6 Ideas to Boost Your Digital Transformation Plan This Summer

The best time to future-proof your business is when nothing feels urgent. 

For CIOs and transformation leaders, the quieter summer months offer a rare window of opportunity - a chance to experiment, improve processes, and test tools that can make your team stronger, faster, and more efficient before peak season hits. 

Consider using this time to pilot a few low-risk, high-reward ideas. These aren’t massive rollouts. They’re smart, strategic moves that plug directly into your digital transformation plan with minimal disruption or budget impact. 

Why the “Quiet Season” is Your Strategic Advantage 

Before diving into the ideas, here’s why this often-overlooked period is worth using and what you can realistically accomplish during it: 

• Less operational noise: With fewer demanding issues competing for attention, teams have the headspace to step back, reflect, and explore improvements. Use this time to test changes without the usual pressure to deliver instantly. 
• Faster feedback loops: Pilots can run in weeks, not months. You can validate a new tool, workflow, or process in a contained setting - gather feedback, adjust, and see results quickly. 
• Budget-friendly innovation: Most of these ideas don’t require new platforms or long approval chains. You can often use existing tools, data, or talent to build and test small improvements that scale over time. 
• Better Q4 readiness: By the time peak season hits, you’ll have already addressed weak spots, tightened up key workflows, and equipped your team with tools and habits that improve execution under pressure. 

Now, let’s look at six practical digital transformation ideas you can launch while it’s still quiet, each designed to support your long-term strategy without disrupting what’s already working. 

Try a Lightweight AI Assistant  

Tasks like digging through folders, rewriting the same report, or hunting for a particular document slow teams down more than we admit. According to Deloitte’s 2025 Capital Trends Report, only 22% of workers say their organization is highly effective at simplifying work. Additionally, employees report spending 41% of their day on tasks that don’t contribute to real organizational value. It’s no wonder, then, that automation is climbing to the top of IT strategic initiatives as a practical way to give teams back their time. 

AI is usually associated with large-scale projects, but internally, there are many ways to test it with almost no budget. An idea is to pilot a GPT-based tool for quick gains, like improving internal knowledge access or summarizing important information, creating monthly reports, etc. Now’s the time to experiment and explore how far it can scale. 

A real-world inspiration is Morgan Stanley. They recently launched AskResearchGPT, an AI tool to help internal teams quickly surface insights from vast amounts of unstructured data. It builds on their earlier chatbot initiatives and takes things further by integrating directly into daily workflows, helping staff generate client-ready summaries and reports in seconds. It’s a strong example of how practical, internal AI applications are already delivering value in complex, high-stakes environments. 

The CIO’s Guide for Building a Robust Technology Strategy  

Develop No-Code Tools for Internal Workflow Gaps 

Some of the most frustrating inefficiencies in a company are actually procedural. Teams struggle with clunky approval forms, manual data entry, or inconsistent internal trackers. These slow, error-prone steps often go unaddressed simply because they don’t seem big enough to “justify” development time. 

However, they do justify a different solution. No-code platforms make it possible for business teams to solve these workflow issues themselves. With just a few hours and the right guidance, they can design functional tools to streamline everyday processes and maintain the results at later stages.  

At Accedia, we saw this firsthand. When our team rebuilt the internal Accedia Assistant, we used a no-code approach to prototype a smarter support interface. It helped reduce repeated questions, sped up internal responses, and gave the team full ownership of the tool without needing dedicated development resources.  

Run Side-by-Side Tool Comparisons 

You may already have a new tool or platform in your roadmap, but before fully committing, use the slower summer period to make a focused comparison. Without the usual time pressure, it’s the ideal moment to test how different tools perform in real-world scenarios. 

Pick a clear use case, like sprint tracking or backlog management. Assign two comparable teams to pilot different tools and track specific metrics: task visibility, update speed, error frequency, and team feedback. For example, compare how each tool supports sprint visibility and backlog clarity over a two-week cycle. 

