Dive Brief:

• When spearheading digital change in an organization, leaders struggle with effectively communicating the value and need for transformation to their stakeholders, said Shobhna Raghupathy, president at Proficient Project Consulting, speaking Tuesday on a Project Management Institute panel.
• Leaders should "use all modes of communication," from memos and emails to social media, to solve for the communication challenges of digital transformation, said Raghupathy. Communication efforts should include sharing the digital transformation vision and giving updates on progress made.
• The need for a clear communication strategy speaks to the central role people can play in digital transformation. Tools deployed in the enterprise will only be "as important, as relevant, as the people who use them," said Raghupathy.

Dive Insight:

Digital transformation efforts fail when companies let analysis paralysis and inward thinking push them into setting goals that aren't all that ambitious. But divorcing process and people is a clear recipe for disaster. Software rollouts will fail without guidance and commitment from leadership, especially as the economic impacts of the pandemic push businesses to adopt technology while weathering disruption.

At the center of communication dynamics in the enterprise are communication and collaboration platforms, the new background for virtually all work that doesn't require colocation. As pressure on these systems has increased, so has the visibility of outages, pushing leaders to rely on backup providers.

In the context of the pandemic, digital transformation responsibilities encompass the whole organizational chart, from the C-suite to the project manager. "Disruption is the new normal," Raghupathy said. "Digital transformation is not only disrupting businesses but also reshaping project delivery methods."

The effects of the pandemic also reach budgets, with the majority of IT leaders citing pressure to reduce costs even as demands rise. The pressure is leading executives to consider the cost reduction implications of technology, from data to cloud.