At a Glance
This article outlines six critical barriers to successful digital strategy delivery — and the key actions leaders can take today to overcome them.
- Misaligned Leadership & Strategy: Lack of alignment at the top leads to scope creep, slow delivery, and wasted spend.
- Outdated Systems & Skills Gaps: Legacy tech and talent shortages block execution at every level.
- Low Adoption & High Attrition: Without full buy-in and change management, even the best plans fall flat.
Introduction
Digital transformation could unlock over PHP5 trillion (USD101 billion) in annual economic value for the Philippines by 2030. But ambition alone doesn’t create results.
While the government reports progress — with 70% of public services now online — the private sector, especially financial services, continues to struggle with execution. Only 22% of Philippine enterprises are fully ready to implement AI in their operations, according to a 2024 Cisco study. Many are stuck in a familiar trap: overinvestment in tools, underinvestment in delivery.
What’s holding them back? It’s not technology. It’s execution. Here are 6 challenges associated with digital transformation execution:
1. Misaligned Vision and Leadership
Digital transformation fails when leadership isn’t aligned. Without a clear, shared strategy, delivery becomes fragmented and chaotic. Priorities shift, scope creeps, and no one’s sure about the alignment with the organisation’s needs or who’s accountable.
Poor communication and vague objectives lead to overspending and missed deadlines. Add in unrealistic expectations and a weak grasp of what execution actually takes — and delays are inevitable. The basics weren’t locked in from the start.
What You Can Do:
- Lock the Vision: Build a single, shared transformation strategy owned by leadership.
- Define the Roadmap: Align goals to strategy, resources, and deliverables across departments.
- Get Real on Timelines: Set realistic expectations based on true organisational readiness.
What It Unlocks:
Faster decisions, better coordination, and reduced risk of derailment.
2. Outdated Systems, Legacy Bottlenecks
Outdated systems and clunky processes are dragging transformation efforts down. Legacy infrastructure can’t keep pace, and bolting new tech onto old frameworks creates more problems than it solves. Integration issues lead to fragmented data, broken workflows, and poor visibility — All of which cripple decision-making and stall delivery. Without a unified digital backbone, transformation loses momentum before it even starts.
What You Can Do:
- Audit the Tech Stack: Identify systems that block integration or slow processes.
- Prioritise Interoperability: Choose solutions that enhance — not fight — existing tools.
- Build Fit-For-Purpose: Ensure your build is 100% aligned with your goals and business outcomes you seek.
- Plan the Transition: Combine IT upgrades with change management to keep teams on track.
What It Unlocks:
- An agile, future-ready tech ecosystem that supports relevant real-time data and execution.
3. Limited technical expertise and vast skills gap
Digital transformation doesn’t happen without the right people — and right now, there aren’t enough of them. The talent gap in AI, cybersecurity, and data analytics is wide, and it’s getting worse. Only 40% of Filipinos have basic ICT skills, and in the IT-BPM sector, attrition rates are hitting 30–40%.
That churn leaves teams understaffed, projects under-resourced, and momentum stalled. Without skilled professionals to drive and sustain the work, even the best strategies fall flat.
What You Can Do:
- Build a Core Team: Appoint an internal transformation leader with clear authority.
- Upskill Fast: Launch targeted training tied to transformation goals.
- Bring in Experts: Leverage consultants to fill skill gaps and hit the ground running.
What It Unlocks:
Execution momentum, institutional learning, and sustainable digital capabilities.
4. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy Concerns
Digital transformation raises the stakes on cybersecurity — fast. Moving to the cloud and centralising data makes operations more efficient, but also more exposed. One breach can compromise everything: customer data, business IP, brand trust. And with patchy enforcement of data privacy laws, the risks multiply. Many businesses underestimate what it takes to secure their full digital ecosystem — from cloud to mobile — leaving critical gaps that attackers exploit.
What You Can Do:
- Secure the Ecosystem: Assess risks across cloud, mobile, and third-party apps.
- Train the Frontline: Run awareness programs to build a security-first culture.
- Build In, Not Bolt On: Integrate security early in transformation design.
What It Unlocks:
Stronger compliance, better risk posture, and confidence to scale digital operations.
5. Siloed Structures, Fragmented Efforts
Silos kill transformation. When departments operate in isolation, communication breaks down, insights stay trapped, and coordination goes out the window. Teams chase their own digital agendas, building disconnected solutions that don’t scale and don’t align. The result? Duplication, incompatibility, and missed opportunities. Without a unified approach, digital transformation becomes a patchwork of effort — not a strategy.
What You Can Do:
- Build Cross-Functional Teams: Align business, IT, and support functions from day one.
- Establish Data Governance: Create a single source of truth accessible to all.
- Enable Collaboration: Invest in tools and rituals that connect people, not just systems.
What It Unlocks:
End-to-end transformation execution that scales across the enterprise.
6. Lack of Stakeholder Buy-In
If stakeholders aren’t on board from day one, transformation stalls before it starts. When key players — like middle management, vendors, or frontline teams — feel left out, they resist, delay, or disengage. Projects built without their input often miss the mark, leading to poor adoption and wasted investment. Without early alignment, even the best solutions won’t stick.
What You Can Do:
- Co-Design Solutions: Involve users early to build relevance and ownership.
- Align on Outcomes: Tie transformation goals to real business needs.
- Communicate the ‘Why’: Link change to employee impact and customer value.
What It Unlocks:
Higher adoption rate, better feedback loops, and faster time-to-value.
Engage Renoir Consulting Philippines in Manila to implement your transformation programme and maximise the value of your transformation efforts. Our methodologies to affect and track behavioural change have been perfected for 25+ years. We believe that the outcome of detailed transformation programs should be the full and sustainable adoption of the new ways of working by all staff, from the bottom-up to the top.
Ready to improve your digital transformation delivery?
