Digital Transformation determines the future of your business in the digital age

Business transformation in times of digitalization means radical changes for every company. But it is worth the effort to work on structures, strategies, processes and the corporate culture.

In this article, you will find out why digital business transformation is more than digitalization, why it is necessary and how digital changes work.

Business transformation - Why at all?

"Our company is doing well!" "Never change a running system!" You hear these and other sentences too often when you talk to successful entrepreneurs about the need for digital business transformation. And it is hardly surprising.

Why should a company that has been asserting itself for decades suddenly invest a lot of money and time to change things for which there appears to be no need for change? Quite simply: Because in times of globalization and digitization, competition is getting tougher every day.

Transformations are hard, digital ones even harder

Digital transformation is not just a trend, it means the integration of digital technology in all areas of a business, fundamentally changing the way it operates and providing value to its customers. It improves workflows, optimizes existing processes, increases customer satisfaction and internal efficiency.

Every change comes with difficulties. Controlling the transition requires specialists. From the digital change in the HR department to marketing transformation, there are plenty of opportunities. However, this does not mean that everything has to happen at the same time, a mistake that many companies make.  It should be part of a long-term strategy to enable digital change on a large scale and at the same time adapt to the hybrid nature of modern work environments.

As a result, digital transformation should enable organizations to automate and digitize important processes and at the same time improve the output of non-digital workflows. Progress will continue and digital work will eventually become standard. Companies will organize their departments better, create value faster and more effectively.

Use technology, seize opportunities - Welcome to the Digital Age

IT is the engine of digital transformation. Each industry can benefit from the technological developments of the "Digital Age". The use of modern software, the Cloud, IoT, AR/VR technology, blockchain, wearables and other modern technologies, offer the potential to revolutionize decades-old processes. This means designing products more precisely and with a shorter time-to-market, designing operational processes more efficiently, gaining new customers and opening up markets or building more efficient supply chains. Studies have also shown that employees are happier when they work in modern companies. And satisfied employees are more productive than those who have something to complain about.

Possibilities of digitization

For companies, digital transformation offers numerous options for optimization, increasing sales and reducing costs. Many companies that are digitized already benefit from huge savings. The same work can be done with less effort or in less time. Due to the improved infrastructure, the effort for management and administrative work is reduced. The starting points for the optimization towards digital business must be products, processes, applications and communication.

Leveraging technologies to redefine Business

A good strategy takes into account various elements and tries to unite or improve them in companies. The graphic below shows the most important areas to consider when digitizing.

Customer Experience

Analyze, segment and address customers personally.

It is a fact that new business models must be specially adapted to the needs of customers. Companies are becoming increasingly focused on marketing and their customers. Understanding customers is vital for companies. This understanding can be achieved through social media, big data and the evaluation of internal data. Nowadays, customers are releasing more and more data, which means that completely new conclusions can be drawn that can ultimately be used. As a result, new products, services or even business models can be adapted.

In order to achieve top-line sustainable growth, of course, the knowledge gained from customer data must also be used. Predictions can be made about how customers will behave and what they potentially want, and this knowledge can be used across multiple channels. Omni-channel and multi-channel are examples of these new opportunities to address customers via multiple channels. This enables businesses to meet the personal needs of their customers and provide them with optimal information, solutions and customer service.

Operational Process

Increase productivity, improve performance and find new efficient ways.

Every company consists of the operational processes, which range from administration to employees and resources. The digital transformation offers an approach to optimize all processes. Partial areas can be automated, some simplified or some even eliminated. The use of APIs can help simplify systems and allow them to communicate with each other in order to overcome the limits of individual systems.

The workstations are going virtual, facilitating effective collaboration and networking among sales and frontline employees. Workers are adopting collaboration tools to share knowledge, identify experts and solve problems in real-time.

Business model

Reinvent products, discover new niches and offer digital products.

Digitization enables new products. Many businesses have started selling digital products to complete traditional products. For example, the smartphone was unthinkable 10 years ago and today everyone has one in hand. Existing products can be improved with new features, new products can be developed based on the knowledge gained from customer data, or completely new digital products can be brought onto the market.

Businesses are combining digital offerings with traditional products to transform a new growth business. They are using digital tools to make the content shareable across the organization.

Multinational corporations are combining digital tools with integrated information to enable co-ordination between global employees while being locally responsive.

Digital transformation in your company? Let's do IT!

The complexity of digital transformation is probably one of the biggest hurdles for successful and necessary change in many industries. But you don't have to face this challenge alone!

The Indrivo team supports you in making the best possible use of the opportunities and possibilities of digital transformation for your company.