· Openers · Digital Independence · 3 min read
From words to action: how the journey towards digital independence begins
The strategy exists and the direction is clear – but the change still isn't happening. Here's how to move from insight to concrete action.
Many organisations know what they want to achieve. The strategy exists, the direction is clear – but the change still doesn’t happen. The question then isn’t what to do, but how to actually make it happen in a complex, everyday reality.
The journey towards greater digital control and sovereignty isn’t just a technical upgrade or a legal review. It’s an organisational shift that touches processes, culture, skills, and established ways of working. The obstacles are often more human than technical:
- Resistance to change – discomfort with the unknown, or scepticism towards new ways of working and technology like open source.
- Skills gaps in strategic procurement, data governance, or managing non-proprietary solutions.
- Siloed thinking, where departments optimise for their own goals at the expense of the bigger picture.
- Weak buy-in, when it’s hard to get full commitment from everyone who needs to be involved, from leadership to end users.
- A sense of being overwhelmed, when the existing system landscape feels too large and messy to take on.
These challenges are real, but they can’t become an excuse to passively accept an organisation losing control over its most critical digital assets. The way forward needs a structured, phased plan that builds momentum along the way.
How to start the journey
Secure a mandate from leadership. As we discussed in the previous post: digital sovereignty is a leadership question. The first step is making sure leadership understands why it matters, and gives a clear mandate for the change.
Run a baseline and dependency analysis. Map which systems you depend on, where your data lives, who your critical vendors are, and where the biggest lock-in risks sit – technical, contractual, or skills-related.
Build a phased roadmap. Break the big goal down into manageable steps based on the analysis, and prioritise by risk reduction and value. A clear plan makes the journey feel less daunting.
Build skills broadly. Run workshops across procurement, IT, legal, and the business to build a shared understanding of open standards, open source, and data governance – and invest where the analysis found gaps.
Test with pilot projects. Pick a couple of smaller but strategically relevant areas to try in practice – a procurement with extra focus on open requirements, or structured management of an existing component. Learn before you scale up.
Build collaboration across departments. Digital control can’t be built in silos. Set up forums where people from different parts of the organisation meet regularly to build a more connected digital ecosystem.
Taking on this journey takes courage and persistence – breaking established patterns is hard. Many organisations get real value from outside help to get moving: objectivity in the analysis, specialist expertise in procurement and governance, and hands-on experience driving the change itself.
Your organisation’s journey towards greater digital independence starts today. Are you ready to move from words to action?
Ready to take the first step? Book a meeting and we’ll help you get moving.