Digital Transformation has become a popular topic among businesses, small or large. The world is becoming more and more digital, business owners need to think, how digital transformation help their business to be competitive? Businesses nowadays can’t afford to miss this wave, or they are quickly pushed behind in the market, maybe wiped out.
What is Digital Transformation?
Digital Transformation is a broad term and will vary from business to business.
- Generally, the digital transformation is the incorporation and amalgamation of the digital technology into each and every area of the business. It will change the following:
- How will the business operate?
- How will it deliver its services to the customers?
Sometimes the businesses might have to move to the processes which are still in their beginning phases while leaving aside the long-standing processes. Experimentation and getting comfortable with failure is essential.
- Greg Verdino, an author, says that the digital transformation is the process that brings analog business closer to delivering what the digital customers want the business to offer.
If we summarize the above concepts into one simple concept, then the digital transformation is responsible for providing the precise information to the right person at the exact place where he or she needs it.
Why is Digital Transformation important for Businesses?
The main reason that business opts for the digital transformation is the need to survive. The upgrading technology has forced the companies to merge technology and strategy in order to succeed.
Howard King wrote in an article for the Guardian that businesses need to move towards digital transformation when they have not evolved with time. No business ever prefers to shift to digital transformation as it is a risky as well an expensive process.
The chief information officers (CIOs) should prefer digital transformation at the right time before a startup, or any of their competitors disrupt their success. As per the IDC report on the Web Conference, “FutureScape: Worldwide CIO Agenda 2016 Predictions” about 6 or 7 of the top twenty firms will be obstructed by the competitors in less than five years. It also stated that 70% of the digital transformation strategies would fail because of inadequate management and collaboration.
If still, you think that your business does not need digital transformation, then here are a few other reasons to convince you to transform:
- As most of the firms have already adopted or are going to adopt, the digital transformation, the chances are that your competitors will be among them. They will definitely attract more customers as Forrester Research report said that by 2020 about half of the income of a firm will be driven by the digital technology.
- The efficiency of the system will increase which will lead to more profits.
- The customers are also using digital technology like online shopping or controlling most of their daily life tasks remotely. The businesses are lacking behind, and those who catch up will be successful.
- As per the MIT Center for Digital Business, the firms that have already undergone the digital transformation are making 26% more profit than the companies who have not embraced digital transformation.
- VoIP phone is quickly replacing the conventional one. VoIP leverages standard Internet technologies which make data transmission effective and cost efficient. More importantly, VoIP introduces rich features that significantly increase business productivity.
A Digital Transformation Framework
The framework for digital transformation will vary based on the demands and needs of each organization. Here are some aspects:
- Products and services
- Operations
- Customer service and experience
- All other departments of the organization
All these are to be digitally transformed to increase work efficiency, and it is a step by step process.
Factors to consider while digitally transforming the business
Some tasks of the Transformation:
- Data backup: You need to backup your data so that you do not lose any potential information or key asset. The cloud-based data backup services provide reliable and affordable data backup solutions.
- Data protection: The data backup will be protected and secured by the company providing you cloud-based services, however, you need to protect the data within your organization. If while doing so you can provide remote access to the data the employee needs then this will be a competitive advantage. You might want to go for a Network security system to protect your data.
- Managing the Data Storage: The data that is to be stored in the cloud might be much more than you thought. This is why you need to make smart decisions.
- Adaptive Information management and access: You need to remain ahead of your competitors and for this purpose choose the technology that is recent and new instead of traditional solutions. You can access the E-mail, documents or other related material via the cloud and protect your data. This will enable to respond to any opportunity or even threats quickly.
Digital transformation can make the business more profitable by aligning the services and products with the needs of the customers, it’ll assure resilience in the fast-moving digital future.
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