Digital transformation involves using technology to reinvent businesses and create new products, services and customer experiences. It can include leveraging technologies like AI, cloud computing, social media and sensing technology to meet business needs and improve productivity.
Companies should start by understanding their objectives to succeed in digital transformation. They should prioritize transforming domains that will add significant value to their business.
Artificial Intelligence
Companies are transforming their business operations to take advantage of digitized technologies. This keeps them responsive to the ever-changing market demands and customer expectations.
Whether it’s Alexa ordering pizza or Facebook suggesting news stories, AI is increasingly present in our daily lives. It also drives digital transformation across every sector, from product design to supply chains to customer service.
Businesses that fail to adapt to this new business landscape risk being left behind. Those that adopt integrated digital processes will gain a competitive edge.
Robotic Process Automation
The digital transformation uses technology to automate processes and enable omnichannel customer interactions. According to technology experts like Shohreh Abedi, these technologies can improve the employee experience (the pillar most directly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic), optimize infrastructure, simplify management, and provide access to ever-growing data stores.
Despite the name, no physical robots are involved in robotic process automation (RPA). Instead, this software automates human-like tasks by logging into applications, entering data, or copying data between workflows.
Big Data
Digital transformation is one of the buzziest phrases in business. However, it can sometimes be difficult to understand exactly what it means.
It could mean upgrading systems, incorporating new technology or adapting to a new organizational structure. It may also include leveraging big data to manage your company’s information better.
Please think of how Netflix shook up the video rental industry with its library of streaming content. Its digital transformation was fueled by innovations that enabled it to disrupt the established market and win over customers.
Cloud Computing
Many businesses undergo digital transformation due to the need to upgrade technology, incorporate new technology or adapt to a changing organizational structure. This requires an integration capability and composable architecture that supports agile work processes and allows for easy deployment of tools.
Cloud computing allows business ideas that previously required prohibitive amounts of processing power or scale to be realized. This means that agile companies can exploit opportunities with unparalleled agility. In the race to value, this will make all the difference.
Internet of Things
Using technologies to design and build new products and services and transform existing ones is a key element of digital transformation. These include the Internet of Things, cloud computing, big data and robotic process automation.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced businesses across all industries to implement changes to compete and serve customers. These included remote working, advanced technology in operations and cloud migration.
Successful transformation requires a strategy that harnesses computer-based digital technologies to achieve strategic objectives based on an organization’s digital business model. This includes enhancing customer experience and adding a new revenue stream.
Mobility
Digital transformation offers a path for businesses to enter new domains and industries they never could before. Examples include ride-sharing, music and video distribution (Netflix) and even insurance companies that charge customers by the mile.
Using business technology to streamline existing processes is the second pillar of digital transformation. It can save time by automating reports and simplifying management, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic initiatives. It also improves agility and flexibility. This is often achieved by integrating systems that eliminate siloed data.
Social Media
To successfully implement cutting-edge technologies, organizations must determine how to utilize them to achieve strategic objectives. This is where a clear digital transformation strategy comes into play.
Many companies embark on a digital transformation journey to increase efficiency, boost productivity and create new revenue streams. The digital transformation process can also help to cultivate a culture of digital innovation and upskill employees. In doing so, it can provide a competitive advantage. It can also position a company for a future where technology drives business.
Analytics
As businesses implement digital transformation, they must look for ways to improve business models and processes rather than simply enhancing existing ones. This requires fresh ideas — and the ability to transform good ideas into organizational objectives.
Using technology to automate inefficient business processes is one way that companies can achieve the goal of digital transformation. Other examples include digitizing ink-on-paper records, enabling work-from-anywhere environments, and using sensing technologies, virtual and augmented reality and video analytics.
Choosing the right technology is important, but it’s equally vital to understand what you want to achieve through digital transformation.
