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a problem and advise customers about processes they may need to change. However, if a company is going to
be a trusted partner in those efforts, it’s important that it go through its own transformation. As one execu- tive said: “It’s hard to deliver transfor- mation to a customer if you haven’t embraced it yourself.”
Cautious optimism about the future
Despite the progress agencies are making, difficulties remain, partic- ularly in terms of the procurement process and how contracts are structured. “It is hard to introduce a new mindset on existing contracts because acquisitions can be so nar- rowly scoped,” one executive said. “It can be an incredible challenge.”
Agencies vary widely in their openness to change and new ways
of doing business, and therefore, executives said they choose custom- ers carefully. The structure of a pro- curement can be an important clue.
“If they are just buying hours, you can’t apply a digital transformation solution,” one participant said.
And although the response to COVID-19 fueled many positive changes in how contractors deliver solutions, executives expressed con- cern that some agencies are moving away from telework, which would have a significant impact on compa- nies’ ability to hire and retain per- sonnel.
“I’m really worried about the com- mercial space going virtual and my customer going backwards and want- ing people on premises,” one execu- tive said. “I can’t compete with the commercial space if they are virtu-
al and [working] from their beach house, and I’m in downtown D.C.”
But others were cautiously opti- mistic. “We proved we could do things that we all knew we could do before, but in many places, there was a lack of confidence, willingness or courage,” another said.
Participants agreed that digital transformation is inevitable but that it will not look the same for all cus- tomers. Some agencies will embrace the changes, but others will contin- ue to rely on data housed in legacy systems and struggle with internal cultures that are resistant to change.
It is up to companies to meet agen- cies where they are. “Digital transfor- mation isn’t about what it means to us,” one executive said. “It’s about what digital transformation means to our customers.” n
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