The digital economy has entered a new era. Thus, questions no longer revolve around whether we need to embrace digital transformation or not. The question is now “How?” Significant changes in terms of available digital tools and knowledge have produced as many unforeseen opportunities as it has challenges. Thus, there is now a call for a new type of leader to navigate the expectations of an ever-changing world of digital transformation.
Despite popular assumptions about the CIO serving as the figurehead of these transformations, an Altimeter analyst has released groundbreaking discovery that revealed CMOs (at 34 percent) currently hold most of the responsibility—with CIOs falling behind at a distant 19 percent.
This finding has been causing a substantial amount of conversation. However, considering that customers are cited as the key force driving digital changes—with 55 percent of companies reporting “evolving customer behaviors and preferences” as the core reason for implementing digital initiatives—this does not come as a huge surprise.
The Bottomline of this Digital Transformation Discussion
While the CMO may play a considerable role now, future developments could see this reality becoming a more collaborative effort. To keep up with the ever-evolving digital market, CIOs, CDOs, and CTOs must unite under one vision. They must also guide the use of digital tools to effectively impact sections of businesses across all levels.
Successful digital transformation is indeed a challenge to achieve. It requires varying roles and expertise to rewrite the structure of traditional companies. Consequently, it will impact the way companies work, advertise and communicate with customers. Nevertheless, continued development throughout 2017 will completely shake up the status quo of existing structures in the sphere.
