For a decade, “digital transformation” was the ultimate goal. Companied want to move to the cloud, modern legacy applications, and automate ancient processes. It became the corporate mantra of progress.

But here’s the reality: since Covid, many organizations have already “semi-transformed”. They’ve migrated their systems, digitized their workflows, and implemented tools that promised speed and scale. Yet many still feel slower than ever, with much more complex systems to maintain, with more breaking points than before.

They are learning that digital transformation was never the destination, but more like the on-ramp. And now they have to deal with the harder and ongoing part: orchestration.

The Digital Plateau

This plateau shouldn’t be a surprise. Every wave of transformation follows the same curve: adoption, optimization, stagnation. At first, new systems create momentum. Then, as platforms multiply and teams specialize, complexity creeps in.

Many mid-market firms (or even small businesses) today are drowning in technology. CRMs don’t sync perfectly with automation tools. Cloud apps overlap. Analytics dashboards disagree. As a result...

• Teams spend more time reconciling data than acting on it.
• Decision-making slows.
• Agility, the very thing digital transformation promised, gets lost in translation.

And that’s what cause the digital plateau: because technology has grown faster than coordination.

The New Frontier: Digital Orchestration

In our opinion, the next phase will be all about making existing platforms work together intelligently. This is the era of digital orchestration.

Orchestration means:

• Interoperability: Tools exchanging data seamlessly.
• Contextual insight: Data that flows into decision-making in real time.
• Continuous optimization: Small, iterative improvements instead of “big bang” projects.

On other words, whereas the focused was on replacing legacy systems pre digitalization, post-digitalization it’s about designing for harmony.

Transformation Fatigue Is Real

Furthermore, teams today are often burnt out from digital transformation.”

Every quarter brings another migration, another platform, another “phase two."

So now, the smooth things out, we should add some rhythm to the ambition, be turning digital transformation from individual projects to a continuous capability.

Here’s a framework that allows it to happen.

A Simple Framework: From Projects to Platform Thinking

Smartt helps organizations evolve by shifting from project mindset to platform mindset.

When you measure success by adaptability, transformation becomes sustainable.

How to Move Beyond Transformation

1. Audit Integration Health

You’ve probably audited security or performance. Now audit connectivity. How many steps does it take for a lead, order, or ticket to move through your systems? Every extra manual step is a signal that automation or orchestration is lagging.

2. Simplify the Core

Instead of adding tools let’s focus on getting fewer, interconnected systems that do more. Identify your Lean Digital Core - the minimum viable tech foundation for your business (for example: CMS, CRM, Analytics, Security). Everything else should plug cleanly into it.

3. Treat Change as Continuous

Stop planning digital change as an annual initiative. Instead, build a recurring improvement loop with measurable sprints: test, optimize, deploy, repeat. It’s better to make 50 small changes a year than one massive overhaul that stalls for months.

4. Empower Cross-Functional Teams

Transformation shouldn’t be IT’s job anymore. It should be shared across marketing, operations, and leadership. When each department co-owns outcomes, digital maturity compounds faster.

5. Move From Endorsing Digital to Orchestrating Digitl

Executives need to move from digital champions to digital conductors. That means prioritizing:

• Data clarity over more dashboards.
• Decision velocity over project timelines.
• Cultural fluency over tool adoption.

Because in the post-digital world, competitive advantage isn’t who has the most tech — it’s who orchestrates it best.

How FlexHours Fits In

One of he biggest blocker to continuous transformation is capacity. Many companies know what needs improving, but just can’t justify another project contract. Smartt’s FlexHours model solves that by making transformation continuous.

Instead of waiting for “Phase 2,” you can reallocate hours toward integrations, automation, or optimization as needs arise. See it as transformation as a service, without the red tape.

If you’re interested in using Smartt’s FlexHours to move beyond transformation into continuous digital evolution, please contact us so we can have a quick chat and see if we might be a good fit for each other!