What digital transformation should mean to your business

The term digital transformation itself is an all-encompassing term that really can take on a variety of meanings depending upon the context used. Here at Workflo, we like to keep it simple when we say digital transformation, we mean the use of digital technology to streamline a wide range of processes. We take digital technology and use it to help improve productivity, enhance customer value, mitigate risk, reduce overheads, all of which contribute to increasing the bottom line.

Digital transformation is not only about making one fix to a single aspect of your business, it’s about going beyond a singular change in response to a competitive threat or market shift. In order to remain reactive and adaptive to rapidly changing business climates, which over the past two years has been crucial to a successful business, then digital transformation cannot just be a buzzword, it should be used to change how business is done to change the expectations of stakeholders such as customers and employees.

While a company can have all of the technology if there is no organizational change then this innovative technology cannot be used in a way that is optimal for the business. George Westerman a principal research scientist in MIT’s Abdul Latif Jameel World Education Lab, said that digital transformation is less about a digital problem and more of a transformational one. This speaks volumes for just how essential it is that we are able to adapt our strategy to overcome obstacles and still meet and even surpass customers’ needs.

What are the assumptions surrounding digital transformation?

Several assumptions referring to digital transformation have been flipped on their head in the wake of COVID-19. As we went into lockdown and limited physical human interaction, it forced companies to adapt and replace human interaction in a transaction with a digital experience, this was response was shown to be even more personalized than that of in-person interaction. The pandemic also called for a far quicker and agile approach to innovation.

Prior to the pandemic these efforts would usually be carefully evaluated and planned out by looking at others first, but this was not a choice that companies had during COVID-19, and it’s not a good idea going forward. In fact companies who did wait to watch others and evaluate their successes instead of being reactive themselves lagged behind their competitors. Another assumption before the pandemic in relation to digital transformation is that IT (Information Technology) would not be able to keep up with the rapid pace of digital transformation. This was shown to be wrong, across all multiple industries technological innovation was able to surpass and meet the needs of its clients.

For more information on how Workflo Solutions can help you with your approach to digital transformation contact us now.