Digital Transformation in Technology: A View from the Trenches

Whether they’re shopping for new jeans or researching car insurance, today’s consumer has come to expect a fully customized, intuitive and productive digital experience, across all of their devices. Today, the technology industry itself is working to meet these heightened expectations and putting considerable resources behind their efforts to meet consumers’ needs.

At Acquia, we’ve been working with several of the leading technology companies to move their digital experiences forward. As much as these clients differ in their specific strategies, the underlying goal is basically the same: to create and deliver high-value content and personalized interactions across devices and channels, while significantly reducing dependencies on outdated technology and processes.

 In working closely with our technology clients, I’m seeing several challenges arise consistently. It starts with the overall business environment - they’re struggling to stay relevant and distinguish themselves in a very large, very saturated marketplace. At the same time, that marketplace is evolving at a breakneck pace, so they run the risk of their transformation efforts being outdated almost as soon as they’re launched.

 Other challenges are more tactical, such as establishing connectivity across martech toolkits and complying with expanding data privacy and governance requirements and expectations. Additionally, many tech organizations need to reduce operational dependencies in order to expedite content with the necessary speed.

 Fortunately, there’s one common approach that enables many tech players to overcome these shared challenges: rather than “reinventing the wheel” by attempting to develop new tools and systems with existing internal resources, they’re turning to best-in-breed tools from external sources to meet their digital goals. It’s a concept that is more inherently acceptable to the high-tech industry than it is to many others.

 When working with a technology client, we typically begin each partnership by working to develop a deep understanding of their key business drivers. That knowledge helps us understand what’s driving their top digital priorities. Acquiring and retaining customers and driving profitability are all vital business drivers within the technology sector. 

 So, what do those priorities look like in execution? Improving customer acquisition and retention typically means building out a more meaningful, connected customer experience through better content marketing strategies, enriching customer journeys and building out customer profiles and insights.

On the profitability side, we look to reduce operational overhead by leveraging technology in place of manual processes. This will significantly speed up time-to-market and boost internal productivity. 

The systems and processes technology companies actually spend their money on give us a clear view of their priorities. Currently, investment is being directed toward integrated technology stacks, including CMS, CRM, localization, data analytics, digital asset management and SEO. 

 The technology industry faces a distinct challenge that others don’t: the volume and velocity of change. Big innovations are practically a daily event, and tech companies have to develop and execute their response fast - before everything changes again.

 Digital transformation may also be more exciting in technology than in other industries. There is no such thing as “status quo” in this space. In an environment that’s always evolving, staying relevant isn’t enough, and the bar is really high. Personally, I think this is an exciting place to be because it means that beyond every amazing brand experience, something even bigger and better is just around the next corner.