Digital Transformation is not just a trend that a company can decide to opt-out of
— it’s a matter of survival. This is because the way an organization operates — from the ground up — is based on the processes, systems, workflow, and culture created by digital transformation. But for every company, digital transformation will look different.Simply put, digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into all the areas of a business. The results are fundamental changes in how a company delivers value to their customer. And yet, digital transformation is also a change in culture — a methodology requiring that a business be constantly challenging the status quo, make space for experimentation, and to become more comfortable with failure. Unfortunately, this sometimes means pulling out of an established process that a company was built upon for a renovated, refreshed and redesigned system of operation. Those who embrace this journey with the right frame of mind will thrive and be open to exploring new possibilities and opportunities.
Let this be the story that inspires you to fully engage with digital transformation, as it is essential — now more than ever — to embrace the digital age.
Digital: a loaded word.
This one word means many things to many different people. Mention ‘digital’ to one person, and they think of going paperless. Someone else may think of data analytics and artificial intelligence, and another may think of open-plan offices. It’s certainly difficult to lift the veil and unpack the term for every company.
As we have seen in more recent years, it is an essential step in the modernization of a business to fit within the present times.
2020: the year that
showed the importance
of digital transformation.
The pandemic has shown us that an organization's capability to react and adapt quickly — to supply chain disruptions, to time to market pressures, and to the constant change of customer expectations — has become critical.
Companies providing digital services — for example, Zoom, Amazon, and Netflix — have grown exponentially in 2020. It’s no surprise that when we are all forced to remain at home, we look to digital solutions and entertainment to keep our businesses running and our minds occupied.
Korn Ferry's Digital Advisory for North America and Global Accounts leader, Melissa Swift, states, “We've seen the COVID crisis rapidly re-shape both the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ of companies' digital transformation agendas. [...] Today, with a vast portion of the workforce now remote, employee experience of digital technology has gone from
‘nice to have’ to ‘the only way work gets done’. Consequently, it's getting the problem-solving focus it likely long deserved.”How to begin your
digital transformation.
Digital transformation begins with a problem statement, an absolute opportunity, or a motivating goal. The ‘why’ of your business's digital transformation may be about remodelling customer experience, increasing productivity, or elevating profitability. On the other hand, you could be striving to be the best at doing business with or to streamline your customer service process. Choose one way in which you want to better your business — there is certainly an accessible digital solution for this transformation.
The CIO agenda must now not only highlight but prioritize digital transformation in the era of COVID-19. The areas of digital transformation can include, but are not limited to:
- Incorporating tools like chatbots to further enhance customer support
- Adopting various automation tools
- Making fundamental adjustment and dispensing of redundant or conflicting systems
Disrupt, or be disrupted.
In terms of market share, in the next five years, four of today’s top ten incumbents — across the industry — will be displaced by digital disruption.
Organizations can evaluate the speed at which their industry will experience disruption. They then can choose to “disrupt themselves” or potentially be displaced by a new business model. The stakes are high across all industries.
Just as Tesla fused automotive technologies with software — and is now posing its battery innovations as a potential threat to utilities — other “combinatorial disruptors” are no doubt looming. As incumbents rest easy, they could be fusing new combinations of technologies and business models to upend established organizations, if not entire industries. These digital disruptors will innovate rapidly, and then use their innovations to gain market share and scale far faster than challengers still clinging to predominantly physical business models.
Who needs to
digitally transform?
In absolutely every industry — from corporate to government, NGOs, small retailers — everyone must embrace the digital transformational journey.
Whether you’re looking for innovative ways to enhance your digital transformation, or you’re just starting your process through digital transformation, Fullbrains can provide a comprehensive plan. Contact us today.
