Digital Enterprise Transformation: Lessons Learnt From Expert Experience

This paper describes the experiences of digital enterprise transformation experts who are drivers of digital transformation in various organisations, focusing on the challenges they experience, and the lessons they learnt during the transformations. We also report the experts' views regarding the prerequisites for embarking on a digital enterprise transformation and how digital enterprise transformation can be described as 'aspirational'. The qualitative research was conducted through personal, semi-structured interviews with four digital enterprise transformation experts. The results show that digital business transformation efforts are complex. This paper articulates thirteen lessons learnt during the transformations, including the importance of total Chef Executive Officer (CEO) commitment and appointing the best team to successfully drive the implementation; the perception and behaviour of stakeholders (including the workforce) before, during and after the transformation; the difficulty and importance of choosing the best digital platform; the increased importance of relationships with partners in the business ecosystem; and the need for change leadership instead of change management.