In today’s day and age, business scenes are constantly evolving to keep up with the dynamic changes, in the environment. We can see digital technologies are changing the facade of business at an exponential rate. Organizations need to keep up with these changes in order to survive and grow. An organizations IT strategy is vital to its business strategynow more than ever.
Digital technology has reached a point of omnipresence and it is no longer optional for a company to be digital or not. The world has had over 4 billion internet users in 2018 alone. Studies have shown that there will be a growth of nearly 800% in mobile data usage in the next year or two.
What is a digital transformation?
“The way out of these difficult times is not cost cutting. It is to innovate and embrace digital transformation.” – Steve Jobs (Apple Co-founder).
Digital transformation is integrating digital technology, into all areas of business, which fundamentally changes how you operate and deliver value to customers. Digital transformation, in other words business transformation, is driven by technology innovation, customer behaviour, demand and satisfaction and external environmental factors.
- Volatile economy
- Changing laws
- Ups and downs in the market
- Partner demands
- Customer expectations
The focus of business leaders would need to be on results, innovative methods of problem solving and scope of continuous improvement. A digital transformation allows these business activities and processes to fully leverage the changes brought about by digital technologies. This process is about how the changes are implemented with least disruption to the original flow of business.
The main challenge is change management as this metamorphosis affects all echelons of the organization. The aim and final goal of every business is to deliver a superlative customer experience. Hence the business leaders would need to challenge and push their companies to get the most out of this transformation.
Let us take a look at why companies need to embrace digital transformation in order to remain relevant in today’s economic ecosystem.
Competitive Advantage:
Initially, change can be cumbersome and take a toll on the employees, managers as well as company costs. However on the upside, it gives a company the advantage to cut out the competition. Any company not going through or not adopting digital transformation risks becoming obsolete and risks commercial oblivion as its competitors evolve to encounter the new actuality.
Global Reach:
New markets have now opened up to the world as location is no longer a barrier, thanks to the internet. These new markets are a great opportunity for all businesses which have the means and technology required to tap into them. The new communication and transaction tools available have made it possible for companies based in remote places to carry out their business internationally.
Streamlined Operations:
Implementation of new ideas, products and services gets easier as the digital technology makes feedback faster and more accurate. Catching and correcting flaws becomes possible at half the time it would take earlier thus reducing damages and increasing profits.
Employee Benefits and Growth:
A company’s vital asset is the personnel. This cliché has been true over the decades and has not changed even now. In order to make a company grow, the employees must thrive as well. If the employees are happy, they will ensure the customers are happy, which is beneficial for every organization.
The digital age has increased expectations of customers as well as of employees. In order to retain the best employees and keep turnover to a minimum, it is imperative for companies to give workforces the chance to develop and flourish. For example,
- Communication: Effective digital transformation includes a more decentralized communication system, which leads to lesser issues, more unity and smoother operations.
- Core Functions: Manual functions like finance, HR and payroll can be automated. Allowing employees a chance to focus on wider business opportunities.
- Workplace flexibility: It is now possible for people to work from remote locations as long as they have access to the internet. For stay-at-home parents this is a great opportunity to continue work without having to physically be present at the office. Necessary meetings can also be attended virtually.
Allowing employees this freedom also shows a sense of trust in the person which makes them strive to be an asset to the organization. It also attracts suitable and qualified candidates to apply and desire to be a part of the company.
Customer Experience and Customer Retention:
Nowadays customer’s interaction with a company is more online or via a mobile app as opposed to face to face. For example, even when you call a toll free number, problems can be solved via automated phone calls. It is important to ensure that this experience is as smooth and efficient as possible.
Digitally transformed businesses can make the most of VR recordings to check and maintain quality, solve complaints and look into feedback. The data and information from these tools help companies know exactly what the customers’ needs and expectations are. Accordingly the steps can be taken to ensure a great user experience and a loyal customer.
If a company is not digitally savvy, all that data and information, which would help a company grow, would not get its due diligence. Keeping in mind the competitive markets, these companies would be left behind by the organizations who made the most of customer insights.
Artificial Intelligence (AI):
Artificial intelligence is said to be a game changer as an increasing number of everyday tasks are being automated. For a company, this means staff gets more free time to tackle other work and more serious issues. In the next few years, most problems will be solved by AI and only escalated in dire scenarios. As with the data and information, the company with AI developments will have a strategic and competitive advantage in their respective fields.
Cloud Services:
After digital transformation, the next step would be a progression to cloud services. Cloud is central to digital transformation as it offers businesses the space needed to grow their data necessities. A cloud platform along with the data analysed information allows the business to lay its foundation for growth and prosperity.
Cyber Security:
The advent of the digital age also brought malicious cyber-attacks and crimes against organizations. This increased the need for cyber vigilance and security. Businesses would need to proactively protect the company’s interests and this would only be possible by improving their cyber security infrastructure. Failing to do so would leave the company open to security and privacy violations.
From the above, we see the importance of digital transformation for companies and how it affects all interconnected aspects of business i.e. its functions, processes, work models and daily activities. The main aim of digital transformation, apart from increasing revenues at reduced costs, would be to improve the customer’s experience.
If you need any further information on the importance of digital transformations, you can contact the App Scoop mobile app developers : https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html
