How to determine the digital maturity of a company
Tags: web3, automation, saas
Published: 2023-06-15 11:55:09

Digital maturity is a measure of a company's digital evolution. A company's level of digital maturity can be determined through its application of modern digital technologies for managing internal processes and communicating with customers.


The Digital Maturity Assessment is a multi-level study of an organization. It reveals the potential for growth and specific areas for development. Furthermore, it assists in developing a personalized [digital transformation](https://ilink.dev/?utm_source=devto&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=digitalmaturity) strategy.

A number of basic categories can be used to determine whether a company is at a low or high level of digital maturity. To begin with, there is data storage. If data is stored on employee devices and exchanged via flash drives and email, the company has a low level of digital maturity. Companies with a high level of maturity store data in cloud storage. In a second example, a company with high levels of digital maturity engages with its audience via social media and service platforms. The third factor is the importance of advertising. There is a significant difference between companies that only purchase advertising on billboards and print flyers, and companies that use targeted and contextual advertising on the web, native advertising in the media and have advertising analytics. As a final example, let us consider sales. A company with low digital maturity has only offline outlets, whereas a company with high maturity has a variety of online sales channels.

In essence, companies with low levels of digital maturity are still operating the same way they did many years ago. As a result, they do not evolve, they do not invest in new technologies, and they do not automate business processes. Alternatively, companies with a high level of digital maturity implement the best solutions to automate various processes, including sales and HR brand analysis. All in all, digital transformation is the process of introducing new technologies, while digital maturity is the result of business changes.

## What challenges does business face in digital transformation?

It is common for companies to face a number of challenges during the process of business process transformation. Since each specific case is unique, there is no perfect formula that can predict in the early stages what difficulties the company will face. The best way to approach and drive change is to engage the expertise of an IT company with an experienced team that specializes in innovation transformation. Having such a partner will assist the business in avoiding mistakes and easing the transition to new technologies. In this article, we will focus on three common issues that companies encounter during the digital transformation process.

- Integration
The more an organization grows, the more difficult it becomes to manage its IT infrastructure. The company uses a growing number of applications in addition to legacy systems and platforms. Consequently, custom integration of all systems can be a challenge. It is important to note that each system has its own data model, business logic, and processes. The process of building and connecting applications to a complex infrastructure is time-consuming and increases the cost of IT. On the other hand, integration of all enterprise systems is essential to ensure the smooth operation of software components in an enterprise IT environment. It will be impossible to ignore this issue, and it is better to be aware of it in advance.

- Data Mining
There is a common misconception that companies do not utilize corporate data to add value to their operations. Data growth raises the question of how to cope with such a large amount of information. As a result, this is an important source of business intelligence that examines business activities. Big data makes it possible to analyze not only sales data, but also data from related areas. Everything from social networks to the facial expressions of people making purchases can be analyzed. By analyzing data, the company can demonstrate the effectiveness of its operations. As a result of this data, optimal business strategies can be developed and implemented.

- Scalability
An example of the importance of agile business process management can be found in the Covid-19 pandemic. Supply chain management was the first area to experience this. The modern supply chain is essential for cross-functional planning, advanced supply risk assessment capabilities, and real-time supply monitoring. Only companies with flexible systems can remain competitive and expand their capabilities in the future.

Despite the fact that there may be many issues, there are some basic conclusions that can be applied universally. In order for a company to succeed, it must have a flexible infrastructure, an adaptable business model, as well as an understanding and ability to leverage modern technology.

## How to measure the digital maturity of a company

Similarly, there is no off-the-shelf solution for measuring digital maturity, due to the fact that it is impossible to measure all companies with the same yardstick. Many factors may be helpful in evaluating one company, but useless in evaluating another. Let's use the Deloitte Digital Maturity Model for a general analysis. Using this model, digital capabilities are assessed across five key dimensions: Customer, Strategy, Technology, Operations, and Organization & Culture. This assessment focuses on the business strategy, which determines the focus of the change. In order to concretize the strategy, the Business Model and Operating Model must be defined, which determines the level of digital maturity required to achieve the selected objectives.

In 2017, Deloitte [published](https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/3678_achieving-digital-maturity/DUP_Achieving-digital-maturity.pdf) Achieving Digital Maturity. According to Deloitte, 75% of respondents whose organizations devote sufficient time, energy, and resources to digitalization consider these efforts to be successful. Approximately one third of those who do not make this commitment report the same results.

## What stages of development should be taken into account

In a collaborative effort between the Boston Consulting Group and Think with Google, the [Digital Maturity Benchmark](https://digitalmaturitybenchmark.withgoogle.com/en/advertisers/?roistat_visit=7410211) helps you determine the level of digital maturity of your company. They identified four levels of digital maturity in this project.

- In the first stage, management is involved in the ongoing transfer of data between departments. It is not an autonomous or automated system; management and stakeholders are constantly required to intervene.
- In the second stage, new technologies are introduced. The company is currently focused on developing strategies for scaling across departments.
- In the third stage, the company uses data-driven processes to improve performance. At this stage, the company already knows how to analyze and apply offline and online data.
- The fourth stage is considered to be the most advanced. Here, the company uses data-driven integrations. The company optimizes all channels, departments, and touch points.

It is important to note that there is no specific rule that can be used to determine an organization's level of digital maturity. Organizations are unique in their own way. In this article, we have attempted to illustrate the differences between companies with a low level of digital maturity and companies with a high level of digital maturity, what challenges arise during digital transformation, and how to approximate the level of digital maturity of a company. There is one general conclusion that can be drawn: no matter what level of digital maturity a company reaches, new technologies will continue to be introduced.