For the vast majority of German companies, there is no question that investing in innovative technologies can strengthen their competitiveness in the long term. This is the result of a recent survey commissioned by the digital association Bitkom among a total of 603 companies with more than 20 employees in Germany. According to the survey, a full 91% of respondents are convinced that the use of digital technologies will be a clear advantage for companies in the long term.

Particularly with regard to the role of German companies in global competition, it has long been clear that digital transformation is not a question of “if”, but “how”. However, as the Bitkom survey shows, many companies still seem to have a lot of questions about this. According to the survey, over four-fifths of companies state that they would like to see a wider range of consulting services in this area.

Interim consulting approach provides a remedy

There is no question that digital transformation is anything but trivial for companies. As a cross-cutting issue, it affects every area of a company: from sales to purchasing, production and logistics through to marketing. This makes it all the more important to initiate the transformation process in a strategically embedded and structured manner and then implement it efficiently in terms of organization and personnel. This is the only way to ensure that the desired effects are actually achieved with the help of digitalization.

In practice, however, many companies simply lack the necessary resources to take the transformation into their own hands. This is also confirmed by a recent survey of more than 4,000 companies conducted by the German Chamber of Industry and Commerce: 37% of companies cite a lack of time and 34% a lack of financial resources as the main obstacles to digital transformation.

So how exactly can the digital transformation of companies succeed despite these challenges? The interim deployment of a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) can help here. In contrast to the “classic” consulting approach, an interim manager ensures that the digitalization strategy developed together with the company is implemented very quickly and effectively.

To this end, the interim manager is given comprehensive rights and duties in their role as CDO, which in turn enable them to take responsibility for implementing the digitalization strategy. Especially in collaboration with a powerful team of experienced consultants and the company's employees, the digital transformation can be driven forward directly in this way. This supplements the necessary expertise, conserves valuable resources and, above all, ensures that other company processes can continue undisturbed. After all, as necessary as the digital transformation of companies is, their ability to act must be maintained at all times during the process.