Several decades ago people could easily imagine their life without technologies, but modern generations would not understand how is it possible to live a comfortable life without mobile phones, laptops, the Internet, etc. We all can see the speed at which technologies are changing, developing and upgrading. All of them are making our daily life easier, more comfortable and give us a lot of great opportunities.
The wave of new technologies also changes the way enterprises operate. In order to survive in this world of constant competitions, enterprises and organizations should be able to quickly adopt the new comings and successfully use them to promote their business, get more customers and accelerate the revenue.
Talking about the latest tendencies in business, if you want to keep up with the rest of the world and do not lose your positions in the field you should consider going automated. Digital transformation of the firm is possible thanks to all the great technologies that are available nowadays, including cloud computing, IoT, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), etc. But a secret to success lies not only in a good implementation. It greatly depends on the digital transformation strategy. What is it? What are the components that should be included? Let’s dive deeper into this subject.
What Is Digital Transformation Strategy?
Before we will define the term “digital transformation strategy”, first of all, let’s find out what is a strategy itself.
A strategy is a thoroughly considered and detailed plan of long-term goals accomplishment. When talking about business, a strategy is a general influence and ultimate position that you want to achieve. How is it possible? First of all, you should remember that every approach consists of minor short-term tactics that are directed to achieve small (or let’s even say “primary”) goals.
In order to make a plan work, you have to include in it your whole team, every department and employee. Everyone should know their responsibilities and be motivated to reach every goal, step by step. And that’s how you can put up these small objectives into a bigger picture resulting in a total transformation of your business.
An approach should have clear tactics directed to achieve certain goals. Envolved staff have to understand these goals and know their position within the roadmap to change.
Digital transformation strategy, based on the information above, is a set of rules, principles and objectives that will help the firm or organization successfully implement automated technologies and use them effectively to keep the enterprise on the run. It involves cultural, IT, business, and marketing aspects. Each of them should be taken into consideration by diving into thorough research to come up with ideas, tactics, objectives, as well as foresee the future.
Development of the aligned transformation tactics will not only incorporate digital technologies into the system of your organization, but it also has some other advantages that come hand in hand. What is more, having a detailed plan will keep you away from some mistakes and help you overcome hurdles that might pop up on your way. First, we will take a look at some bright examples of transformation strategies we can analyze today and then, come up with conclusions.
Digital Transformation Strategy Examples
Before you start mulling over and developing a blueprint for your own firm, check the strategies of other companies. It’s not that important to analyze your competitors, as to understand the principles, key elements, and learn how to organize work within the enterprise, as well as set short-term and long-term goals. Also, it’s important to understand that the process cannot be done within several months, we are talking about years, as transformation should be incorporated step by step. It follows that digital transformation strategy is a years-long plan that requires profound research, constant testing and renovation. Some enterprises have already started that process, don’t fall behind.
- Car Connect by PorscheFor instance, a popular car manufacturer, Porsche, has created an application that serves as a co-pilot for the driver. It connects you and your car via a smartphone. The system is integrated into the car and has several great features that turn every journey into a pleasant experience. First of all, real-time data and traffic reports will suggest the fastest way to your destination point. It also offers voice control, has an in-build Apple Music, and helps you find all the information you need about destination points, as well as shows gas stations on your way. What is more, you can control the vehicle just from the smartphone (lock or unlock a car, control air conditioning, etc).Porsche company has gone even further by creating unique IDs for every customer in order to collect data of user experience. It is important for the project to provide innovations, but it is also important to analyze it and have feedback from the clients.
- IKEA and Augmented Reality AppIKEA is another example of a digital transformation. They’ve come up with an idea to create an app that helps customers to choose the most suitable furniture for their homes. It saves a lot of time and offers the best options for the place to match the interior of the apartment. Customers can beside which furniture to buy beforehand and there is no need to spend hours at the shop.
- Disney: From TV to the InternetDisney started to lose their positions several years ago and the firm needed to provide serious changes and come up with a new approach. That’s why they’ve bought streaming services and created an online platform, like Netflix. The decision to go automated was worth to try, as the firm has managed to reach more clients, thus generating higher revenue.
What Does Digital Transformation Strategy Means for Business?
The examples above demonstrate that a good digital transformation strategy can be of great value for the business. Overall, we can highlight several advantages that come hand in hand with a transformation.
- A better user experience that results in new clients: thanks to the various
technologies that are available nowadays, corporations are able to provide high-quality service to their clients. The better you get with clients and delivery of services, the more new clients will use the facilities you offer. - More qualified employees: as technologies keep developing and becoming better,
the company should empower the staff of the organization with relevant knowledge. As digital transformation is a rather new concept and education we get usually doesn’t provide us with all the necessary skills, it is important to get on-hands experience, as well as go through business training. - High in-company organization: implementation of new systems or technologies helps
businesses to have more efficient work organization within the organization. - Brings higher revenue: all the advantages listed above result in higher revenue for
the company that leads to even better services, renovation of technologies, and higher salaries for the employees.
In conclusion, it is important to say that success lies in an innovative idea that can be fulfilled in life by using the latest technologies (IoT, AI, AR, etc.), fast and efficient service, and highly-qualified staff. By incorporating all the elements into one big organism, going digital becomes real, thus bring numerous advantages for the business.
Five Elements of Digital Transformation Strategy that Lead to Success
So far we have discussed the meaning behind digital transformation strategy, viewed several examples and figured out its importance for the business. But what are the core elements of it? Based on the information we have, we can highlight five essential keys to a successful transformation scenario.
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- Analyze the situation and come up with the idea: without the idea, there is no need to start the fuss. It’s important to know your position among the competitors and understand current state of the firm. The idea that promotes digital transformation should be innovative and bring value for all the parties involved: customers, employees, corporation and its partners. Know the story you want to tell your board in order to win their attention and motivate them.
- Unite all the players and set up goals: first of all, before you start the process of digital transformation and set up a scheme, involve every department and staff into a big game. Share your vision and align every element into one organization. It means that managers of all the departments have to work as a coherent unit, where everyone knows their position and responsibilities to minimize mistakes on your way. Also, take into consideration the ideas your employees provide and set up short-term and long-term goals.
- Choose relevant technology: businesses are offered a number of technologies that can be used in the process of digital transformation. Learn about them and choose the most suitable one for your company. The technology should suit your business needs and be able to lead you to the goals the firm wishes to reach in the upcoming future. Communicate with different vendors, learn about the services they offer and make sure you are on the same page before choosing the one for cooperation.
- Document risks and run pilot tests: the organization should be prepared for all outcome scenarios in the process of digital transformation and implementation of new technologies. It cannot be done overnight as the process is quite tedious and time-consuming. Before you start, document all the risks you might face. Running pilot tests will help you calculate the risks and be prepared. For instance, first, you can start with one department in your company, see how it works, how technology helps your business, analyze occurring pitfalls. Once you know all the details and made some changes, run a test again and try to incorporate into the process another department. Thus, step by step you move to the full digital transformation of the business.
- Be ready for a change: once you put your feet on the path of digital transformation and start using new technologies, keep analyzing the process. It means to be ready for any cultural change that comes up your way. Pay attention to every element, take into consideration customer’s feedback as well as from your staff. Data analysis can help you find new directions for the business, enhance services, and be ready to provide new changes into the work of your company.
In conclusion, we can say that the future of different business areas lies in digital transformation. It will affect spheres like health care, finance, commerce, education, retail, even government systems and security. If you have great ideas of how to use available technologies, you should start making strategies to fulfill them right now.