You can apply the same experimental approach to other areas, such as cross-functional collaboration. Try testing different project tracking tools to see which one best enhances coordination across teams. Or take it a step further - evaluate AI tools for selecting a software development partner, especially if you're planning to bring one on board during peak season. 

These short, structured pilots give you actionable data, helping you avoid unnecessary complexity and make smarter choices when scaling operational efficiency. 

Whitepaper: From a Software Development Vendor to a Strategic Partner 

Launch an Internal Knowledge-Sharing Initiative 

You’ve probably considered starting internal knowledge-sharing sessions and just as likely pushed the idea to the backlog. It’s one of those initiatives that always sounds valuable but rarely makes it into a packed schedule. 

Here’s the truth from experience: the hardest part is simply starting. But once the momentum builds, teams naturally begin to make space for it. That’s exactly what happened at Accedia when we launched our Tech Talks - internal sessions where team members regularly share insights on technology topics such as state management in Angular, Azure Durable Functions, .NET Aspire, GraphQL, and ChilliCream tools. 

What began as a side idea has evolved into a monthly tradition, not just an occasional effort. Over time, it’s become a steady source of practical improvements, with some sessions leading to real changes in processes and internal tools. 

Our most ambitious initiative so far is an internally led AI training program. Participants explored machine learning fundamentals, applied their skills to hands-on solutions, and wrapped up with a deep dive into how GPT models work. Several team members have already applied what they learned to real client projects - a clear example of how internal learning fuels meaningful outcomes. 

A bonus tip: give your team an extra push to get things started by adding a bit of motivation. We offer small social perks to encourage participation - whether it’s a training voucher, a one-month subscription to a learning platform, or another simple reward. It doesn’t need to be big, just something that shows appreciation. A little incentive goes a long way in turning knowledge-sharing into a habit. 

Test a Scaled-Down Version of a Stressful Q4 Process 

High-stress workflows - like annual budgeting or performance reviews tend to expose weak spots, but often when there’s no time to address them. Use the summer slowdown to run one of these processes from start to finish, without pressure. 

This is how Amazon approaches Prime Day. While it’s a major sales event, it also functions as a full-scale rehearsal for its peak season. The company admits it uses it as an opportunity to test and learn, gathering creative and strategic insights that shape how they operate during the most demanding time of year.  

Apply the same logic to your team. Choose one complex process and run it, using realistic data and your standard tools. Involve the actual people responsible for each step. Track timing, friction points, and gaps in communication or accountability. 

Afterwards, gather the group for a focused review. Tackle small but meaningful fixes - outdated templates, unclear responsibilities, unnecessary layers of approval. These small operational improvements strengthen your digital transformation strategic plan from the inside out, making it more resilient and execution-ready.  

Pilot a Simpler Alternative to a Complex Tool 

Slower months give you the breathing room to rethink tools that no longer serve your teams well. If a platform has become overly complex or expensive to maintain, this is the time to test a leaner alternative without risking disruption. 

Identify one process where the current tool creates friction. Maybe it’s too many steps to complete a task, too much time spent onboarding new users, or low adoption across teams. Select a smaller group to try out a simpler option over two weeks, using their real workflows and outputs. 

Track measurable indicators: how long tasks take, how intuitive the interface feels, and how consistently the tool is used. These details give you a clear view of where complexity is slowing you down and whether a lighter solution can drive meaningful IT performance improvement. 

You don’t need to replace the system overnight. But if the test shows better speed, clarity, and engagement, it may point the way to smarter, more sustainable tooling going forward. 

Small Steps That Move Your Digital Transformation Plan Forward 

A strong digital transformation plan is rarely about one big move - it’s shaped by small, thoughtful steps that build momentum over time. Slower periods give you the space to explore those steps without pressure or disruption. 

Whether it’s trying out AI internally, simplifying a tool, or simulating a high-stress workflow, these pilots help you spot what’s working - and what needs to change - before things get busy again. 

If any of the above ideas resonate, this could be the right moment to test them. And if you’re exploring how to turn these small pilots into longer-term improvements, we’re here to talk it through.