DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION SOLUTIONS
The Business Benefits of Digital Transformation
Why You Need Digital Transformation to Survive
Digital transformation describes the adoption of digital technologies to improve business processes. In part, it refers to the adoption of technologies that integrate the front and back office, providing one coherent and transparent view of the organization. Specifically, it breaks down silos that inhibit the free flow of information.
The process entails the transformation of the organization's business from physical solutions to digital solutions. This can mean many things and includes:
- Online stores in addition to retail stores
- Adoption of new digital technologies that offer competitive advantages
- A consistent and improved customer experience
- Visibility through the organization
- Transitioning to Industry 4.0 technologies
- Deploying Internet of Things (IoT) devices
Examples of digital transformation in Canada include the implementation of customer focused digital tools like constant connectivity and mobile applications to help improve the customer journey and using AI and predictive analysis to improve supply chain and maintenance costs.
Why is Digital Transformation Important?
The last few years have seen unprecedented changes in businesses. The recent pandemic forced many companies to work remotely, and organizations are now grappling with developing new work structures that meet business objectives and accommodate flexible working arrangements.
These changes highlight the urgent need for digital transformation, which overcomes the barriers imposed by manual processes in physical offices. They also reinforce the need for online access to pertinent information from customers and corporate systems. They have revealed the weaknesses of legacy systems that create information silos which inhibit corporate flexibility.
Fortunately, the growth of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies can help tap into corporate databases or information hidden in unstructured emails, call centre records and customer feedback from social media.
Benefits of Digital Transformation
Many companies find that digital transformation can reduce overhead and increase profitability. Moving to a cloud-based environment reduces the need for software and hardware and allows employees to work on multiple projects at once. Other benefits of digital transformation include:
- Agility: With better access to information and trends, companies can respond quickly to changes in the marketplace
- Productivity: Shared work platforms, the elimination of manual processes and online access to information improve employee collaboration and productivity
- Improved customer experience: Seamless customer interfaces and buying experiences increase sales and encourage return customers
- Better analytics: Predictive analytics driven by machine learning help organizations make better decisions
Foundational Digital Transformation Technologies
As an organization moves towards digital transformation, certain foundational technologies need to be put into place. These include:
Digital Transformation Technologies
Three key digital transformation technologies include customer experience technology, artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0 solutions (sensors and IoT).
Customer Experience Technology
With the introduction of digital technologies, customer expectations have changed significantly. Customers have become used to performing their research to obtain information about products and services. They want answers immediately or they go elsewhere. This means having effective customer experience technology is crucial, especially as customers rate companies primarily on their digital customer experience.
Customers aren't willing to wait for call centres to answer, and companies need effective tools to answer queries and provide pertinent information automatically. Chatbots and digital assistants are key technologies for effective customer service applications, especially for commonly asked questions. Augmented and virtual reality tools are other key customer experience technologies, as they can help customers explore products and specify options when browsing.
Artificial Intelligence
AI technologies like machine learning are important digital transformation tools. They allow businesses to understand customer intent and personalize offers. Using a combination of data and guided machine learning, algorithms solve many business problems. They are a vital component in predictive analytics commonly used for guiding business decisions, market predictions, loan approvals, credit ratings and fraud detection.
Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is a term used to describe smart factories using autonomous systems, Internet of Things devices and artificial intelligence. It envisions a factory filled with smart sensors and IoT devices that monitor machinery and production lines, providing data that are analyzed in real-time by machine learning algorithms to increase productivity, monitor machine health and predict machine downtime.
Implementing Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is a process that requires a firm commitment and a clear plan. While the benefits of a properly thought-out digital transformation strategy are immense, the process entails fundamental changes in how an organization functions.
Because of this, a good way to get going is to start small and gradually develop your digital transformation technology. There are various ways to get started, but many organizations will need outside assistance to develop their digital transformation process. We at CDW work with many partners and offer advanced digital transformation technologies.
