Enterprise digital transformation: Driving growth and operational excellence

Most successful businesses understand how important it is for their digital marketing to keep up with customers' expectations but, at an enterprise level, maintaining that pace across vast technology infrastructure isn’t easy. 

In the lightning-fast world of digital experiences, company size, business processes, culture, and even market position, can hold back change, not just because that change requires time and resources, but because it’s difficult to move away from what works — even if what works is only just about working. 

But customers change, brands change, markets change, and if the content experiences available on a website, an app, or any other touchpoint, start to fall short, sooner or later that’s going to translate to lower engagement, lower conversion rates, and lower profits — especially if those expectations are being met by a competitor. 

The digital landscape doesn’t wait for anyone — even industry giants — and so enterprise organizations must understand when they need to transform their digital solutions if they’re going to continue to drive growth, remain competitive, and maintain the level of operational excellence that got them where they are. 

That’s where enterprise digital transformation comes in. 

In this post, we’re going to explore enterprise architecture digital transformation, what it means, why companies should do it, and how to approach it. 

What is enterprise digital transformation? 

Enterprise digital transformation is when an enterprise company moves away from an outdated or underperforming tech stack, and adopts a new digital architecture that offers flexibility, scalability, and future-proofing for their digital content offering. 

What does enterprise digital transformation look like in practice? To best explain where enterprise organizations need to go with their digital architecture, it’s useful to understand where they’ve been. 

The problems with legacy architecture

Many enterprise organizations built their digital offering, and their marketing reputations, on old-school, legacy, digital technology. 

In this context, “old school” refers to an all-in-one software solution that includes website-building tools, search-engine-optimization (SEO) tools, ecommerce tools, a content management system (CMS), and so on — with everything delivered in one convenient, tightly coupled, monolithic package. 

Here’s why that can be an issue for transformation projects.

Inflexibility

The tight coupling of features in monolithic software architecture has a downside: lack of flexibility. For example, in a monolithic legacy CMS, it’s often difficult to work with high volumes of content and a busy publication schedule, because any changes you make risk disrupting site formatting in the back end. Similarly, if you want to publish web content to a mobile app, it’s likely you’ll need a second CMS dedicated to mobile to avoid those coding complications. When you want to publish on web and mobile (or any other digital channels), you’ll need to tediously copy and paste content between different systems. 

That inflexibility harms digital experiences because it not only slows down content creation, but it means that organizations are unable to change the way they present content. They’re locked into the same website design and structure that their CMSes were originally implemented for, and they need to build workarounds if they want to change anything. 

Cloud migration

Legacy systems are often hosted on premises, with physical hardware set up in offices or server rooms. That can create problems for cloud transformation efforts down the line because it means you need to take a system that was designed for on-premises use, and then map into a cloud-hosted environment. 

For example, migrated, on-premises systems may not be able to take advantage of specific advantages that cloud-native systems would — such as automatic scaling, or the option to cost-effectively build out a tech stack from an array of cloud-based microservices. On-premises systems may also suffer performance issues, including higher latency, when moved to the cloud, and create blockages in other areas, such as security and compliance.

Integration issues

Even the specific monolithic benefits of monolithic software aren’t necessarily all they’re cracked up to be. That’s because monolithic solutions are typically made up of an array of acquired products, stitched together and repackaged by the vendor. So, while their service is technically monolithic, and presented as a tightly coupled suite of products, its component parts don’t always integrate as well as you’d imagine or, for that matter, hope. 

Integration issues can cause numerous problems for transformation, not least long-term inconsistency in software updates and product support. If a CMS is updated, for example, but updates to other parts of the solution are lagging, compatibility issues may start to emerge, which leave your development and creative teams scrambling to find workarounds. 

Resistance to change

Legacy systems don’t just slow down content creation; they slow down content progress. 

Even if an enterprise brand has ambitions for its content, and a vision to deliver evolved digital experiences in the future, the limitations of monolithic architecture mean that digital transformation is more complicated than acquiring new tech capabilities.

