Businesses in all sectors must embrace digital transformation to remain competitive. However, many people find it daunting to find their path through digital innovation to connect with clients and exert influence in the online world. Transformations are hard, and digital ones are harder, but with digital technologies, businesses can accelerate and optimize their operating model, business processes, and enhance customer experience.
Companies that invest in providing their employees with the digital skills they’ll need in the future will be best positioned to thrive. With digital disruptors shaking up a wide range of industries (take Airbnb and Spotify, for example), it’s high time to consider digital transformation as part of the ultimate goal that each company should aim for.
In this article, we’ll discuss how digital transformation benefits employees and businesses.
Why Is Digital Transformation Important?
Digital transformation refers to the incorporation of internet-based tools and technologies into a company’s operations that are required for the organization to satisfy and even anticipate the demands and needs of its stakeholders.
This shift will impact each layer of the company, and data consolidation will allow for greater efficiency in all departments. Businesses can do more for their customers than ever with the help of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning by automating their workflows and making using more sophisticated processing techniques.
What are the benefits of digital transformation?
Many businesses are pushed toward digital transformation by the need to save money. The expenses of maintaining and protecting data are reduced when it is moved to a cloud service, either public or private. Costs for hardware and software are reduced, and team members are available for other tasks.
As such, here are the benefits of digital transformation and what it can do for your business through digitization.
Improved Data Collection
Most companies are getting vast data of client information, but the actual value comes from utilizing this data in ways that propel the company ahead through research. Through digital transformation, a mechanism is established for collecting relevant data and fully integrating it into existing systems to produce superior business insight.
It establishes a mechanism by which many departments within a company can convert raw data into insights through various points of contact. This consolidates information about customers, products, finances, and potential sales.
It’s essential to assess the process of collecting, storing, analyzing, and sharing customer data. You should think about adding a layer of SaaS data encryption to protect sensitive data when you’re redesigning your IT stack. This is especially important for customer relationship management (CRM) software and other platforms that deal with client data.
Data-driven customer insights
Customer insights may be hidden in data. You may develop a customer-focused business plan by learning more about your customers and their wants and needs. These insights can fuel expansion efforts by incorporating structured data (such as customer profiles) and unstructured data (such as social media analytics).
Improved customer experience is a key benefit of such strategies. Businesses have access to the key information they need to provide their customers with a better experience, delivering tailored offers that meet their needs. By collecting data from customer interactions, companies can gain a better understanding of how customers think and act, which can help them improve customer engagement.
Strategies made possible by data can deliver information that is more timely, specific, and malleable.
Increased profits
Businesses that adopt a digital transformation strategy see gains in productivity and revenue. The SAP Center for Business Insights and Oxford Economics have found the following:
80% of businesses that have completed their digital transformation have seen a rise in revenue.
85% of those polled reported a gain in market share.
Leaders have a greater average expectation for revenue growth of 23% than their rivals.
Increased efficiency
Workflow and productivity can be optimized with the help of the correct set of interoperable technological instruments. Eliminating redundant steps and the centralization of information allows employees to streamline their processes and produce better results. A change management strategy should also be implemented in order to ensure the efficient use of the new technology and that the organization is able to take full advantage of the technology.
Digital innovation limits human error and analyzes data with much more accuracy.
Promotes digital culture (with improved collaboration)
Digital transformation fosters a digital culture by giving team members the appropriate tools for their surroundings. With the automation of tasks, teams can focus their attention on more meaningful and creative work, rather than mundane tasks.
While these technologies make it easier to collaborate, they also help make the entire organization agile, moving forward digitally. This transition in digital culture is critical for firms to remain sustainable. It requires team members to learn new skills to reap the benefits of digital transformation.
Final Thoughts
The ability to pivot fast is becoming essential for any business. Increased disruption and market turbulence increase the possibility of error at every stage of the supply chain. Being ready for what the future holds is important for any business, but getting prepared is where digital transformation comes in. Without the worry of uncertainty, digital transformation means you have the skills to tackle the industry as it is today and the issues that tomorrow may bring. Digital Transformation creates new opportunities and possibilities for businesses to become more efficient, effective, and innovative.