Were you relatively early to embracing technology? If so, you may be reaping the rewards of digital maturity.

A new study from Capgemini Consulting shows that digital maturity helps put organizations ahead of their competitors — and then some.

“In every sector we looked at, there were leaders who were outperforming the average of the industry. It means that someone somewhere is using digital transformation as a differentiator in what they offer, in whatever sector you are in. Our view is that every single sector should worry about this,” the firm’s vice president, Didier Bonnet, told the Wall Street Journal.

The problem with this notion of ‘let a thousand flowers bloom’ is that you end up with just that, a thousand flowers.

Among the firm’s findings:

The focus: The firms that did the best with digital transitions focused on one aspect of digital at a time. “This notion of focus is really important,” he claimed. “Burberry, for example, focused on the customer experience in store and online. They did that well and then moved to social media, they did that extremely well, and now they are moving to mobile and analytics.”

The benefits: Companies with stronger digital maturity were 26 percent more profitable, had 9 percent more revenue, and boosted their market valuations by 12 percent.

The weak points: The thing that could prove most troublesome for firms trying to make a move? A lack of governance. Rather than focus energy in one spot, some companies throw technology at every department or challenge. “The problem with this notion of ‘let a thousand flowers bloom’ is that you end up with just that, a thousand flowers,” Bonnet said.

The study, “The Digital Advantage,” was based on interviews with 469 senior-level executives at 391 companies in 30 countries. The full study is available on the Capgemini Consulting website.

Is your association’s technology plan focused and well organized, or are you haphazardly throwing technology at every problem? How could your plan improve? Let us know in the comments.

(TMG archive photo)