Tech, Talent, & Touchpoints Improve Digital Transformation
Acquia, one of the top DXP solutions on the planet right now, recently released a timely publication titled Trend Report: Digital Experience in Disruptive Times.
Acquia’s report offers interesting commentary on some of the more common-sense reactions to adapt to a COVID and post-COVID environment. Marketing channels are certainly putting substantial resources into digital transformation projects to meet consumer needs for digital solutions to purchase goods and services. Even more intriguing is the significant amount of time, effort, and resources going into trying to de-silo older platforms in order to increase productivity and go-to-market digital strategies.
Organizations have had to adapt to expedite a more personalized digital ecosystem for their customers resulting in these same stakeholders demanding that current technology be more flexible to create content and functionality rapidly and efficiently. These urgent requirements have led to a substantial influx of new solutions purchasing and integrations into current platforms, creating serious challenges around adopting and incorporating these technologies into organizations’ overall business strategies.
What I really liked about this report is that Acquia and I share the same view. It takes the right technology, the right talent, and the right touchpoints to squeeze the most out of their budgets because, realistically, the technology, the talent, and the touchpoints that drive these projects are links in the chain, and you’re only as strong as your weakest link.
Having a keen interest in the report, I reached out to Acquia for a more direct perspective. I met with and had fantastic and insightful discussions with Acquia’s Chief Marketing Officer, Lynne Capozzi, and two of Acquia’s customers — BIO (Biotechnology Innovation Organization), and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Both customers had recently completed significant digital transformation projects and reported incredible results. Everyone contributed great responses to how the right technology, talent, and touchpoints made the difference.
We began our conversations with Lynne Capozzi, who served as Acquia’s CMO from 2009 to 2011 and rejoined as CMO in 2016 up to the present day. Lynne’s thoughtful responses to my questions were on point as she explained the market from a lens that only someone who has been through years of digital transformation with a leading product could truly understand.
Acquia's Trend Report: Digital Experience in Disruptive Times
Stephen Medve of CMS-Connected Interviews Lynne Capozzi, CMO of Acquia
BIO and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum were fascinating interviews. Both entities were well into their digital transformation projects pre-COVID, which made it possible to launch them during the pandemic. Each organization shared its experiences and impressive results around the advantages of updating its digital ecosystem.
My interview with Joe Hansen, the former Managing Director of Digital Direction and Branding, was extremely informative and engaging. BIO is the largest trade organization in the world that represents the biotechnology community. BIO had numerous moving parts to their project, and Joe’s gave us a compelling take on their experiences gained and how their success was achieved.
Acquia's Trend Report: Digital Experience in Disruptive Times
Stephen Medve of CMS-Connected Interviews Joe Hansen, formerly of BIO
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum had an incredibly unique business case. Doug Cunningham, Director of Data and Information Technology, explained how contrasting challenges required them to step-outside-the-box to simultaneously provide a digital experience to the public while maintaining the integrity of the Museum’s identity. Like everyone else we spoke to for this piece, Doug gave brilliant answers to my questions.
Acquia's Trend Report: Digital Experience in Disruptive Times
Stephen Medve of CMS-Connected Interviews Doug Cunningham of Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
On a final note, as someone who is always talking to technology vendors, integration partners, and customers, I frequently hear about failed and successful engagements in the marketplace. Digital transformation projects come down to the right technology, talent, and touchpoints. These three integral pieces make up the holistic approach that every organization must implement before rolling-out their improved customer experience. Every project can be measured on the strength of these three aspects.
The best advice is to focus on establishing technology that matches your well-thought-out technical requirements and business user needs. Find the right partner with the best skillset in your vertical market and the breadth of expertise in whatever technology you choose. And, thoroughly understand the customers’ needs and touchpoints that drive your organization’s ROI. Then, you will succeed.
Stephen Medve
Stephen Medve is the Senior Analyst at CMSC Media. For the last 12 years, Stephen has been working as a Sales Consultant and Solution Advisor helping medium, large, and enterprise companies select their backbone IT ecosystems which include ECM, WCM, CRM, and eCommerce and digital marketing platforms.