Failure in transformation projects occurs a lot, says William Wappler, chief executive officer of Surgere, but with the right governance that can be mitigated.

Conceptualization is one thing, actual engagement is another, and companies have indeed moved deeply into digitalization initiatives, says Wappler. “All of the technology enabling transformation has been here long enough that we're starting to be able to perfect its use operationally. Robots were a great concept. Now, they're operational, and you hear a lot about the larger companies and even the smaller companies not just dipping their toe in but going all in.”

Unfortunately, he says, such projects fail a lot. Why?

“Typically, you'll see things like, well, the organization wanted it, but they didn't deploy enough resources to make it happen,” Wappler says. “So, you don't have enough people, you don't have enough time, you don't have enough focus. Those things that have been challenges throughout our history are still challenges with technology.”

Interestingly, failures as a whole aren’t technological in nature but are due to how companies approach, define and then try to implement projects, he says. “Not enough governance, not enough focus, not a long-term commitment by the executive staff. All those things are creating failure, and unfortunately that's a challenge to the industry as a whole. I think it's important to start talking about that. We always talk about our technology. We don't really talk enough about what's necessary to make it successful.”

Governance is key, but it’s neither policy nor control. “It's looking deeply into a program or a project, understanding who needs to participate, what are their roles, what are they going to do? How do you communicate? What are the metrics that you're going to use for success? How do you build a program around all of that?”