Digital Transformation: The Key to Business Survival

Many firms worldwide have gotten acquainted with the notion of Digital Transformation in recent years. And that is now no longer an option. It is the factor that decides a company's or organization's existence.

Digital Transformation is The Key to Business Survival

The world has been progressively changing over the past two years due to Digital Transformation, particularly in the business realm. It alters how businesses operate and has an effect on how they interact with their customers.

The Digital Transformation process for each firm normally follows a unique path that is based on the unique business models of each enterprise. Under the influence of COVID-19, Digital Transformation has advanced more quickly and even on a broader scale than ever before.

Digital Transformation is now no longer an option

According to The CMO Survey (2021) on their published article namely The CMO Survey: Marketing Leaders Rise to Direct Digital Transformation for Their Firms, many marketing directors of large firms are focusing their efforts on creating a customer-centric digital interface as part of a business model deployment that prioritizes digital transformation.

Other SMEs business managers agree that digital transformation is not a short-term trend but a vital decision of an enterprise. For small and medium-sized businesses, properly implementing digital transformation in marketing and sales will lead to tremendous competitive advantage.

The significance of these findings demonstrates that a majority of organizations have acknowledged the value of digital transformation and are cognizant of the need to make the necessary and appropriate investment in building a strong digital foundation in order to maximize their marketing and sales success. Also, business executives are especially interested in learning how to improve digital governance during this transitional period.

What is the essence of Digital Transformation?

No two days are the same and no two identical enterprises ever existed. Therefore, it is accurate to say that no two businesses have ever implemented Digital Transformation under the same framework. This explains why several interpretations of what Digital Transformation existed.

According to The Journal of Strategic Information Systems (2019), Digital Transformation is the adoption of digital technology by an organization. 

Salesforce – a leading expert in customer relationship management software – states on their website that Digital Transformation is the process of using digital technologies to create new - or modify existing - business processes, culture, and customer experiences to meet changing business and market requirements.

Digital Transformation transforms business operations and optimizes business models

Lindsay Herbert (2017) – an IBM Inventor and the Chief Innovation Officer for IBM Garage – in her amazing book Digital Transformation: Build Your Organization's Future for the Innovation Age said: 

”Digital Transformation is about finding the new business as usual. It takes the right people with the right attitudes and mindsets to get there. Real Digital Transformation is about the organization’s ability to be able to react to use new processes, technologies and ways of working.”

Considering the most recent developments and tendencies, it can be understood that the application of cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Internet of Things, Big Data, Embedded Systems, etc. to transform business operations and optimize business models in order to offer customers new values is known as Digital Transformation. 

Why should Digital Transformation be implemented?

The many advantages of Digital Transformation include customer experience optimization, productivity enhancement, driving data-driven insights, and process & automation consolidation, all of which help enterprises grow and prosper while maintaining a strong competitive edge. However, when engaging in Digital Transformation, it's important to keep in mind two fundamental elements that can assist organizations in the long run.

Naturally, improving service quality and enhancing customer experience are the main advantages. One of the key tactics for business success is the Digital Transformation approach built around improving customer experience. Businesses can gain a deeper understanding of customer behavior and demands through Digital Transformation by gathering data from reliable sources. Looking back at what happened during COVID-19 when travel and mobility were challenging, businesses can still engage with customers to comprehend their intent and behavior and then offer the right products based on data sources that have been gathered.

Improving service quality and enhancing customer experience are fundamental elements of Digital Transformation 

As was also mentioned, the foundation of developing your business plan and long-term business value is effective data analysis and utilization to serve your business. The proper perspective on data-related challenges is always necessary for a successful Digital Transformation effort. 

Many firms already have a ton of data, but they still aren't sure how to organize and utilize it efficiently. If data is handled properly, it can develop into a priceless resource that aids decision-making by leaders. On the other hand, the execution of Digital Transformation will still take a long time without a proper understanding of data issues.

Barriers to Digital Transformation  

Technology plays a significant role in Digital Transformation, but it is not the most crucial. The key elements in the process of Digital Transformation are the development mindset, the vision of the leaders, and corporate culture.

Often, the majority of the company's executives are not particularly tech-savvy, therefore they frequently require a team of counsel specialists. The company's key employees must, however, participate in the main process so that the whole thing absolutely cannot be left in the hands of the outsourced team.

Technology plays a significant role in Digital Transformation, but it is not the most crucial one

In addition, dealing with such a significant change requires completely getting rid of the old way of doing things and stepping outside of one's comfort zone to accept an entirely new method of working. Not everyone finds this acceptable, especially as it will be harder for senior leaders who are considered less adaptable to new solutions.

Digital Transformation also takes a lot of effort and money. For the Digital Transformation process to provide real outcomes for enterprises, it takes at least two, three, or even more years. This is a long-term plan that involves a significant time and financial investment.

Quan Dinh Writer

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References:

What Is Digital Transformation? (Salesforce) 

What is Digital Transformation? (IBM)

Understanding Digital Transformation: A review and a research agenda (2019)

Digital Transformation by Lindsay Herbert: An Executive Summary

The CMO Survey: Marketing Leaders Rise to Direct Digital Transformation for Their Firms

CMO survey warns talent shortage is holding the industry back