How to measure the digital maturity of companies

The digital maturity index (DMI) measures an organization’s capabilities and results in light of the transformation challenge

Thinking digital means being aware that your customers, products, operations, and competitors are digital or in the process of becoming digital. This means that companies must integrate themselves in a dynamic ecosystem in which they must apply digital thinking to all of their processes (internal and external) in order to remain competitive.

Companies are undertaking the digital transformation challenge with more or less success, depending on their knowledge and ability to carry it out. In certain sectors, the change is taking place so quickly that it has altered business models. Cisco states that four out of ten companies in each sector will be displaced by digital disruption.

In this transformation process, it is essential for companies to know where they are and where they should be in order to align their strategy with industry and market trends.

Nae believes that it is very important to be able to assess and measure a company’s degree of digital maturity, and this analysis should be performed through a diagnosis on two levels:

Results: What is my degree of digitalization?

One of the key aspects of digital companies is the creation of a differentiated digital experience for customers, so it is advisable to study how we interact with them and what improvements can be made. It is very important to analyze what is being done, both inside and outside of the organization, in terms of operations (processes, partners, people, projects, etc.).

Capabilities: Do we have the necessary capabilities for digitalization? Do we use them? 

Digitalization has also brought new concepts and ways of working. These include the customer journey, the omni-channel concept, agility, crowdsourcing, gamification, etc. On the other hand, there is a set of technologies that facilitate digital transformation, such as SMAC technologies (social, mobile, analytics, and cloud). It is essential to understand their use and applications in order to determine how they should be implemented.

By asking questions that assess the different areas of study, in accordance with the current digital context, we are able to ascertain the digital maturity index (DMI). This exercise makes it possible to perform a digital diagnosis of an organization or a corporate group. The result, combined with an external analysis of the company’s context, allows identifying the key elements in order to define the digitalization strategy of a company or to define how it should be combined with the other strategic objectives.

Companies usually do not have full knowledge of the entire digital spectrum, so the digital maturity index also helps expand the concepts, technologies, and applications that a company should add to its operations and customer relationships.

The indicator is essential during the first phase of the digital transformation life cycle: Exploring the new environment. Knowing where the company is, as well as the capabilities it has and requires, helps define a successful strategy. The indicator makes it possible to define objectives and initiatives, and to measure the progress of digitalization in the company.