We are all aware of the potential impact technology can bring to any sector/industry and more so to traditional sectors such as manufacturing, construction, etc. It’s encouraging that even in traditional industries, today, more than ever, there is stakeholder awareness regarding the need and the potential value of digital transformation to an organization – It’s just that organizations could be in a different stage of this journey.
Despite growing investments, industry studies suggest that over 70% of digital transformation initiatives fail to deliver sustained value, and there is always a debate if it is an execution challenge or a technology gap. As someone who has worked across transportation and urban infrastructure programs, a few practical truths consistently stand out
1. Right Proof of Concept (POC) matter more than the technology
POCs that succeed tend to start with a real delivery pain point. Understanding of Industry factors such as long timelines, fragmented stakeholders, safety-critical decisions, and deeply entrenched delivery processes cannot be overstated. In civil infrastructure, successful pilots rarely start with technology curiosity. They start with problems that site teams and project managers face daily:
- Lack of clear baseline metrics to measure success
- Misalignment between technology teams and delivery teams
- POCs that look impressive but don’t change day-to-day project decisions
In infrastructure programs, the most effective pilots are those tied directly to problems like progress visibility, risk tracking, coordination across teams, or rework reduction. If a POC doesn’t solve something that matters on the ground, it rarely scales.
2. Scalability Is Not a Phase-Two Problem
Scalability Depends on Process, Not Just Platforms. A frequent assumption is that scaling can be addressed after a pilot is successful. Most pilots struggle during scale-up because scalability was never designed/factored in. A digital tool that works on one specific project often struggles when rolled out across a full program or portfolio.
Common bottlenecks include:
- Limited adoption beyond the initial project or champion
- Inconsistent data across projects
- Digital workflows that don’t align with existing processes
In infrastructure, scalability requires early alignment with how projects are delivered—including standards, reporting cycles, and governance structures. Without this, pilots remain isolated successes.
3. Most Scaling Failures Are Predictable
When infrastructure organizations attempt to scale digital initiatives, the same issues surface repeatedly:
- Loss of data quality as more teams come onboard
- Over-reliance on a few digital champions
- Lack of clarity on what is mandatory vs. optional
Organizations that succeed treat digital transformation as a delivery capability, supported by templates, playbooks, training, and sustained governance—not as a one-off innovation effort.
I believe that a lot of these problems usually arise due to lack of rigor in picking a problem that is worth the organization’s time, evaluating the ROI for the effort and subsequently, driving stakeholder alignment prior to commencement of say a specific POC. These issues often get more interesting or complicated (depending on the way you look at it) when you add in the industry specific factors.
References
[1] McKinsey & Company – What is Digital Transformation?
[2] Bain & Company – Why Digital Transformations Fail
[3] Whatfix – Top Digital Transformation Challenges
[4] Geospatial World – GIS–BIM Integration for Sustainable AEC Practices
[5] ScienceDirect – Integration of BIM and GIS in Infrastructure Projects