We feel the absence of technology more elegantly than its existence. Our world is digital, and we expect technology to work seamlessly for us. It’s most of the time. Our smartphones hold all the data required (and more) to be efficient all day long — from word processing tools to calendars, home energy reminders to transport solutions, and food delivery services to weather forecasting. But it’s when technology doesn’t work for us that we feel the worst about its absence.
That’s why organizations need to invest in technology that supports both workers and customers in ways that we expect. Clouds, mobile apps, and Stuff-as-a-Service require new forms of storage, research, automation, and management. One invention leads to another; new technology leads to process changes that lead to improved products and services. Customers then expect even more change because they have become used to those experiences in our daily life.
In this article, I will completely guide you about Digital Transformation. You will have a clear understanding of Digital Transformation after reading this article.
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation is what happens to organizations by introducing modern and creative ways of doing business based on technological advancements. It is a process of dramatically altering anything using modern technologies and explaining the introduction of technology and, possibly, cultural changes to enhance or replace something that existed before. Digital transformation is not a product or solution to be bought, but it affects everything IT affects in every industry.
Some Facts & Figures — Importance of Digital Transformation:
The total cost of digital transformation technologies — hardware, software, and services — was $1.3 trillion in 2017, according to IDC. The technology research company expects to invest about twice as much between now and 2021 when the cumulative amount spent on digitalization globally will reach $2.1 trillion.
In a survey conducted by IT analyst Gartner of 460 executives, 62 percent said that they had a management strategy or technology to make their business more digital. Just over half (54 percent) said that their digital business goal is transformational, while 46 percent said that the objective of the project is optimization.
According to a recent survey conducted by Grant Thornton, more than two-thirds (69 percent) of CFOs and senior financial executives are planning to increase their investment in technology that accelerates business change, and four in ten say they are planning to increase their investment by more than 10 percent over the next 12 months. Only around half said that their businesses’ digital transformation investments are meant to help them overcome their competition through differentiation.
Executives assume that the amount of investment already leaves a mark. Forty-six percent assume that half of their sales will be digital by 2020, according to analyst Forrester. The World Economic Forum suggests that the potential of digital transformation for both society and business could hit $100 trillion by 2025.
How Digital Transformation can reshape your Business?
For many businesses, the driver of digital transformation is cost-related. Moving data to a public, private, or hybrid cloud system decreases running costs. It frees up hardware and software costs while releasing team members to focus on other projects.
- Increase your Productivity:
Digital Transformation of business enables you to better evaluate all production processes, assess each level, and identify disputes, incongruities, and difficulties. Digitalization of documentation and the disappearance of space and time barriers arising from the optimization of resources and the streamlining of manufacturing and marketing processes.
Digitization enables the company to be more effective. According to the study ‘Walking the Digital tightrope’ published by Fujitsu, companies that have adopted digitization have improved their efficiency by 39 percent.
- Greater Resource Management :
Digital transformation integrates data and resources into a suite of business tools. Rather than dispersed software and databases, it brings all company resources together in one place. In 2020, the average number of applications used in enterprise companies is 900. This makes it exceptionally difficult to provide a consistent experience. In a core framework for business intelligence, digital transformation will combine applications, databases, and apps.
Digital transformation is neither a department nor a functional entity. It encompasses all areas of business and can lead to innovation processes and efficiency across units.
- Improve Customer Experience:
Another advantage of business digitization is that it helps to provide enhanced customer service and improves customer contact. Digitization creates a closer relationship with and added value for clients and prospective customers. It also enables new distribution channels, such as e-commerce or social media networks, to be used. Just create a website that allows your business to be on the market 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
- Boost and Strengthen your Brand:
For many businesses, digitization not only means that their internal processes are more fluent but also gives the organization a competitive advantage in the market.
- Encourages Digital Culture:
By empowering team members with the right tools tailored to their workplace, digital transformation promotes a digital culture.
While these tools offer a simple way to work together, they also help drive the whole enterprise digitally forward. In the future, this digital culture will be key. It forces team members to take advantage of digital transformation’s features through uptake and digital learning.
Some Examples from the Real World:
- McDermott International is creating a digital twin, a computer model of the oil and gas platform facilities that it provides to its clients. The firm envisages a 15% increase in operating margins by using the two-way design approach in key areas such as predictive maintenance. Gartner believes that half of the industrial firms will use digital twins by 2021.
- UPS Logistics company places analysis and insight at the heart of business operations. The firm uses real-time data, advanced analytics, and AI to help employees make better decisions. The company has recently released the third version of its chatbot, which uses AI to help customers find prices and monitor information.
Future of Digital Transformation:
Digitization provides so many opportunities for both businesses and individuals. People are becoming more open to accepting technology and navigating digital change. The transformation budgets will increase according to Forrester and its digital business forecast.
Businesses are expected to transform their workflows, customer experience, and create differences between site, mobile apps, and offline interaction.
In this period of digital transformation, computer software companies are motivated to create smarter solutions that will give businesses a competitive advantage.
Conclusion:
Digital transformation has been a fast-moving phase for three decades. The concept has evolved over the years and will continue to do so – from data mining and simple online communication to machine learning and the Internet of Things. The demand for business applications has been dominated by single-feature tools and clunky obsolete enterprise systems. Extending the uncertainty of the future would require an increase in holistic business management systems that are robust, but easily scalable and agile at the same time.