That’s because long-term reliance on all-in-one legacy solutions can create a culture problem. If an organization has been getting by with the same digital tools for years, that familiarity can easily turn into a cross-departmental “if it ain’t broke” mentality, which obscures the significance of the problems we mentioned above — and the possibilities that a new platform could bring. 

Execs may not want to invest in new digital technology, team members may not want to learn how to use it, different departments may not want to coordinate — and, in the meantime, workarounds are found that paper over any immediate functionality shortfall and keep business processes ticking over. 

And by the time an enterprise brand has decided to pull the trigger on their digital transformation, they may find out that their competitors have a head start, and so have to start playing catch-up rather than innovating. 

The point is, it’s never a good idea to become entrenched in legacy software architecture. Instead, brands should constantly be scanning the horizon for opportunities to implement positive change.  

What do enterprises need from a digital transformation?

We’ve talked about the limitations of legacy architecture, but what benefits should an enterprise organization be looking for from their digital transformation? What kind of architecture can deliver the freedom and flexibility that monolithic software can’t? Why do enterprises need so much freedom and flexibility?

To answer those questions, we need to start thinking less about all-in-one software solutions, and more about composable architecture.  

Unlike monolithic systems, composable tech stacks don’t make assumptions about what brands want from their content. They don’t tightly couple their features, and there’s no prepackaged presentation layer that restricts content display options. Instead, in a composable environment, you build out your own tech stack from modular apps and plugins, which you add, like building blocks, to form an ecosystem of microservices.

Composable architecture is code agnostic: all communication between modules is handled by application programming interfaces (APIs). That also makes them extensible: you can add whatever you like to your stack, and shape your digital content experiences down to the smallest details. 

Essentially, while monolithic systems try to give you everything you might need, for right now and for the future, composable tech stacks evolve with your brand over time, meaning that you can keep pace with the changing demands of both your market and your customers. 

As an enterprise, moving to composable architecture puts you in the best position to tackle  your growth challenges — which might mean reaching new demographics, adjusting business strategy, expanding to foreign markets, increasing page performance, and so on — and to maintain operational excellence regardless of external variables. 

The key benefits of a composable transformation

The key advantages of enterprise digital transformation, and the transition to composable architecture, include:

Scalability

The modularity of composable architecture means you can scale your website, and entire digital technology infrastructure, to keep pace with your brand’s growth needs. In an enterprise organization, that scope can be valuable: you can add new pages, or even new websites, quickly and easily, and add new functionalities to your tech stack by connecting components to the existing ecosystem. 

Content flexibility

Where a monolithic system can bog down content in underlying code, in composable architecture, your CMS is uncoupled from its backend administrative layer. Here, content is code agnostic and can be broken down into its smallest structural parts (heading, body text, image, etc.), and then reassembled as different content structures (blog, product review, checkout page) in any part of the ecosystem without any formatting risk. It also means almost anyone in an enterprise organization can manage and design content experiences quickly, reusing existing content models to launch pages, campaigns, and so on.

Omnichannel options

Composable architecture also expands the presentational possibilities of content. Most enterprise organizations need to push content out to apps, wearables, store displays, and numerous other touchpoints, in addition to their core websites. That need can involve extensive and tedious manual work in a monolithic system, but with a composable tech stack, you won’t need to copy and paste content between different CMSes. You’ll create the content once, store it in a single database, and then use it seamlessly on any digital channel regardless of programming language specifics.   

Future-proofing

Composable architecture offers future-proofed flexibility for an enterprise brand’s digital presence. In a composable environment, you’re never locked in to the functionality that a single vendor provides (as you would be with a legacy software). If a component in your tech stack isn’t working for you, doesn't align with business strategy or budget, or some innovation comes along that simply does a better job at a lower cost, you can just swap it out. 

Cost effectiveness

Digital transformation can be a significant driver of cost efficiency, and can fuel revenue growth. While developing and launching a composable tech stack typically requires a higher upfront investment, you’ll only pay for the components you need — rather than a suite of monolithic digital technology products that may or may not be useful for your content strategy. And, since you’re not vendor-locked, you’ll be able to make more cost-efficient adjustments down the line, save over the long term, and drive content value up. 

