There are many routes to digital transformation, but the destination is all about creating new possibilities and opportunities for the business. If companies aren’t at least on the way to digital transformation, the competition is already passing them by.

There’s really no alternative: Transform the business or potentially go out of business. But not all companies are ready to be transformed. Here are five things partners should ask their clients to gauge their current ability to compete in the digital economy and to determine what needs to be done to get there.

1. Are clients aligning business and IT?

To put a truly digital business into place, clients must be thinking about business and IT not as separate entities, but as inextricably entwined. No business goal should be made without considering the technology solutions and services that will help meet it, and no technology should be implemented without a solid business/use case in mind.

2. Are end customers driving the agenda?

Companies, especially SMBs, may feel overwhelmed by all of the technology options out there, but choices become much clearer when the end customer—and not the technology–is the focus. Determining what their customers want and need now, and what they will likely need in the future, will position companies to make smart choices.

3. Is the company prepared to leverage cloud computing?

Today’s digital transformation is driving rapid and fundamental changes in businesses and their operating models. What applications and services are currently being hosted in-house? With few exceptions, anything that can be hosted in the cloud should be hosted in the cloud, providing the kind of flexibility, agility, scalability and cost-savings that are required to respond quickly and efficiently to changing needs.

4. Are the pieces in place for a “digital workspace”?

A digital workspace is an environment that enables employees and customers to do their work anytime, anyplace using pretty much any device—smartphones, tablets, laptops, PCs, virtual workstations, and so on, supported by a flexible, secure and scalable infrastructure.
5. Will employees buy in?

True digital transformation will likely mean big—and constant—changes to the company culture. Digital transformation breaks down not only technology silos, but also corporate silos. Employees must be open to working in cross-functional teams and to adopting new processes and ways of working. They must be ready and willing to pivot quickly based on real-time data analysis in the context of current and future business needs. In short, employees need to be all about change.

For pragmatic advice and insight on how to overcome cloud challenges and help deliver digital transformation, click here.

 This guest blog is part of a Channel Futures sponsorship.