What is Digital Transformation?

The world has been going through a major digital transformation which has been accelerated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ever since remote work has become possible (and it looks like it’s also sustainable) almost all companies are now in the process of digital transformation integrating with new technologies and new business models. 

Digital transformation is the integration of an enterprise with digital technology in all areas. It is a process by which companies/organisations embed technologies across their businesses to drive fundamental and structural change.

Digital transformation journeys are no adventures of easy tasks but the benefits are remarkable. Greater business agility, increased efficiency, and most importantly, the unlocking of new value for employees, customers and shareholders. But in order to make this possible, companies operating for different purposes in each industry need to get outside of their comfort zone in order to experiment new management methods.

Are you ready to discover much more about the digital transformation processes which might take you beyond your comfort zone? Let’s take a look at business processes for successful digital transformation strategies. 

Digital transformation is applying digital capabilities to processes, products and assets to enhance efficiency, increase customer value, manage risk and navigate uncertainty through new revenue generation opportunities. In order to adapt, companies must fundamentally change the way they operate, be willing to accept cultural change and rethink their status quo. Digital talent and capabilities are the keys for transformation and exploring new business opportunities. 

Digital transformation can be led by using many different paths making each organisation's digital transformation journey unique. A company might introduce artificial intelligence (AI) or cloud computing to enhance customer experience or it might redesign its supply chain to benefit from machine learning.

Customer expectations have always driven digital transformation on a primary level. In other words, the idea of delivering customer service is always behind these massive developments. New capabilities and new kinds of information are accessible by new technologies. 

Mobile devices, social media, Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing are the examples for these new technologies. And some pioneers -let’s call them disruptors- took over the market share from their competitors by simply applying these new technologies and they were able to reinvent business models such as ecommerce and electronic delivery. Also these technologies were used to optimise processes like supply change management and new feature development. The pioneers adopted new technologies to constantly improve the customer experience like in-context customer reviews and personalised recommendations.

It is crucial for organisations to develop a digital transformation strategy for the simple fact that there are many aspects to the whole process and it requires an integrated approach. Each business obviously draws its own map when building strategies for digital transformation. But it’s crucial to remember that successful digital transformations are in line with the company’s business strategy. This alignment is secured by following two main principles:  

• Going back to ideal customer experience and understanding how it affects the strategy.
• When transforming operations, using a holistic approach which includes making things healthier. . 

Businesses envision the experience they want the customers to have with their product to keep those customers for a long time. This purpose means they must analyse their market to forecast how customer needs or expectations may change. While doing this, they must watch technology trends. 

Having been updated in every way and form, now comes the time for companies or organisations to decide how to transform the digital business from one end to the other. They need to work on infrastructure, operations, product development, and workflows. The final step would be to bring customer experience to life and keep improving it as the opportunities and the circumstances change. 

Examples of Digital Transformation

Although the dynamics of each business are different and the company culture requires different approaches, basically all transformation processes have similar scenarios. Here are some company projects which successfully accomplished digital transformation in the global and local economic systems:

• Converting paper-based information into digital data, meaning digitisation or digitalisation. 
• Transition from physical selling to e-commerce.
• Embedding Artificial Intelligence and machine learning into business analytics to unlock new insights.
• Adaptation from on-premises data centres to cloud computing.
• Improving the employee experience by enabling employees to work remotely.
• Leveraging virtual reality and augmented reality to improve product design and service processes.
• Using big data analytics to be more efficient and to optimise business processes.
• Creating mobile applications allowing customers to interact with the company from a mobile phone.
• Creating digital marketing and social media strategies instead of conventional marketing methods.

Digital Transformation in Finance

Financial sector is among the prominent areas in the digital transformation process. Indeed, financial innovation serves the entire economy by providing remarkable opportunities that go beyond financial institutions. Financial transformation covers banks, insurance companies, mutual funds and other financial services institutions creating new forms of interaction in their products, internal structures and operational processes, managerial practices, customers and distribution channels. As the most important component of financial systems in the world, banking services play a leading role in the financial digital transformation efforts and processes. Mobile banking applications and digital banking procedures show us successful examples of digital transformation in banking and how effectively they are working for customers. 

Digital Transformation and Industry 4.0

Industry 4.0 is among the most talked about concepts in the digital transformation process, in terms of goods being produced and delivered. A series of activities to be carried out for the transition to industrial automation and flexible factories require transformation. To create smart factory systems, digital transformation processes evolve with features such as internet of things (IoT), secure wireless cellular connectivity, data analytics, 3D/4D printing, automation and robotics, smart robots, cybersecurity and blockchain, machine-to-machine (M2M) communication and predictive analytics to make the manufacturing process more efficient and faster.

Comfort zones are among the main factors that explain the individual's response to organisational change. When in their comfort zones, all transactions and operations feel familiar for the employees, hence they have the safety and control of their work. However, for transformation to be successful, it is essential that employees at all levels adopt a mindset which is oriented for growing and learning.

Pragmatic approaches would be useful to make the changes along with the attitude of the leader which plays the role in getting out of the comfort zone without destroying the perception of trust and organisational commitment of the employees in the transformation process.

Naturally, it is important both for the individuals and organisations to get mentorship from experts for Digital Transformation. Speaker Agency's speakers about digital transformation who are experts in their fields; Gerd Leonhard, Mustafa Icil, Tan Le and Chuck Martin offer rational thinking techniques that will create solutions against resisting change by staying in the comfort zone during the digitization process in different sectors. As an employee or manager, contact Speaker Agency to play an active role in the transformation process of your company.