From Steel to Silicon: Cleveland’s Digital Transformation Journey Toward Reinventing Success

Digital transformation is vital for Cleveland businesses to stay competitive, grow, and survive in today’s market. 

According to a study done by five Harvard Business Review authors using McKinsey’s Finalta benchmark, 89% of large companies worldwide are already in the process of digital transformation. It was revealed that the companies who were leading in digital transformation initiatives also achieved better returns versus those who were slow to adopt digital transformation: “Between 2018 and 2022, digital leaders achieved average annual total shareholder returns of 8.1% vs. 4.9% for laggards … digital leaders have grown their active customer base at 0.5% and their retail revenues at 0.8% annually, while digital laggards saw zero growth in their active customer base and a decline of 1.4% per year on retail revenues.”

Is Cleveland’s business community keeping pace with digital transformation? Let’s examine what local companies are doing to modernize and how to help those falling behind.

What are the Challenges and Opportunities in Cleveland?

In the face of larger tech hubs like San Francisco, Seattle, New York, ad Austin, Cleveland faces several challenges in its bid to catch up. For one, these larger tech hubs have more resources to draw talent, leading to a talent drain on the city of Cleveland as qualified individuals move elsewhere.

Cleveland’s own history also poses a challenge for the city’s evolution. Once, the city was an industrial manufacturing powerhouse. Today, the city still has an industrial presence, but it can be hard to change what processes and systems you’ve been using for years or decades.

But there are opportunities for both businesses and individuals to participate in digital transformation. Some organizations are working to create those opportunities for others, such is the mission at the Cleveland-based EY-Nottingham Spirk Innovation Hub—they help manufacturers in Cleveland and beyond in embracing Industry 4.0 through problem solving and securing patents.

Meanwhile, some organizations like DigitalC are doing their part by helping enhance Cleveland’s internet connectivity infrastructure with a focus on “affordability, reliability, and sustainability”. These efforts serve to help close the gap for Cleveland communities where internet access is scarce or unaffordable. Through the Digital Excellence Initiative, the Greater Cleveland Digital Equity Fund has contributed to internet connectivity with the deployment of over 1,000 4G unlimited data hotspot devices across many of Cleveland’s libraries.

The city of Cleveland is also making its own efforts to promote greater innovation. The Office of Urban AI, for example, works with other city departments to promote better data policies and innovation and modernization as a means of continuous improvement, risk mitigation, and to improve the city’s efficiency in all its departments and divisions.

Urban AI serves the City as a champion of data use and modern data analysis, visualizations, and storytelling to provide an engaged approach to performance improvement and change management.

What are the Key Aspects of Digital Transformation for Cleveland Businesses?

For Cleveland businesses to achieve a successful digital transformation, there are four key aspects that most businesses will need to address.

1. Customer Experience Improvement

This can range from improved websites and CRM systems to using data analytics to personalize the customer’s experience. For example, the Cleveland Public Library had just recently updated their website in 2024, making improvements to their online catalog for an improved customer experience for all their patrons.

2. Operational Efficiency Improvement

Digital transformation can achieve this through process automation with AI, implementing data analytics for decision-making, enhancing supply chain management with digital tools, and leveraging cloud computing for scalability and cost efficiency. Cleveland Clinic has taken digital transformation seriously to manage their supply chain and support services. Cleveland Clinic’s senior director of technology, Geoff Gates, stated in a CDW report that his team was working with their IT team to “make sure that all our systems speak to each other in the right way and that transactions are flowing seamlessly across the organization”.

3. Employee Empowerment

Creating a culture of innovation and digital literacy is crucial for digital transformation. This must be combined with employee training, upskilling programs, and modern business collaboration tools for individuals and businesses to remain competitive. Cleveland Public Library exemplifies this approach, having offered basic digital literacy courses and technology workshops to serve community needs.

4. Cybersecurity and Data Privacy

All businesses should have robust cybersecurity and follow all government regulations regarding data privacy. A breach in a company’s network could lead to costly data loss, ransomware attacks, and identity theft. This is especially important for organizations that handle highly sensitive personal data such as financial data at Keybank or patient information at Cleveland Clinic.

Cleveland Public Library’s new catalogue was a key aspect of their digital transformation.

How Can Cleveland Businesses Implement Digital Technologies?

Before Cleveland businesses begin implementing digital technologies, it’s important that they are prepared with proper assessing and planning, choosing the right technology partner, and if needed, securing the funding required.

By performing a digital maturity assessment, a business can develop a digital transformation strategy that aligns with their goals and prioritizes technologies based on their impact and feasibility. One way to assess digital maturity is to use a framework such as the Digital Maturity Index.

Based on Dynamic Systems Maturity Theory, the Digital Maturity Index uses six business factors to measure digital maturity:

Choosing the right technology partner ensures that your business can have its custom software solutions built with the technologies you need to achieve digital transformation. You should make sure you select a custom software developer that is knowledgeable in new and emerging technologies and skilled in seamlessly integrating your new application with your existing systems. They should also be experienced in a development methodology that suits your timeline and budget.

Even if a custom software solution seems initially outside of your business’s budget, Cleveland possesses multiple sources of grants and funding to aid in digital transformation such as through Verizon’s Small Business Digital Ready program. The HFLA of Northeast Ohio is another funding source, offering interest-free loans to residents and businesses of Northeast Ohio.

What Are Examples of Digital Transformation in Cleveland?

Examples of digital transformation in Cleveland include the likes of Cleveland Clinic, the Cleveland Public Library, and KeyBank.

• Cleveland Clinic has worked with IBM to install IBM’s Quantum System One Computer at the Cleveland Clinic’s main campus. With IBM’s aid, Cleveland Clinic’s plans are to use quantum computing, AI, and hybrid cloud computing to accelerate their discoveries in healthcare.
• The Cleveland Public Library is embracing digital transformation in another way. Along with upgrading their website, they are helping the public out with their digital literacy courses and advanced workshops in coding and app design. They also educate the public with courses in other types of digital skills like graphic design and 3D printing. By engaging and educating the public, more of Cleveland can participate in digital transformation, whether as individuals or as small business owners.
• KeyBank has embraced cloud computing to modernize their technology ecosystem, respond to market changes, improve security, upgrade scalability, and to avoid needing additional hardware infrastructure.