Sustaining Digital Transformation Value: The Critical Role of Post-Implementation Services

Digital transformation is a journey, not a destination. While the initial implementation of new technologies, platforms, and processes can unlock significant value, the true test of transformation lies in an organization’s ability to sustain and grow that value over time. Too often, businesses experience a sharp drop in momentum and return on investment (ROI) after the initial go-live, as operational realities set in and the complexities of maintaining new digital landscapes become apparent. This is where Publicis Sapient’s Application and Infrastructure Management Services (AIMS) play a pivotal role—ensuring that digital transformation is not just a one-time event, but a continuous source of competitive advantage.

Despite the best intentions and significant investments, studies show that up to 87.5% of digital transformation initiatives fail to achieve their objectives, with the greatest loss of value occurring after the initial release—during the maintenance and operations phase. Several factors contribute to this:

• Siloed Operations: Product and support teams often work in isolation, leading to misaligned priorities and slower issue resolution.
• Loss of Knowledge: When transformation projects are handed off to internal IT or third-party support, critical tacit knowledge about the new systems is frequently lost, resulting in lower adoption and increased troubleshooting time.
• Lack of Proactive Management: Without ongoing monitoring and optimization, performance issues can go undetected, and opportunities for improvement are missed.
• Rapid Technology Change: The pace of technological evolution means that yesterday’s solutions can quickly become today’s bottlenecks if not actively managed and modernized.

The result? Organizations leave money on the table, experience user frustration, and risk falling behind competitors who are better able to sustain digital momentum.

A seamless transition from implementation to operations is essential to preserving the value of digital investments. Publicis Sapient addresses this by embedding support engineers and experts during the transformation stage, ensuring that the team responsible for ongoing management has deep, first-hand knowledge of the systems in place. This approach:

• Prevents Knowledge Loss: By maintaining continuity between the build and run phases, organizations avoid the costly pitfalls of incomplete handovers and knowledge gaps.
• Enables Faster Issue Resolution: The same experts who built the system are available to diagnose and resolve issues, reducing mean time to resolve (MTTR) and minimizing business disruption.
• Drives Continuous Improvement: Ongoing involvement of transformation experts ensures that the platform evolves in line with business needs and technological advancements.

Sustaining digital value requires more than just reactive support. Publicis Sapient’s AIMS offering is designed to proactively monitor, manage, and optimize digital platforms and infrastructure. Key features include:

• End-to-End Monitoring: Leveraging tools like the Sustain Engineering Platform (StEP) layered on top of IT service management solutions, AIMS provides a single pane of glass for monitoring the entire IT estate. This enables real-time visibility into service levels, key performance indicators (KPIs), and business processes.
• Automation and Self-Healing: AIMS introduces automation bots for routine tasks, self-healing capabilities, and cloud provisioning, reducing manual intervention and accelerating response times.
• Continuous Optimization: Regular tracking of performance and issues allows for the identification and implementation of improvement opportunities, ensuring that digital platforms remain robust, secure, and aligned with evolving business goals.
• Seamless User Experience: By maintaining high system availability and performance, AIMS ensures a consistent and reliable experience for both internal users and external customers.

The journey to digital maturity does not end at go-live. Sustaining and enhancing the value of transformation investments requires a long-term partnership—one that balances cost efficiency with continuous value creation. Publicis Sapient’s approach is rooted in:

• Deep Business and Technology Expertise: With over 30 years of experience across industries, Publicis Sapient brings a unique blend of domain knowledge and technical acumen to every engagement.
• Integrated Teams: By involving support and transformation teams throughout the lifecycle, we ensure alignment and shared accountability for outcomes.
• Proactive Value Realization: Our focus is not just on keeping the lights on, but on identifying new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and growth.

When organizations invest in sustaining their digital transformation, the benefits are exponential. Not only do they protect their initial investment, but they also unlock new sources of value through improved agility, faster time to market, and enhanced customer experiences. With AIMS, businesses can:

• Prevent the erosion of digital momentum
• Resolve issues faster and more effectively
• Continuously optimize performance and cost
• Focus on core business objectives while trusting that their digital platforms are in expert hands

Maximizing the value of digital transformation is not just about what you build—it’s about how you sustain and evolve it. Publicis Sapient’s Application and Infrastructure Management Services are designed to help organizations protect and grow their digital investments, ensuring that transformation is a continuous journey of value creation.

Ready to stop value erosion and unlock the full potential of your digital transformation? Connect with Publicis Sapient to learn how AIMS can help you sustain digital momentum and achieve lasting business impact.

Relevant Links

• Unlocking Value Through Tech and Data
• Modernización Tecnológica y de Datos: El Camino para la Transformación Digital en América Latina (LATAM)
• Libérer la valeur grâce à la modernisation des données et de la technologie : une priorité pour les entreprises européennes (Europe)
• Unlocking Value Through Tech and Data
• Industry-Specific Data Modernization: Unlocking Value in Financial Services, Retail, and Energy