Digital transformation is not just about business disruption or change in technology. It’s about value, people, optimization and the capability to rapidly adapt when such is needed through an intelligent use of data and technology.
In practice, end-to-end customer experience optimization, operational flexibility and innovation are key drivers and goals of digital transformation, along with the development of new revenue sources and information-powered ecosystems of value, leading to business model transformations and new forms of digital processes.
However, before getting there it’s key to solve internal challenges as well, among others on the level of legacy systems and disconnects in processes, whereby internal goals are inevitable for the next steps.
Digital transformation is a journey with multiple connected intermediary goals, in the end, striving towards ubiquitous optimization across processes, divisions and the business ecosystem of a hyper-connected age where building the right bridges (between front end and back office, data from ‘things’ and decisions, people, teams, technologies, various players in ecosystems etc.) in function of that journey is key to succeed.
The human element is key in it on all levels: in the stages of transformation as such (collaboration, ecosystems, skills, culture, empowerment etc.) and obviously in the goals of digital transformation. Since people don’t want ‘digital’ for everything and do value human and face-to-face interactions there will always be an ‘offline’ element, depending on the context. Yet, also in non-digital interactions and transactions digital transformation plays a role in the sense of empowering any customer-facing agent and worker.
3 Key Areas of Enterprise Digital Transformation
The three key areas of digital transformation for enterprises are:
- Customer Experience — working to understand customers in more detail, using technology to fuel customer growth, and creating more customer touchpoints
- Operational Processes — improving internal processes by leveraging digitization and automation, enabling employees with digital tools, and collecting data to monitor performance and make more strategic business decisions
- Business Models — transforming the business by augmenting physical offerings with digital tools and services, introducing digital products, and using technology to provide global shared services
The Benefits of Digital Transformation
While the ROI of digital transformation depends on a variety of factors, the right technology can greatly improve how your business functions and how customers engage with it.
- Increases productivity while reducing labor costs — Using technology to work more efficiently is one of the most impactful ways to transform your business. For example, for enterprises, the time and money they spend training new employees and updating digital resources can quickly get out of hand. With the proper tools, you can keep costs down and productivity up.
- Improves the customer experience — Tech-savvy customers want a great experience through multiple touchpoints — mobile apps, social media, email, live chat, etc. Digital transformations are the driving force behind improved customer experiences.
- Drives innovation, keeping you ahead of your competition – Your competitors are looking into digital transformation regardless of whether or not you are. Choosing not to embrace digital transformation is essentially deciding that you don’t mind being left behind. Investing in your organization’s future allows for
Examples of Digital Transformation
Digital transformation is occurring across all industries and job functions. We’ve broken up real-world digital transformation examples by both for you to get a better understanding of the implications of digital transformation.
Examples of Digital Transformation by Job Function
Job Function | Digital Transformation | Real-World Example |
Sales | Spreadsheets to a Cloud CRM | Sophos improves win rates, streamlines customer relationships, and improves customer data by implementing Salesforce. |
HR | In-person training to online elearning. | Comiva improves its onboarding quality, cost of training, and more by moving its onboarding online. |
Customer support | Call support center to online knowledge bases and self-support portals. | Cardinal Health improves its customer satisfaction score, reduces time to resolved tickets, and reduces overall support tickets with self-help. |
Examples of Digital Transformation by Industry
Industry | Digital Transformation | Real-World Example |
Healthcare | Virtual visits, telemedicine, and patient portals | Brigham Health uses virtual visits allowing patients to schedule appointments online and conduct a screening via web video. |
Hospitality | Online check-in, amenity booking tools | Harrah’s uses online check-in for guests to skip the in-person process. |
Insurance | Virtual quotes and online claims process | Lemonade uses an online portal for prospective customers to get instant quotes, as well as a portal for customers to file claims online – both using AI-powered technology. |
Retail | Loyalty cards, e-commerce stores | Target encourages its uses to download the Target App where it can reach customers through in-app and push notifications instantly, as well as creates a new stream of revenue with its online store |
Permalink