When you are an IT project manager, Director, PMO leader for 20 + years, you see trends come and go. Kind of similar to fashion, in today, so lame tomorrow! People want to hang on to something cool especially in IT world. Let’s talk about Digital Transformation, is it here to stay? Is it a trend and a buzzword that everyone wants to talk about? OR is it what is the need of this hour? What businesses need to stay viable and thrive in the next 10-20 years?

Let’s explore, if we look at the ay companies are becoming obsolete by digitalization of the industries. Netflix over blockbuster; uber over cab services and of course Amazon over brick n mortar stores. I truly believe keeping an eye on where this trend is taking us is not only recommended but urgently needed by all businesses. How do your customers interact with you today? Is it all digital, can it be or will it be? The answer is there is room for bringing flavors of digital transformation to every industry and every company. If you don’t think of it, someone else will. Staying abreast of new digital avenues of engaging, getting and caring for reviews online, understanding the future of your industry has to be the primary factor in making or breaking for future!

This brings some interesting thoughts… who’s job is it to keep an eye on digital trends? Is it IT, and which role in IT? Isn’t IT mostly outsourced or vendor based for most organizations? Then who would truly care about the digital trends and what future holds? Is it Operations, and if so how will they get away from thinking about day to day problem solving to truly catapult the strategic thinking of what the customer needs? My opinion is, it’s none of the above. There is a role that each company needs to think of as Strategy Office, dynamic enough to understand and take on technical trends, know the business enough to create solutions that will customize to their specific needs, and in touch with operational day to day enough to know what the customer may need in the future, even though they can’t articulate that in any VoC surveys today! How can the project managers help, you ask! In a huge way! Projects are the blueprint of what is working and what is not working in an organization, call out the ideas to become digital, interact with customers in new ways. Find ways to engage and start the conversation to become more digital and most important keep up with tech and digital trends in your industry. Be the change leader and initiator, because project manager is so well suited to be that strategic voice!

Bottomline, the answer is YES! We need digital strategy in every organization but not the hyped up, cool to speak of, transformation style projects. We need true understanding of where value is derived from. Keep the efforts contained and nimble and enable outstanding progress in digital space to be a leader for the future!