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Editor's note

In years past, the biggest digital transformation challenges that organizations faced were simply figuring out how to develop a website and create a well-branded internet presence. But, today, the concept of being digitally transformed has itself transformed inexorably, and tech departments are struggling to keep up.

What are some of the biggest digital transformation challenges organization face? Figuring out which new technologies make the most business sense is one of them.

Is there a strong business case to integrate blockchain technology into the software being developed? Could new data points be garnered by pushing internet of things (IoT) devices into the wild and having them report metrics back home? Is there a way to apply artificial intelligence that is not currently being embraced or, for that matter, are competitors applying deep learning strategies in ways that will give them a strategic advantage? Answering these types of questions is just the first of many digital transformation challenges IT professionals are facing.

With these types of questions answered, the next big digital transformation challenge is figuring out how to put the required pieces into play and move forward with a strategic plan. Which technologies will be used to affect the digital transformation? And what new challenges will using those technologies present?

For example, it's not uncommon for organizations to deploy information-gathering IoT devices, only to quickly be overwhelmed with the inundation of data points that get returned. Traditional, relational database systems tend to fracture under these types of stresses, causing new, nontransactional and nonrelational solutions to be adopted.

Being able to anticipate and adapt as new technology changes the way data is both generated and aggregated is one of the biggest digital transformation challenges IT teams tend to face.

1Digital transformation challenges for developers

While it is often C-level executives who put the digital transformation roadmaps in place, it is the software developers who get saddled with the challenge of developing the actual solutions. Here, we look at the various tools software vendors, like Oracle, are making available to address the digital transformation challenges developers may face, along with a look at how developers are integrating digital transformation technologies, such as blockchain and artificial intelligence, into their solutions.

2Avoiding digital transformation pitfalls

Doing a digital transformation right is just as important as not doing it wrong. Here, we look at the various obstacles organizations have faced when undergoing digital transformations of their own. From those experiences, we also garner insights on how to avoid digital transformation missteps, along with how to address the discomfort and stress that happens across teams as new technology disrupts their existing patterns of behavior.