What And Who Is A "Head of Digital Transformation"?

What is a "Head of Digital Transformation"?

It's a role only select companies hire. And it means BIG changes are coming.

This role only exists in Enterprise organizations that are ushering in large-scale change to their technology infrastructure.

Business transformation occurs in a few different contexts:

Modernization

It can be a general modernization of internal tools across Sales, Marketing, Support, Legal, Finance, and HR teams - simply bringing them up to current standards or migrating over to the newest platforms available.‍

Implementation

Other times, it means the adoption of platforms like Salesforce to build engaging customer experiences for EXTERNAL users - this is the type of digital transformation we saw during the pandemic, particularly in industries like Retail that needed to adopt digital infrastructure to power eCommerce and online sales.

Business Model‍

It can come about due to a fundamental shift in business model. This is the type of digital transformation seen at Zillow over the last 5 years, during which they grew a Salesforce team from 5 to 45 people as they evolved from a Media company with an ad-based revenue model into more of a true real estate marketplace.‍

The ultimate goal of "digital transformation" is to enhance the customer experience. Sounds pretty impactful. So why do you see this job title so rarely?

Because it's found in companies that are shifting from legacy to modern business practices. (Or shifting a business model entirely.)

Businesses that need to adapt or die. And it represents a huge investment being allocated toward that effort.

‍Many of the big-name companies we know today were founded in the last 20 years, born in the era of Salesforce, Workday, Twilio, and other modern, cloud-based applications. The organizations that NEED to undergo a digital transformation are old school.

‍It's manufacturing companies like Align Technology, founded in 1997 and Healthcare and Medical Device companies like PerkElmer, founded in 1937. It's the leading tire company … Michelin, founded in 1889.

‍At some point, market leaders inevitably fall behind the 'cutting edge' and it takes a digital transformation to play catch up and remain competitive.‍

The question everyone should be asking is:

What should Mid-Market and Enterprise orgs do today to stay ahead with Business Systems strategy and prevent the need for digital transformation in the future?‍