The role of third parties in the digital transformation process

Digital transformation is a necessity for staying competitive, but it's challenging.

The solution? Partner with third parties for a quicker outcome. Strategic collaborations with third-party partners can act as a powerful accelerator of progress, enabling you to tap into external expertise and cutting-edge technologies. This infusion empowers your business journey toward achieving digital success. 

In order to be competitive, digital transformation isn’t optional but absolutely essential; however, it doesn't unfold without its challenges. In fact, most digital transformations face the risk of failure. To mitigate these risks, strategic partnerships with third-party entities can serve as a catalyst for rapid progress. By leveraging external knowledge and expertise, and embracing cutting-edge technologies, businesses can empower themselves to accelerate their journey toward digital success. This collaborative approach increases the likelihood of achieving transformative results while navigating the complexities of the digital landscape.

It All Comes Down To A Plan

The first step to ensuring that digital transformations are successful is to establish a clear roadmap. It’s easy to skip the planning step and jump straight to execution but that’s where the chances of failure are heightened and chances of success are diminished. Many companies only have a primary objective when it comes to planning but that can let the plan down. They not only need to think about the core objectives but the values assigned to those particular objectives.

The use of third parties needs to help achieve those objectives, by taking execution to the next level. While third parties can significantly help in the digital transformation process, they cannot replace the necessity of clear goals. These goals must be established from the project’s outset and consistently pursued until successful completion, all underpinned by a well-defined strategy. Third parties serve as enablers, not substitutes, for a comprehensive and concrete plan.  The planning process needs to incorporate third parties in a way that maximises value and enhances deliverable outcomes, by aligning with a well-thought-out proposition or go-to-market strategy you will ensure the selection of the right partners for a pathway to success.

Putting Value First 

Digital transformation helps businesses put value first by utilising the advantages of different technologies, ranging from connectivity solutions to automation and data-driven decision-making tools. Recently, generative AI has been getting a lot of attention for its potential to have an impact on digital transformations in a profound way. 

When it comes to digital transformation, third parties can help to deliver optimum levels of value for the end customers. Third parties can help to provide the technologies and solutions that can really enhance a business’s capabilities. No business is truly successful without the help of others and in a digital transformation process, that notion of collaboration rings true. 

Whether a third party provides a CMS, CDP or marketing technologies, it can help a business enhance its capabilities using external expertise. CDPs for example can help combine data from a range of sources to build a better picture of customers and how best to target them. In addition, AI really benefits from third-party data, by tapping into more sources of information and by producing more accurate results.

Reinventing The Wheel

It’s easy to perceive digital transformation as an opportunity to reinvent the wheel; however, this isn’t always the most effective approach. As Mark Twain said “There is no such thing as a new idea” and looking to continually improve what already exists often makes a lot of sense compared to reinventing the wheel. 

Third parties in the digital transformation process can help to bring a new perspective to understand how and why things need to be improved, along with the best way forward. Operating pressure on businesses has been acute over the last few months due to the impact of the great resignation and financial pressures, with internal business departments now lacking the expertise that they sometimes used to possess at a time when they could really do with a second opinion or idea. 

Third parties such as agencies have the upper hand on strategy, from their experiences working with a whole range of brands, their external counsel can be layered on top of creative platforms and technologies, to help clients to achieve more during challenging times. 

The current climate intensifies the need for brands to undertake digital transformations in order to gain a competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, both the stakes and expectations surrounding digital transformations have been heightened. Hence why the need for third party involvement has become vital in the process to deliver true value for the end customer and ensure a successful conclusion. The synergy between a brand’s aspirations and third-party expertise becomes the vital ingredient to a successful digital transformation.