilities match your requirements? Is the partner ecosystem favorable to the list of applications that require a DAP? Does the measurement metrics help understand the value of your DAP investment? Does the payment model work for you?

While India is one of the main adopters of DAPs in the Asia-Pacific region, the market still remains nascent. Using the guidelines outline in the DAP Playbook, organizations can be well-prepared to initiate their DAP journey and maximize on their existing technology stack.