Digital Transformation: Everything You Didn't Know

We are living in a rapidly changing digital era, and adopting new technology is imperative to survive. Whether you represent a business, corporate, or an individual, digital transformation is the need of the day to grow and stay relevant. Transforming a business on digital grounds is the only way to unleash new horizons of growth and there are specific steps one can follow to allow for smooth transitions between existing business models and digitalized ones.

Let’s discuss all aspects of digital transformation or DT that you may not have known before.

Understand What Is Digitization, Digitalization, and Digital Transformation

The perspective of digitally transforming businesses is perceived differently all over the world at its inception, and led to a lot of confusion regarding its purpose, meaning, and process. So it is important to understand the following terms as they are often erroneously interchanged:

Digitization

The term digitization defines the process of converting a physical object or thing into a digital representation. A file scanned and converted in digital format like a word document or PDF is the best example. According to Gartner, converting a non-digital entity (analog) into a digital artifact is call digitization. The digitized file can then be processed through computer systems.

Digitalization

Digitalization doesn’t really have a solid, single, and clear explanation as it is an interchangeable term used extensively to refer to a way of restructuring various social domains through digitization. According to Gartner Glossary, is the closest to our intents and purposes of this blog. It is changing a business process by using various digital technologies for new revenue opportunities is digitalization. 

Digital Transformation

Digitization and digitalization both combine to transform any business digitally. It is a change in culture, organization, and operations by integrating and adopting digital technologies. We can also say that a digital business transformation is enabled by both digitalization and digitization both.

The final analysis of these three inter-related terms can be:

• First, we digitize the information
• Secondly, we digitalize our operation’s roles and processes, and
• Third, we transform our business and its strategies digitally.

Since all three terms are often mixed and confused it can create misconstructions for businesses when they want to transform themselves digitally. Hence it results in an error in their digital expedition. People think that hiring a mobile app developer is enough to adapt to digital technology and transformation. But it is far beyond that.

Pillars of Digital Transformation

Transforming your business digitally does not only mean adopting new technologies but changing your business model from scratch. There are the following basic underpinnings for it. Let's go through them

1. Customer Experiences

According to a survey conducted by IBM, 68% of Chief Executive Officers expect companies to focus on customer experiences over their products.

It is important to understand how customers experience your business before you invest in technology for DT. Customer expectations and demands play a vital role in transforming your business digitally. Companies like Nike, Apple, and Starbucks connected deeply with their customers to know their feedback before they transformed their business digitally.

1. Employees Empowerment

Companies investing in employees and their people can transform digitally much quicker than others as they are a critical part of any organization. Transformation goals cannot be achieved without empowering employees with the latest technology. One should prioritize it to progress, provide better customer experiences, and build loyalty within the organization.

Although Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and Augmented Reality technologies are growing, we cannot replace people with them. The main purpose of these technologies should be to provide better experiences that reach employees and customers directly. That is why talent is also critical along with advancement to transform business digitally. An app developer may know how to code like a pro but still needs more skills and motivation to serve with full potential.

1. Cultural Change and Innovation

Transformation is dependent on innovation: an innovative idea can change the culture of your business process. Bringing innovation in business processing is a key to transforming it, and starting small and gradually bringing positive changes in your business results in better performance.

If you want your business to be successfully transformed digitally, there should be a culture change in how you work. Change is tough and but it is inevitable. It requires you to communicate with your employees clearly about your expectations so that positive cultural change becomes directly proportional to a good strategy, environment and tools, and of course, an innovation. An effective communication, stakeholder collaboration, and decision-making freedom involve all these processes.

1. Visionary Leadership

Visionary leadership is necessary for any organization to transform digitally. A leader must clearly visualize how the organization will transform digitally and then stay involved in the whole process. If the leader sets an example, it compels others to implement it. Hence involvement is not enough; lead is a must. The transformation leader has the decision-making power and the right decision is the guaranty of a successful DT.

Transforming a business on your own sometimes can become difficult. Of course, you may need professional assistance and guidance in this process, so you do have the option to contact us for help. Appedology is one of the fastest-growing app development companies in Corona, California. We provide effective solutions to transform your business digitally by integrating the latest technology. Call us or email us anytime for free consultancy on how you can transform your business digitally.

Digital Transformation Benefits

Yes! Digitally transforming a business brings a lot of benefits to the table, here are some of them

1. Enhanced Customer Experience

According to a Statista survey in 2019, approximately 70% of the organizations agree that implementing digital transformation enhanced and elevated the customer experience.

The reason is that consumers these days want everything latest and upgraded to bring value to their lives. Customers expect convenience and ease, and that’s why businesses try to provide them the best by transforming themselves digitally. Adapting the latest technologies let businesses improve their products, services, and how customers interact with them. 

1. Data Stats and Analytics

A digitally transformed business has effective business strategies to generate revenues. It becomes possible through the deep insight of data, stats, and analytics. All important decisions are based on research and data analysis that results in a sustainable business approach and high ROIs. 

One can collect important data regarding their target audiences, competitors, consumer trends, etc., and use these insights for hyper-personalization. These stats and analytics are also important for effective digital marketing and business strategies. 

1. Encourages Collaboration in Different Business Departments 

Often change is not welcomed with open arms by people invested as employees in businesses. People do not want to leave their comfort zone and this practice is not new. But by transforming your business digitally, you can bring a positive change by encouraging collaboration between various departments of the business.  The whole process is all about collecting your workforce on a single platform and empowering them with technology. But to do so they must embrace the change. 

1. Create Room for Innovation

The status quo is disastrous for any business progress. One should be agile in developing and staying evolved. Innovation is the only way for it! By transforming digitally, businesses bring innovation into their processes. Transforming digitally demands creating room for change in organizational, cultural, and operational structure.

1. Learning and Adapting To New Technology 

Although transforming your business digitally is not just about adopting new technology, but it is vital. There is so much room for learning the latest technologies and implementing them in business processes because transformation on a digital level always forces people to learn updated skills and empowers them with the latest technology. There are many tools and technologies  one could master to elevate your business to a whole new level, such as:

• Machine learning (ML)
• Cloud computing
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Augmented Reality (AR)
• Digital marketing
• Ethical hacking etc.

Wrapping up:

There are many misconceptions regarding digital business transformation. Keep in mind the following things while you think to digitally transform your business.

• Digital business transformation is not always meant as the adaptation of every latest technology. It is important to integrate those digital technologies to upgrade business structure.
• Digital business transformation is not about creating a website, mobile application, or web app. It's how you can improve your business performance consistently using these mediums.
• Digital marketing is part of digital business transformation and helps businesses to use the internet for advertising. 
• Transforming businesses digitally is not a one-day process. It will take time, investment, and effort.
• Digital business transformation is not only the responsibility of the IT department. From CEO to junior account executives, all should be involved in it.

If you want to opt for digital business transformation and don't know from where to start, reach out to our expert team at Appedology. We understand how important app development is and creating the right steps for your digitalization is our priority too. We will strive to help you in transforming your business on all levels digitally and you will be able to minimize difficulties you may face in this domain.  Contact us on phone or via email to get complete details.