Chander Damodaran is the MD and Global CTO BrillioA global leader in Enterprise Digital Transformation.
Digital advancements force enterprises to find new ways to adapt and remain competitive.
In my experience advising F1000 clients, I’ve seen a growing consensus regarding the benefits of digital solutions guided by an integrated strategy for enterprise longevity and sustainability. Also, enterprises are looking to raise funds for environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, which are a major part of the business conversation today. Digital technologies are a promising means of reaching operational and ESG goals while enhancing business operations and customer experience.
Unfortunately, many enterprises do not see a positive cost-benefit outcome for full-scale digital transformation. This is one of the most pressing questions for enterprises. How do you turn when you run? Zero Cost-Based Transformation (ZBT) is an innovative architecture that unlocks funding for digital transformation and fosters sustainable enterprises.
Foundations of Zero-Based Change
ZBT is a strategy that resets the way things work in an enterprise. As an approach, ZBT identifies and removes waste, making design decisions that balance cost and impact on sustainability by looking for ways to conserve resources. ZBT allows organizations to find the funds they need to invest in advanced digital technologies, helping them remain competitive and more sustainable.
The three guiding concepts of a zero-based approach—zero-cost transformation, zero-risk transition and net zero/sustainability—form the basis for a new kind of sustainable digital transformation.
• Zero cost conversion. This strategy effectively improves the spending culture of the enterprise. This includes capacity building around disruptive technologies and redesigning the current state to cut costs. By implementing zero-cost transformation, enterprises can invest with clarity and strike the right balance between profitability and sustainability.
• Zero-risk infection. Enterprises must ensure a smooth transition to ensure that new business models and emerging technologies deliver significant advancements. Emphasizes the need to minimize organizational risks when implementing new technologies, as well as working with potential partners working toward zero-risk transition results.
• Net Zero/Stability. Businesses and organizations must commit to sustainability while creating innovative digital solutions as part of an integrated strategy. Net Zero/Sustainability mandates that enterprises experience digital transformation in ways that reduce their overall impact on the environment.
apply zero-based transformation
Successful digital transformation requires creating structures that evolve as business priorities change. A culture that supports change over the long term is critical to success. ZBT takes a holistic approach to cost transformation, starting with basic cost structures and resource allocation strategies. It moves upward to re-imagine operations and technology blueprints, reset finances, and find ways to free up funds.
ZBT is about developing a deeper understanding of an enterprise’s costs and creating new sustainable priorities that align with specific areas of value creation. To see the best results, change must happen at the deepest levels of the enterprise’s architecture. It should incorporate technology solutions, reconfigure employee training and meet sustainability goals.
There are three key components under the umbrella of ZBT as a redesign methodology that enterprises can focus on to achieve their digital transformation goals. These elements—operations, development, and collaboration—serve as guidelines for digital transformation.
• Perform zero-based analysis. Companies should evaluate their current initiatives to pinpoint opportunities for improvement. For example, optimizing cost to serve and adding digital flexibility have emerged as top initiatives. If we consider digital resilience, technical debt reduction, practical technology choices, automation and right-sizing engineering teams would be some of the vectors identified as areas of improvement.
• Develop a full-scale transformation roadmap. Using the data and measurements from their operational analysis, companies can create a roadmap for ZBT that outlines the actions, strategies and goals that will be implemented across the enterprise. The plan should include specific goals and indicators to track progress. For example, in digital resiliency, goals such as customer experience and engagement, technical debt reduction, and time to service are great ways to measure and prioritize efforts that are most likely to result in a positive return on investment.
• Collaborate with stakeholders. Businesses must interact with stakeholders to reach their goals, as ZBT is a collective effort. Companies can work with suppliers to encourage practices throughout the supply chain to meet newly established goals, and relevant team members can collaborate with customers to encourage digital consumption.
By taking a comprehensive and team-based approach from CX leadership to digital transformation, businesses can contribute to a healthier world and society while creating long-term value. A zero-based approach can help executives rethink their organization beyond cost-cutting and set a course toward cost transformation that energizes their future as they adapt to today’s business environment. deal with disruption and instability.
Benefits of zero-based transformation
By evaluating spend and operations from the bottom up, enterprises can increase profitability and free up resources to invest in growth strategies and digital transformation. Process simplification can result in greater operational effectiveness, increased production and improved customer satisfaction.
Of course, such an undertaking requires a focus on data-driven decision making, process optimization and continuous improvement. Solutions to sustainability include streamlining processes, redesigning the organizational structure to limit waste and consolidating suppliers.
Zero-Based Redesign guides enterprises in finding opportunities for innovation and new business strategies that put sustainability first, resulting in a more competitive and resilient organization.
Zero-based change enhances stability
Digital disruptions and technologies have already irreversibly changed many industries and will continue to do so over the next decade. While growing pains are guaranteed, the benefits these disruptions provide to enterprises and consumers will be well worth the time and effort it takes to implement digital transformations.
ZBT enables businesses to eliminate waste, streamline processes and secure wealth by converging on practical business outcomes that promote sustainable ways of conducting business.
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