🔵 Introduction
In a fast-moving and constantly evolving digital transformation landscape, Digital Maturity Models are becoming more important than ever. But the way they have been used until now must evolve.
For more than a decade, these models have helped companies assess readiness for transformation. But too often, they are treated as static exercises — a snapshot in time, disconnected from day-to-day governance, decision-making, and execution.
This article is not about whether digital maturity matters — it does.
It is about challenging how these models have been used, and opening a conversation about what should come next.
This thinking is part of my doctoral research combined with decades of executive leadership — particularly relevant for SME and family businesses, where the challenge is not just about change, but about the tension of being challenged while defending the core.
At DS, we firmly believe that successful transformation requires protecting what made the company successful — the legacy, the core — while adopting a structured, systematic approach that guides the organization, step by step, toward sustainable growth, resilience, and adaptability.
Our belief is simple: the future of governance demands a living system. One that helps companies, leadership teams, and boards navigate complexity — with clarity, discipline, and the ability to adjust continuously without losing their identity.
The Unavoidable Questions in Today’s Boardrooms
In today’s dynamic and unforgiving business environment, no CEO, President, or business owner walks into a board, investor, or executive strategy meeting without facing a new set of unavoidable questions:
- Is our legacy success formula still valid — or is it quietly expiring?
- Are our leadership, executives, and teams truly prepared for the future?
- Are we leveraging AI, Cloud, IoT, Data, and Automation — or are we just adopting tools without transforming the business?
- Do we have the right skills, culture, and governance to compete in a digital-first, ecosystem-driven world?
- Are we scaling digital efficiency — or simply digitizing inefficiencies?
- What are our real avenues for growth? Can we still grow with the current model, or are we approaching a ceiling?
- Are our ESG, cybersecurity, and governance frameworks future-ready — or reactive and exposed?
👉 These are not questions about technology deployment.
👉 These are questions about relevance, competitiveness, sustainability, and long-term survival.
The Consequence
When companies don’t have a living view of where they are — and where they are going — transformation fails.
Execution misaligns. Investments scatter. ESG becomes compliance instead of a driver. And AI? Just another dashboard nobody trusts.
Why Digital Maturity Models Exist — And Why They Matter
There’s a reason why every major consulting firm has its own Digital Maturity Model.
| Model | What It Is | Why It Exists |
|---|---|---|
| Gartner | A framework that aligns processes, people, technology, and culture. | Provides a comprehensive enterprise-wide view to help organizations align their operations and digital strategy. |
| McKinsey DQ | A maturity index focused on capabilities across culture, strategy, and execution. | Helps assess cultural readiness, leadership alignment, and operational execution. |
| BCG DAI | A diagnostic focused on digital capabilities and operational excellence. | Supports companies in accelerating transformation and scaling operational capabilities. |
| MIT CISR (Designed for Digital) | A research-backed academic model centered on platform and ecosystem readiness. | Guides companies on how to scale platform-based and ecosystem-driven business models. |
| Deloitte | A holistic framework connecting customer experience, operations, culture, and technology. | Provides an integrated view to align customer-driven strategies with operational and technological readiness. |
All of them agree: companies need a structured way to assess where they are in their digital transformation journey — and how that links to execution, competitiveness, and growth.
👉 The problem isn’t the concept. The problem is the format.
Most are designed as static diagnostics. Valuable, yes — but only for a moment in time. In a world moving at the speed of AI, regulation, customer demand, and competition, a snapshot becomes irrelevant fast.
Recognizing the Value — And Why DS Decided to Evolve
The contribution of major consulting firms and academic models is not only relevant — it’s foundational. They’ve provided clarity, structure, and guidance for organizations navigating digital transformation for over a decade.
What they’ve brought to the market has transformed boardrooms and strategic planning worldwide.
But the velocity of change — AI, automation, cyber risks, ESG pressures — demands something more.
Not a replacement. An evolution.
At DS, we asked a simple but crucial question:
👉 What if we could retain the structure, clarity, and discipline these models offer — but turn the diagnostic into a living, dynamic system?
A system that doesn’t just answer “Where are we?”, but continuously supports “Where are we going — and how do we stay competitive while everything keeps changing?”
Our Three Core Dimensions — The Foundation of the DS Model
This is particularly relevant for family businesses, where the challenge is often the challenge itself — how to evolve without compromising what made the company successful. At DS, we firmly believe that defending the core, leveraging the best of the legacy success formula, and applying a systematic, step-by-step approach is critical to ensuring a sustainable and effective transformation.
- Operational Efficiency Through Technology Adoption
Make the core business smarter, faster, and more resilient through AI, data, automation, and process redesign. - New Growth Pathways and Business Model Transformation
Enable adjacent growth, ecosystems, platform models, and scalable revenue streams — without breaking the core. - Governance, Sustainability, and Digital Resilience
Embed ESG, cybersecurity, AI governance, and adaptive decision-making into the very fabric of the business.
How Digital Maturity Models Are Being Used Today — And What’s Next
Today, most Digital Maturity Models are still used as entry-point diagnostics. They serve as a structured way to start conversations about digital transformation, identifying where the organization stands in terms of processes, technology, people, and capabilities.
Typically, companies use these models in three ways:
- As part of a strategy refresh, often with consultants or internal digital teams.
- To guide the start of a transformation journey, helping prioritize initiatives.
- Or as part of consulting projects, offering a snapshot view of maturity — but rarely revisited until the next cycle or engagement.
👉 The reality: While helpful, most models are still treated as a one-time snapshot — not as part of the company’s ongoing governance rhythm.
This is exactly where the DS approach evolves the concept. We believe a Digital Maturity Model should no longer be seen as a diagnostic tool alone — but as a living system embedded in how the board defines direction, benchmarks progress, and adjusts strategy continuously.
- It becomes the backbone for aligning growth, governance, and risk.
- It moves from a static assessment to a dynamic, board-level instrument.
- It’s no longer an input to the transformation. It is part of the governance of the business itself.
In today’s landscape — shaped by AI, data, cybersecurity risks, and ESG demands — companies cannot afford to navigate based on outdated snapshots.
👉 A Digital Maturity Model must be a permanent, dynamic element of governance.
This is How the DS Digital Maturity Model Was Born
A system built for direction — not reports. A dynamic tool that aligns growth, governance, and resilience — continuously.
This model isn’t just a consulting framework. It is the foundation of my doctoral research, developed precisely to answer one critical question:
“How can boards and leadership teams govern growth, technology, and resilience in a world where the pace of change outpaces traditional models?”
Our goal from day one has been clear: this cannot remain an academic exercise.
It must become a practical, operational tool — dynamic, real-time, and designed to support board-level decision-making and governance.
The DS Digital Maturity Model, working together with STIS.ai — our Strategic Transformation Intelligence System — forms a living governance engine.
Together, they enable companies to:
- Continuously track digital maturity.
- Benchmark against peers and evolving standards.
- Identify gaps and blind spots in real time.
- Support leadership teams and boards in continuously adjusting direction and execution — as the market, technology, and risks evolve.
This is not a theoretical tool. It is currently in its final development and validation stage.
As we finalize the research and technology, we are opening conversations with boards, leadership teams, and family businesses who recognize the same challenge — and are ready to explore how this becomes a permanent, living part of modern governance.
👉 The era of static maturity models is ending.The era of living governance systems is beginning.
