The world of digital transformation is a competitive space, and every company is looking for a way to accelerate its business. Digital transformation worldwide has accelerated because of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a survey conducted by Harvard Business Review, 86% of the 326 business executives surveyed said that their company started digital adoption during the recent pandemic.
As everyone tries to achieve digital transformation, it’s not easy to stay ahead of the curve, but it is possible—if you know how to leverage your existing business strategy. Here are five ways that companies can achieve digital acceleration in their businesses:
Find the Right Technology
When it comes to technology, there’s a lot of noise. Everyone is offering some new solution or cool product that will help you do what they do better. But before you start looking at solutions, it’s essential to clearly understand your current needs and goals to make an informed decision about what type of technology would work best for your business.
For example, artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the most helpful technologies. A Bloomberg report says that the global AI market stands at over $422 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 39.5% by 2028. However, it doesn’t mean AI will be beneficial for all businesses. For example, a small local business owner without a website may not need an AI-powered chatbot. Instead, they might need a simple CRM solution that can help them maintain client data.
Similarly, the Internet of things (IoT) is another popular technology that can be very helpful for businesses. It allows companies to collect data from various devices and sensors to gain insights into their operations.
Technology is constantly changing and evolving, so it’s essential to keep up with the latest trends. But before you invest in any new technology, make sure it’s the right fit for your business.
When it comes to technology, there are many options available, and it can be challenging to decide which one is right for your business. It’s important to take the time to understand your needs and
One way to get clarity on this question is by asking yourself questions like What are my long-term goals? How does my choice today affect those goals in 3 or 5 years? What technologies might impact those long-term plans? Is there something else out there that fits my needs better than what I am currently using now?
Partner With the Right IT Company
Technology and digital acceleration are complex things. As rightly stated in a Forbes blog, digital acceleration is an entirely technical process. This means that you will need a team of technology experts to get it right. You can hire an in-house team, but that would be costly. Hence, you need to hire an IT company to help you with the digital acceleration process.
There are many things that you should look for in an IT company, but the most important is that it understands your business strategy. For example, if you are trying to grow your business by acquiring new customers through digital channels, you need a partner to help you. If the technology is unavailable or does not meet your needs, it will be difficult for your organization to succeed.
Moreover, you need to find a company that can be responsive and close by. While you can go with remote outsourcing, hiring a local IT company is best. Hiring a local IT company to modernize your company will make the acceleration process seamless. The reason is that you can know how they work and their team with a local company. And in case of any issues, you can get in touch with them easily. This will eliminate most communication challenges as you can have face-to-face meetings with the company’s executives to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Make Your Tech Architecture Flexible
When you have a flexible architecture, you’re able to adapt to change. That’s why developing an infrastructure that can be upgraded in response to new market conditions or changing customer needs is essential. Here are a few ways to make your tech architecture flexible:
- Use cloud-based solutions whenever possible. This will allow you to scale your infrastructure up or down as needed. You can select from public, private, or hybrid cloud models. However, the public cloud offers the best potential to get started as the public cloud vendors will offer support whenever required. That’s why Gartner predicts worldwide public-cloud end-user spending to reach $500 billion in 2022.
- Use modular software whenever possible. This will allow you to quickly and easily swap out modules if needed. You can achieve this with the help of microservices architecture, which allows separating different functionalities of an application in different containers instead of a single software as a whole.
- Use open standards whenever possible. Open standards mean that the new addition should be able to integrate with the existing infrastructure. For example, an open-structure cybersecurity solution will be able to integrate with existing firewalls, network routers, and other security solutions. This will allow you to integrate more easily with other systems and technologies.
- Use APIs whenever possible. APIs enable adding more functionalities with ease. This will allow you to connect different systems and technologies quickly.
- Ensure your data is stored in a format that can be easily accessed and changed. This will enable you to adapt more rapidly to changes in the market.
Don’t Rush the Digital Transformation
According to Forbes, 84% of companies fail in digital transformation. On the other hand, according to assessments by McKinsey, BCG, KPMG, and Bain & Company, the failure rates can range between 70% and 95%. One of the primary reasons behind the high failure is that businesses do not take things slow. Most companies need instant results, which is not going to happen.
It’s important to understand that digital transformation is not a one-time event. The process requires you to continuously adapt and improve, so there’s no “finished.” You may find that your current strategy needs some changes as well! So don’t rush the digital transformation. Instead of doing everything at once, take your time and create a plan that works for you and your business.
Don’t get distracted by the latest technology or try to do everything yourself if it means sacrificing quality to save money or time. By doing this, you’ll only end up paying more in the long run if something goes wrong later on down the road because no one else understands how everything works together. This can be especially true regarding customer experience initiatives: customer service agents are often trained on outdated software systems, which are harder for them than newer ones.
Finally: don’t expect 100% success when implementing these new processes into your workflow because even big organizations like Amazon make mistakes sometimes!
Conclusion
Embracing the digital world is no longer a choice. It’s an imperative. To succeed in business today, you must digitize your operations and gain the benefits of digital acceleration.
