Sustaining Value After Digital Transformation: How to Prevent Erosion and Maximize ROI

Digital transformation is a journey, not a destination. For many organizations, the initial launch of a new platform, product, or experience is a moment of celebration—a milestone that promises new value, efficiency, and competitive advantage. Yet, research and real-world experience show that the greatest risk to digital ROI comes not during implementation, but in the months and years that follow. The post-implementation phase is where value is most often eroded, and where the true test of transformation begins.

The Hidden Challenge: Value Erosion After Go-Live

Despite significant investments in digital transformation, studies indicate that up to 87.5% of businesses fail to achieve their transformation objectives, with the steepest drop in value occurring after the initial release. This erosion is rarely due to technology alone. Instead, it stems from a combination of organizational, operational, and cultural factors:

• Loss of Knowledge: When digital solutions are handed off from transformation partners to internal IT or third-party support teams, critical tacit knowledge is often lost. This can lead to slower issue resolution, reduced system performance, and lower adoption rates.
• Siloed Teams: Product, support, and business teams frequently operate in isolation, undermining the cross-functional collaboration that is essential for continuous improvement and innovation.
• Lack of Ongoing Support: Without a clear plan for post-launch management, organizations struggle to maintain momentum, optimize performance, and adapt to changing business needs.

The result? Businesses leave money on the table, miss out on new opportunities, and risk falling behind in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Why Sustaining Digital Momentum Matters

Digital transformation is not a one-time event. The most successful organizations treat it as a continuous journey—one that requires ongoing investment, agile ways of working, and a relentless focus on value creation. Sustaining digital momentum means:

• Retaining and building on the knowledge and expertise gained during transformation.
• Ensuring seamless collaboration between business, product, and IT teams.
• Proactively monitoring, maintaining, and enhancing digital platforms to meet evolving customer and business needs.

This approach not only protects the initial investment but also unlocks new sources of value over time.

Publicis Sapient’s Approach: Application and Infrastructure Management Services (AIMS)

At Publicis Sapient, we recognize that the post-implementation phase is critical to maximizing ROI and sustaining competitive advantage. Our Application and Infrastructure Management Services (AIMS) are designed to address the most common pitfalls that lead to value erosion and to help organizations realize the full potential of their digital investments.

How AIMS Prevents Value Erosion

1. Preventing Knowledge Loss
   We embed support engineers and sustainment experts into the transformation process from the outset. This ensures that the teams responsible for ongoing management have deep, hands-on knowledge of the systems, architectures, and business context. By maintaining continuity with the original transformation team, we avoid the costly and disruptive loss of institutional knowledge.
2. Breaking Down Silos
   AIMS fosters cross-functional collaboration by aligning product, support, and business teams around shared goals and KPIs. Our approach emphasizes transparency, accountability, and rapid communication—enabling faster issue resolution and continuous improvement.
3. Proactive Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
   We don’t just keep the lights on. Our teams proactively monitor system performance, service level agreements (SLAs), and key business metrics. Using advanced tools like the Sustain Engineering Platform (StEP), we provide a single pane of monitoring across the IT estate, automate routine tasks, and identify opportunities for optimization and innovation.
4. Faster, More Effective Issue Resolution
   Because the teams who built your digital solutions are also responsible for their ongoing management, issues are diagnosed and resolved more quickly and accurately. This reduces mean time to resolve (MTTR), minimizes downtime, and ensures a seamless experience for both employees and customers.
5. Enabling Business Focus and Agility
   By entrusting the management of critical applications and infrastructure to a trusted partner, your business can focus on what it does best—serving customers, innovating, and growing. Meanwhile, we ensure that your digital platforms remain secure, resilient, and ready to support your next wave of transformation.

The Value Opportunity: Exponential Returns

Sustaining digital momentum is not just about protecting your initial investment—it’s about unlocking exponential value over time. With the right approach to post-implementation management, organizations can:

• Accelerate time-to-market for new features and innovations
• Reduce operational costs through automation and proactive maintenance
• Enhance customer and employee experiences
• Continuously adapt to changing market conditions and business priorities

Ready to Maximize Your Digital ROI?

The journey doesn’t end at go-live. To truly maximize the value of your digital transformation, you need a partner who is committed to your long-term success—one who understands your business, your technology, and your customers. Publicis Sapient’s Application and Infrastructure Management Services are designed to help you sustain and enhance your digital investments, prevent value erosion, and achieve operational excellence.

Let’s connect to discuss how we can help you unlock the full potential of your digital transformation—now and in the future.