Many organizations have had some elements of digital transformation underway for years, and in facility and workplace management, the trend is growing. In fact, according to proprietary research in Eptura’s H1 2024 Workplace Index, more than 50% of businesses surveyed have implemented or are moving toward an integrated platform that brings together asset and facility management with employee experience. Organizations want ways to streamline operations while also helping employees connect and collaborate.
The initiatives are ambitious, and many of them focus on automating opportunities to leverage data. When we asked operational leaders about the software they’re planning to implement over the next 12 months for facility and asset management, “Data analytics” was the top answer. For solutions that support employee experience, “Workplace analytics” tied with “Workplace collaboration software.”
But not everyone had the same answers, highlighting how initiatives need to be matched to current circumstances and future needs. If your organization is considering digital workplace initiatives but you’re unsure how to prioritize them, conducting a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis for digital transformation can help.
What is a SWOT analysis for digital transformation?
A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool companies use when they are considering making a major change, such as pursuing new business models or undergoing a digital transformation. Conducting a SWOT analysis usually involves creating a two-by-two grid and then placing strengths and weaknesses in the first row and opportunities and threats in the bottom squares.
A SWOT analysis helps you gain insights into all factors that can affect the outcome of the proposed action. It also requires organizations to base decisions on data analytics, rather than hypotheses and assumptions. The process helps decision-makers evaluate their company from all angles and consider different perspectives. By better understanding where they are in the process, organizations can develop a better understanding of the challenges of digital transformation they are most likely to face.
How to conduct a technology SWOT analysis
Before you go down this path, it’s helpful to start with an understanding of what sorts of technologies are available and how other companies are adopting them.
With more employees on the hybrid work model, desk booking software that allows people to reserve space when they need it is becoming a top priority for many workplaces. Equally important are room reservation systems, space planning platforms, and visitor management systems.
More companies are also investing in touchless technology, such as sensor-enabled doors, lights, and faucets. Mobile apps play an important part, too, making it possible for employees to access features while on the go.
Of course, you also need to consider your existing technology as you decide how to move forward with digital transformation. A SWOT analysis for technology involves evaluating the four main areas in the context of your digital workplace and reflecting on your answers.
Strengths
Strengths are the positive attributes of your company that allow you to operate efficiently, generate revenue, and constantly achieve business goals, including tangible aspects, like well-managed facilities and the latest workplace technology, and intangible aspects, such as your reputation and the skills of your workforce. Strengths are anything that gives you a competitive advantage.
When it comes to digital transformation, where is your company performing exceptionally well?
For example:
- Our workplace technology has been updated within the past year
- We have a highly skilled and innovative information technology (IT) team
Understanding your strengths helps you direct resources where you need them most.
Weaknesses
Weaknesses are the aspects of your company that hurt perceived and actual value or prevent you from outperforming your competition. Examples of weaknesses hindering your digital transformation strategy include manual processes that could be automated, outdated workplace technology, or difficulty managing your workplace data.
Weaknesses can also be assets, resources, or attributes your company is missing.
For example:
- Employees must navigate between too many different workplace apps throughout the day
- We don’t have an easy way to manage conference room scheduling
Many of these might be apparent to only specific groups within the company, so make sure different departments have opportunities to contribute insights.
Opportunities
While strengths and weaknesses are internal factors, opportunities and threats are external elements that can influence the success of the change initiative. Opportunities are factors your company can leverage to gain an advantage over competitors, such as market shifts, new cultural trends, changes to the industry, or upcoming tech launches.
Within the context of a digital transformation, your greatest opportunities might be:
- Moving to cloud-based, software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications
- Consolidating multiple applications into one to simplify our technology stack
Here, it’s important to have a clear sense of the near future, for your company and the industry overall.
Threats
Threats include anything outside the organization that could negatively impact your ability to implement a digital transformation strategy. These are the elements that are out of your control. Examples of threats are new competitors entering the marketplace, service providers increasing prices, changes in the economy, and new government regulations.
Examples might include:
- New data security regulations could impact our IT department
- A greater reliance on contractors in the gig economy will make it more difficult for us to predict our future office space needs
Concern about threats should be counter-balanced with the understanding that many of them tend to be slow moving. Governments announce new regulations far in advance, so there is time to prepare. That said, other threats are harder to see coming, so being agile is important.
10 questions to guide your technology SWOT analysis
In the context of undertaking a digital transformation, here are 10 questions you can ask to help you determine where your company’s strengths and weaknesses lie:
- Is our company’s data remotely accessible for employees but also protected by user-level permissions?
- How flexible and scalable is our current IT infrastructure? How easily can existing solutions be integrated with new platforms?
- Are our core business systems hosted on premises or in the cloud?
- Do our processes and technological investments support the mobility and agility of the workforce?
- Is our company’s data secure from external and internal threats such as cybercrime and employee theft?
- Do employees appreciate the processes and technologies in the workplace, or do they find them to be frustrating?
- How many different software platforms does the average employee have to use throughout the day?
- Do our primary software solutions communicate with each other?
- Does our existing technology enable data-driven decision-making?
- How easily can we update our workplace technology to meet our changing needs?
To identify opportunities and threats, you need to conduct thorough, unbiased research about your organization, industry and market. It’s important to be honest when assessing your company’s current position and performance. Viewing your organization overly optimistically only hinders your digital transformation strategy. It’s also critical to be realistic about the possible impact of the factors you identify as threats. In other words, don’t underestimate or overestimate their potential effect.
Once you’ve decided your workplace needs a digital transformation, a SWOT analysis is an excellent way to guarantee you start on the right foot. Be sure your SWOT team consists of a variety of individuals across the organization, including mid-level employees as well as members of the executive team. More diverse knowledge and experience will help ensure you don’t overlook anything and increase your chance of success.
By Erin Sevitz
Erin has 15 years of experience, including 10 years in thought leadership on workplace management and the built environment. In her current role she oversees teams responsible for worktech insights and engaging Eptura’s 16,000 customers worldwide. Previously she led communications for the International Facility Management Association, a global industry nonprofit dedicated to professional development for workplace strategists, building managers, and corporate real estate.
