There were several notions regarding digital transformations services upheld by companies before the pandemic. These have all been transformed and a new light has been drawn on the immense potential of digital transformation. The companies are hence asked to focus on the following initiatives.
First Initiative
When Covid-19 led to shutdowns globally in 2020, IT groups geared up umpteen times almost overnight to launch technology-driven works so that distance education and remote working were implemented. Newer online sales channels and customer experiences followed suit.
This was a moment of which called for technology deployment fast-tracking and a test to the companies. The challenge was to test the ability of the company’s customers and employees towards embracing newer forms of interactions and business engagements.
Unless these organizations change, there’s not much technology can do for your business. Most of the researchers in digital transformation solutions are of the opinion that real digital iterations are possible only when there is a complete transformation in the system worked rigorously by the government.
There are a number of assumptions regarding how companies usually prioritize and evaluate the initiatives in digital transformation that were turned down by the business when the pandemic struck.
Assumption 1:
The customers actually love human affection and emotions attached. However, the reality was that Covid 19 has proved that a highly architected digitized experience could offer rather equivalent or better-personalized interactions within the present framework.
Assumption 2:
Regulation will inhibit digital transformations services. However, the reality is the lockdown found extremely regulated industries like the healthcare were rather open towards addressing hurdles like privacy concerns for the extreme emergency services like that of telehealth visits.
Assumption 3:
It’s good to be a fast follower. However, the reality is that evaluating the innovation efforts of others before taking action all by yourself isn’t a good option during Covid 19, also isn’t a good idea moving forward. Companies trying to play fast were in a higher likelihood of lagging behind their competitors and would miss opportunities. This would eventually put them at higher risk in terms of business closures.
Also, businesses were assuming that they cannot keep pace with the efforts of digital transformation. However, the reality is that organizations across all industries stepped up towards keeping operations running and the revenue flowing. Further, people assumed they won’t pay a full price for just digital works. Yet, the consumers paid readily for the digital services and products and there is much likelihood of them continuing to do so.
Second Initiative
With the organizers and consumers finally getting ready to accept the digital changes, the question was how would the companies use that shift towards facilitating future transformation? Researchers identified four areas that companies need to focus on their digital initiatives for the next generation.
The customer experience:
while it is not a new area, customer experience in this new digital age is getting highly personal, and both customers and businesses are getting emotionally engaged than they were in the past. Companies are using data to get better CX, be it online retail outlets that are using technologies like AI and ML to provide seamless customer service. The services are moreover getting far better with businesses using mobile apps to offer customers contactless payment and other facilities.
Employee experience:
Machine learning and Automation can bring higher efficiencies to regular tasks, while the other technologies as in augmented reality could assist employees in methods that were not possible earlier. With digital transformation, employees are no longer working harder, they are working better and smarter, and hence the company is faring better.
Operations:
Triggered by the Internet of Things (IoT) and innovations in Industry 4.0 like that of digital twins along with ML helps companies use real-time data to better their operational performance and also introduce a new series.
For instance, contract manufacturers use the data to identify what components would work best together and which suppliers are the most reliable to enable their customers better design the electronics products. Defense manufacturers are using the simulation to adjust designs, boost the quality and reduce the number of prototypes that failed. And other companies can now introduce the newer product as a service (PaaS) offerings, as they have optimized operations using data.
Transformation of a business model: Not all company needs to be super-efficient to make it big. With smaller opportunities and efforts too, businesses can make a huge difference through information-based enhancements and digital enhancements. For instance, insurance companies are into monitoring and scoring their customers as they work to optimize their policy pricing strategy. Also, fleet companies are using data analytics and real-time data to deliver proactive and predictive maintenance services.
People power
All those initiatives aren’t going to succeed if there isn’t strong leadership in the company. The thing that has changed in the past few years is two of the following dimensions: employees are regarded as much as that of the customers in most cases, and you would require creating a culture that is digital-ready to become agile enough to be globally competitive.
Those highly advanced future efforts would be tasked not merely with bringing the right technology, but also inspiring the people to embrace that change that parallel goes with the transformation.
If businesses are going to create digital transformation consulting solutions in this Covid and afterward, it would be all about working with the people through providing the tools, giving them more power, and also listening to them. That is the only way we would arrive at this stronger than what we were before.
