Is a Digital Transformation a Type of Transformation?

Every organization is either in the middle of a digital transformation or about to start one. It is the most discussed, most invested-in, and most written-about category of organizational change of the last decade.

This is very debatable, but in my opinion, a digital transformation is not technically a transformation type.

Let me be clear. Digital change is real, consequential, and in most organizations, absolutely necessary. AI integration, platform modernization, automation — these efforts reshape how work gets done and create significant value. Every company is a digital company – or they should be if they want to stay in business.

Calling something a "digital transformation" is the means, not the end. Not fully appreciating this distinction is one of the most reliable ways to invest heavily in a technology implementation effort and come away with surprisingly little adoption and value creation.

The question is: Why are you doing a digital transformation?

The answer almost always points to one or more of the five fundamental transformation types I described in a previous post. For example:

• "We need to automate how work gets done to reduce manual effort and time to completion." That's an Operating Model transformation. Digital is how you're doing it.

• "We're building a platform-based business model to better serve customers." That's a Business Strategy & Operating Model transformation. Digital is the enabler.

• "We're rolling out a new ERP across the enterprise." That's a Business Process or System transformation. This is to better execute and automate a core process.

• "We're consolidating systems after an acquisition." That's a Merger/Integration transformation. The digital work is downstream of the organizational one.

• "We have new data governance and compliance requirements." That's a Corporate Initiative or Strategic Imperative. The regulation is driving it; digital is the response.

To make this more concrete, consider three common digital transformations organizations are navigating:

AI and automation integration. Deploying generative AI tools, intelligent automation, or machine learning across the workforce is genuinely transformational — it reshapes how work gets done, what roles look like, and what capabilities people need. But the underlying driver is an Operating Model transformation to stay competitive: to reduce manual effort, improve throughput, redirect human effort toward higher-value work. AI is the mechanism. You still have the same strategy and are in the same business; the transformation is that you’re redesigning how the organization fundamentally works.

Enterprise platform implementation. CRM, ERP, and HCM rollouts (Salesforce, SAP, Workday) are among the most common and most consistently underestimated transformations. They are usually framed as technology projects. They are almost always Business Process and System transformations that expose how deeply ingrained the old ways of working are. When they struggle it is rarely because the technology failed. It is because the organizational, behavioral, and process changes required to make the technology work were not sufficiently managed.

Digital commerce and customer experience. When a company builds or fundamentally revamps its digital customer-facing presence — moving transactions online, launching a platform model, redesigning the customer journey — it is often described as a digital transformation. What it actually represents is a Business Strategy transformation: the company is changing how it creates and delivers value, who it serves, and how it competes. The technology enables the new model and the transformation is the new model itself.

This matters because the implementation approach follows the type, not the vehicle.

Organizations that treat digital as the transformation itself tend to over-index on the technical implementation and underinvest in the operational, organizational and workflow changes that determine whether the technology delivers the intended outcomes. The platform goes live. Adoption and desired value lags.

There are a few reasons why transformation sub-optimize, but in my experience, it starts with the transformation not being adequately named. The organization knew it was deploying technology. It was less clear on why, what, how, when, and who.

For digital transformations, it’s worth spending time to clarify its fundamental purpose(s).

Clarifying that beyond a shadow of doubt and recognizing which of the five fundamental types you're navigating is the first step toward successful implementation.

Next in this series: The navigation principles that apply to every type of organizational transformation — and what determines whether you get the intended value, quickly.