“Digital Transformation” is a business cliche, an abstraction which continually absorbs every recent digital business or operational strategy discussion. At the Connectiv Executive Summit next month, Jonathan Murray, Transformational Chief Technology Officer at Digital Prism (dprism), will share dprism’s Digital Maturity Index, which helps executives assess the state of their organization’s digital readiness as well as gain focus on the most profitable areas of digital business change. Murray will also share findings from a survey of Connectiv members on how they stack up against the Digital Maturity Index.

Here, Connectiv speaks with Murray about the criteria for dprism’s Digital Maturity Index why a sophisticated digital strategy today has moved beyond website design and mobile-friendly platforms to how well a publisher is able to collect and use data.

Connectiv: What criteria is used by the Digital Maturity Index? What do you assess?

 Jonathan Murray: The survey is based on a 360 degree view of what it takes to succeed as a business in today’s digital economy and is based on Digital Prism’s 12 aspects of the digital ecosystem. The survey lets clients assess their organization’s performance across each of those 12 areas with questions based on our experience of what it takes to be successful.

 Connectiv: What would say are characteristics for a publisher with a mature digital operation? Where are many publishers lacking?

Murray: The lifeblood of any digital product or services business is data. Organizations that excel in the digital economy manage data as effectively as they manage revenue, cash flow and other critical resources. A mature digital operator has the ability to collect – often in real-time – synthesize and derive data-driven insight from every aspect of their business and uses that insight to build better products, continuously improve customer experience, drive down operational costs and ultimately to increase the profitability of the business. 'Time-to-Value’ is perhaps the most critical of all metrics for a digital business. Many businesses have grown through acquisition or with an operating model that has historically rewarded business unit autonomy. The operating friction inherent in a ‘siloed’ operating model is no longer tenable in a world of connected experiences and integrated product and services value propositions.

 Connectiv: If you could tell publishers to prioritize one aspect of their digital operation/strategy, what would it be?

 Murray: Many publishers collect large amounts of data but often lack a joined up – 360 degree view – of the data as it relates to customers, products and services. It is very difficult to drive an operationally effective strategy when data from across the organization is not effectively integrated. Things move too quickly in today’s evolving digital economy and friction in the process of deriving insight from data becomes a serious competitive impediment.

Matt Kinsman is vice president of content + programming at Connectiv, the only association focused on the integrated b-to-b model—including publications, events, digital media, marketing services and business information. Prior to joining Connectiv's predecessor American Business Media in 2011, Kinsman was executive editor of Folio:, the leading information provider for the magazine industry.