FACT CHECKED
On a scale of 1 to 10, how digitally mature are you?
If 1 is never having or barely being able to operate a computer, and 10 is Scarlett Johansson in the 2014 movie Lucy, most of us are probably a 4 or a 5.
Your enterprise is likely to be even less digitally mature. Maturity is a gradual process that unfolds across an organization over time.
And since the digital landscape is constantly evolving, no sooner has your organization learned how to respond appropriately to the latest technology, they must learn and mature to a raft of new digital developments.
So, we have digital maturity benchmarks to assess our progress towards this goal of becoming digitally dextrous.
What are digital maturity benchmarks?
Digital maturity, also known as digital dexterity, is a significant goal for today’s enterprises.
It’s the desire and ability to embrace digital change. In an organizational context, digital dexterity impacts the business on both an individual employee level and the organization as a whole.
The aim is to have a digitally mature mindset and skill set organization-wide, but first it needs to be present in each and every one of your employees.
Your digital maturity benchmarks assess how digitally-forward your organization is now, in comparison with where it has been, where it wants to go, and where your competitors sit.
Once you know where you are now in terms of digital maturity, it’s much easier to make sensible decisions about where you need to go, what to tackle first, how much money to invest, and how long it will take.
Digital maturity benchmarks: 4 ways to assess digital maturity
1. Digital Maturity Model — by TMForum
TMForum, along with Deloitte and several leading telecommunications companies, has brought together deep industry knowledge of digital maturity benchmarks.
They have produced the first industry-standard digital maturity assessment tool. It professes to provide a clear path throughout the transformation journey.
The DMM evaluates digital capability across 5 clearly defined business dimensions:
- Customer
- Strategy
- Technology
- Operations
- Organisation & Culture
You will find the DMM referenced a lot by other digital maturity benchmarking tools.
2. Digital Maturity Benchmarks — powered by KJR
This digital maturity benchmarks self-assessment helps you get a high-level overview of your organization’s readiness for digital transformation. It also highlights key areas for improvement.
Powered by KJR, it aims to answer the following questions:
- What are the key attributes of a successful digital business and what are the necessary steps to achieve success?
- Is technology, or perhaps leadership, strategy or culture the starting point?
Their Digital Maturity Model consists of 6 digital capability indicators and 7 digital impact indicators. The model helps organizations run a successful digital transformation to cope with emerging challenges.
3. Digital Maturity Benchmarks — by Google
This tool from Google is more concerned with digital maturity benchmarks in terms of marketing.
Use it to see how your data-driven marketing measures up, and discover your roadmap to digital maturity. It’s described as an in-depth assessment made up of around 50 questions, covering 6 different dimensions of data-driven marketing.
4. Digital Maturity Indicator — by Code for Australia
Over in Australia, a tool has been developed to help governmental organizations measure and benchmark their digital maturity across 6 key areas:
- User experience
- Political environment
- Cross-govt platforms
- Institutional capacity
- Delivery capability
- Skills and hiring
This is an important step, as political and charitable organizations often lag behind when it comes to digital advancement.
A smart way to improve your digital maturity
Digital adoption is an essential part of the journey to digital maturity. Digital adoption is defined as:
1. A state in which digital tools are being used as intended, and to their fullest extent.
// Digital adoption occurs when a business invests in new technology, adopts a digital mindset, and evolves processes so users can maximize proficiency on a given software or app.
2. Simplifies task completion, improves productivity, and protects ROI.
// True digital adoption means the life of a user is enhanced — not overwhelmed by technology.
In basic terms, an organization cannot hope to become a digitally mature or digitally dextrous one, without successful digital adoption.
So, if your digital maturity benchmarks are indicating that you have considerable room for improvement, look at how digital adoption solutions can help you achieve your digital transformation goals.
The benefits to technology users are significant, improving user experience, proficiency with digital tools, productivity, and morale. The return on your technology investment is also dramatically improved.