Personalization 

The generic, code-agnostic data in a composable enterprise CMS can be reassembled quickly to create audience-specific versions of content, without any need for editorial intervention. This means you can tailor your content, with minimal effort, to the preferences of specific audience segments, and increase the likelihood of conversions. Adding an AI personalization module can boost that potential further, helping you to make more accurate predictions about customers’ preferences, and even automatically generate content to appeal to them.  

Advanced insight

The composable technologies and modules that you integrate as part of your digital transformation will continuously feed back a multitude of data on business operations. At an enterprise level, data-driven insight can make a huge difference to the quality of content and digital services, and help organizations make adjustments in real time that contribute to operational excellence. 

Enterprise digital transformation best practices

If the benefits of a digital transformation are clear, how should enterprise organizations develop a digital transformation strategy that offers the best chance of success? Consider the following best practices.

Set goals and performance metrics

All digital transformation projects should begin with clear goals and milestones, and a metric for success. You’ll need to align your digital transformation strategy with business objectives, determine which new technologies will help you achieve them, and establish key performance indicators (KPI) that will measure progress.

For example, if you have set out measurable content needs for your transformation (high conversion rate, higher click-through rate, etc.), you’ll need to identify the composable modules which best serve them (in this case, your CMS), and have the means to capture the relevant performance data.

Gather stakeholders

A digital transformation necessarily involves all departments within an organization, which, at enterprise level, may mean taking a wide variety of perspectives into account. 

Assemble your transformation team with this in mind: don’t just draw team members from technical or development roles, populate it with stakeholders from creative roles, editors, marketing team members, and so on — all of whom will be able to help you clearly define your digital transformation requirements.  

Track feature disparity

Review your existing system’s features and functionalities to identify what you need your digital transformation to deliver. 

It’s almost impossible to exactly replicate the features of an existing system (certainly at launch) when you transition to composable architecture — and that includes matching the design and layout of content on websites and apps. With that in mind, you should be prepared to develop workarounds for any feature disparities, and adapt to creative obstacles. 

Research technology

Digital transformation requires careful identification and application of new technology — namely, the capabilities of the platform that you use to shape your digital offering. That means doing the necessary research during your digital transformation to explore the platforms available to you. 

Most composable software architecture vendors offer demos and free account tiers which allow you to test and compare their products prior to purchase, and you’ll also be able to explore their partner ecosystem to get a sense of how you’ll be able to build and shape your platform to your enterprise’s needs. 

Keep innovating

Enterprise digital transformation should be about leaving the constraints of outdated digital technology behind, and embracing the extensible possibilities offered by a composable architecture. 

There won’t necessarily be a finish line for your digital transformation efforts: you’ll need to keep iterating, testing, and improving your stack in order to fully realize its potential. And, to support your enterprise digital transformation strategy effectively, you’ll need to foster a culture of ongoing innovation and learning, encouraging your content and development teams to experiment with the platform in order to continue to deliver fresh, exciting content experiences. 

Transform enterprise digital experiences with Contentful

A digital transformation journey isn’t just about systematically updating technology infrastructure, it’s about realizing your brand’s potential over the long term. 

Obviously, it’s incredibly useful to address the immediate shortcomings of legacy software architecture, but it’s also exciting (and productive) to think about how composable architecture could help your brand take its content marketing performance to the next level. 

Contentful has helped enterprise organizations around the world, including Kraft-Heinz, Vodafone, and BMW, plan and execute digital transformation initiatives, moving beyond outdated technology, growing content offerings, and creating experiences that engage and delight new and existing audiences. 

Contentful is a digital launchpad that puts you in control of every aspect of your digital transformation. You can enable content management access for thousands of users, assign flexible roles and permissions, explore the extensible ecoystem in our Marketplace, and tailor your tech stack to the precise needs of your audience — now, and in the future. 

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