Digital technologies are important now more than ever, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic when meeting face-to-face can mean risking one’s health. Tools such as video calls and online collaboration platforms have revolutionized the business world and allowed employees to work from anywhere. In the world of business, they are also vital because they bring new ways to stay ahead of the competition and deliver value to customers.
Technological change is not new, but it is happening at a pace faster than ever before. It can lead to the digital version of FOMO (fear of missing out), compelling businesses to seek out digital transformation initiatives.
What Is Digital Transformation?
Digital transformation refers to the use of digital technology in all business processes. It looks different in every company, but it mostly means evaluating long-standing systems and workflows. Sometimes it requires you to walk away from a decades-long work culture and replace it with new processes that are still being developed.
Digital transformation not only fundamentally transforms the way your business operates—it is a complete cultural change that requires constant experimentation. It is not for businesses that may be uncomfortable with change and innovation.
Why Does Digital Transformation Matter?
Processes and systems are what make businesses operate. If workflows are inefficient and ineffective, it can affect the performance of the overall company and its outputs.
Many businesses are now taking advantage of workflow automation and advanced processing, such as machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). Shifting to these right away can be challenging, especially if you and your team have been working in more traditional ways for years, however, making this change might be necessary to ensure your business grows and stays competitive.
What Are the Types of Digital Transformation?
Many corporations still view digital transformation too narrowly by focusing only on one type of change, but there are different types of digital transformation to consider:
- Cultural or organizational transformation
Re-assessing and redefining organizational mindsets, processes, and talent capabilities is part of full, long-term digital transformation. It requires taking active steps to bring positive change to the organization, building agile workflows, and having a bias toward learning and testing. - Process transformation
Business processes can be reinvented in new valuable ways using data, analytics, machine learning, and other technologies to save time, increase productivity and work quality, and lower costs. For example, a restaurant can pursue process transformation to improve customer experience by re-imagining its food ordering process. They can partner with an app development company to let customers order seamlessly and efficiently from any device. As the restaurant makes ordering even easier for their customers, they can boost their sales. - Domain transformation
Domain transformation involves using new technologies that redefine products and services. It is a type of transformation that offers the chance to create new value because these technologies provide the opportunity to tap into new audiences.
Recognizing new domain opportunities is important in this type of digital transformation. To demonstrate how it works, an online retailer, for example, can expand into a new market domain by launching a new service using strong digital capabilities.
Conclusion
As technology constantly evolves, companies will have to keep up with them to stay competitive and keep customers. Businesses that take on digital transformation initiatives are likely to experience growth and innovation and attract new customers. Those who fail to recognize the importance of digital transformation and don’t pursue it may find themselves missing out on the opportunity to grow their business further.
Everestek is a modern technology services company specializing in digital solutions, including cloud services, UI/UX, mobile services, and more. Contact us to learn more about how we can help address your technology needs!
