Digital transformation in financial services is often celebrated at launch—a new platform goes live, customer experiences are reimagined, and the business is poised for growth. Yet, the true test of transformation comes after the initial rollout. For many financial institutions, the post-implementation phase is where the greatest risk of value erosion lies. Without the right strategies and support, the momentum built during transformation can quickly dissipate, leaving organizations with underperforming systems, frustrated teams, and missed opportunities.
Despite significant investments, studies show that up to 95% of businesses fail to reach their digital transformation objectives, with the highest drop in value occurring after the initial release—during the maintenance and operations phase. This erosion is rarely due to technology alone. Instead, it stems from:
These pitfalls can result in lower adoption, slower issue resolution, and missed chances to enhance customer and business value. In a sector where customer trust, compliance, and operational resilience are non-negotiable, the stakes for sustaining transformation value are especially high.
To prevent value erosion, financial organizations must move beyond episodic project thinking and embrace a product mindset—one that prioritizes outcomes over outputs and sees value delivery as an ongoing process. Central to this approach is the integration of robust post-implementation services, such as Application and Infrastructure Management Services (AIMS), and the continuous tracking of key performance indicators (KPIs) across the digital landscape.
AIMS ensures that the same teams who built the digital solutions remain involved in their ongoing support and optimization. This continuity prevents the loss of critical knowledge and context, enabling:
A common pitfall in digital transformation is the loss of tacit knowledge when projects are handed off to internal IT or third-party support. By involving support engineers and other experts during the transformation stage, organizations can maintain optimal performance and avoid costly knowledge gaps. This approach also breaks down silos between product and support teams, fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability.
Sustaining digital transformation value requires a shift from static, one-time measurement to continuous, real-time KPI tracking. This enables organizations to:
Publicis Sapient’s KnowHOW measurement framework is designed to address these exact challenges. KnowHOW provides an intuitive, visual dashboard that consolidates KPIs from across the organization’s transformation programs—spanning product management, design, technical quality, agile project management, and team operations. Unlike traditional project management tools that focus on time, scope, and cost, KnowHOW shifts the focus to speed, quality, and value—metrics essential for thriving in today’s fast-paced, digital-first world.
By serving as a single source of truth, KnowHOW empowers everyone from engineers to executives with real-time visibility into program health. Its flexible architecture allows it to scale across multiple teams and business units, supporting benchmarking, gamification, and continuous improvement at every level.
For example, a leading global consumer products firm partnered with Publicis Sapient to overhaul its global working model and MarTech infrastructure. By adopting an agile, digital-first approach and leveraging standardized KPIs through KnowHOW, the company achieved a 300% increase in website launch capability, a 200% improvement in time-to-market for innovation, and a 50% boost in development efficiency. These outcomes were made possible by breaking down silos, aligning global teams, and embedding a culture of continuous measurement and improvement.
Sustaining digital transformation value is about creating a virtuous cycle: measure, learn, improve, and repeat. KnowHOW enables this by making work visible and measurable, democratizing access to key metrics, and embedding a culture of data-driven decision-making. When paired with AIMS, it ensures that digital momentum is not only maintained but accelerated, delivering ongoing ROI and operational excellence.
Publicis Sapient’s approach to sustaining digital transformation value in financial services is rooted in:
In a world where change is constant and customer expectations are always evolving, the organizations that thrive are those that treat digital transformation as a living, breathing capability. With KnowHOW and AIMS, financial services firms can ensure that their transformation delivers value—not just at launch, but every day thereafter.
Ready to sustain and grow the value of your digital transformation? Let’s start the conversation.