The topic of company digitization or digital transformation has been very fashionable lately.
Have you ever wondered what this means for your company? Does your company need to digitize?
Would you like to know how to adapt to new technologies and do it successfully?
Keep reading. Because today we will give you the answers to these questions.
What is Digital Transformation / Company Digitization?
Let’s start with the definition of Digital Transformation or Company Digitization.
- How is it achieved?
- Do we convert everything and everyone to bits and bytes?
- Do we automate processes to the point of replacing humans with robots?
- Do we connect all global products and services to the same network?
To learn how to adapt your company to the new technologies in 2022, it is necessary to understand what Digitization and Digital Transformation are and when applied to the business environment.
Initially, these definitions were known as converting information into digital bits (zeroes and ones). But on the other hand, what we are referring to in this guide is about those ways of structuring the processes of your company (regardless of its size) to work through digital means.
Furthermore, Wikipedia associates them with the function of “enabling, improving, or evolving business functions, business operations, customer management models, and communication processes, leveraging digital technologies.”
In a nutshell, it is taking your current business model and “evolving” it to meet new needs, merging both the physical world (offline) with the virtual world (online).
Benefits of Company Digitization in 2022
It is mentioned that you need to digitize your company, but what are the advantages of doing so?
Studies carried out with executives from different parts of the world reveal that almost half of their income in 2020 was the result of digital transformation.
And we can bet that it will increase in this and the following years.
The studies also found that 37% of them confirmed that digitization helped create new jobs (and not the other way around, as previously believed).
56% said that digital enhancements have already increased their profits.
What exact digital enhancements are we talking about?
1. Streamline existing processes: Have you run a successful business for years? So you know that running any operational process takes a lot of time.
In a world where time is a luxury, you can’t afford to spend a lot of time on redundant tasks. So, technology (in its different areas) can save you several hours a day of “unnecessary” work.
2. Increases overall efficiency: If all or most of your business processes are streamlined, you don’t have to worry about human error. The rapid flow of information between departments and the elimination of redundant tasks represent a considerable overall improvement in the efficiency of your business. Your company. This, in turn, translates into a reduced operating cost and a higher profit rate for prioritized objectives.
3. Promotes a growth environment: Digital transformation comes with a solid customer base and increased customer engagement.
That is why it is not surprising when a company that adapts to new technologies grows and expands rapidly.
4. Empower the workforce: Technological innovations also empower your team to be more competent and productive in their day-to-day work.
Whether by learning to use them to boost your personal growth or perform activities more efficiently and quickly… This is how different business roles can improve through digital transformation:
- Administration: Prepared for the future. Flexible reaction to market changes.
- IT: Flexible and scalable infrastructure. Less effort for development, with shorter release cycles.
- Finance: Efficient use of resources. Lower investment and personnel costs.
- Marketing: Greater orientation in results analysis. Lower advertising spends and higher operating range.
- Sales: Greater loyalty of prospects and customers. Multi-channel communication.
- Customer service: Quick response and better user experience. Management through web portals and knowledge centres.
- HR: Personalized monitoring of talent. Reduced integration time and greater efficiency when collaborating in teams.
That said, you must know that the digitalization of companies goes beyond traditional roles. Its primary capacity is to understand the data, understand what the market wants, and offer it something better than what your competition does.
Digital transformation begins and ends with customer engagement.
What do I mean by this? More and more companies stop to analyze what they do and how they do it (from their internal and external systems, an overview, and a detailed look) only to find that only one thing matters: customer interaction.
Questions like, “How can we add more value to each customer interaction?” and “Are our processes personalized enough to provide the best experience?” are on the minds of many CEOs in the world today.
Being aware is the first step. Then comes planning and implementation.
But different barriers hinder business digitization.
Difficulties in Applying Company Digitization
Years of research have shown that the success rate of adaptation efforts is low: less than 30 percent are successful.
Unfortunately, this year’s results suggest it may be even more difficult.
Just 16% of respondents say that digital transformations in their organizations have successfully improved performance.
While 7% say that performance improved but was not maintained.
Even the most digitally savvy industries, like media, are struggling. Among them, the success rate does not exceed 26%. And in other more traditional ones, such as the oil and gas industries, they fall between 4% and 11%.
I do not expose this data to scare you. Instead, it is to say: you are not alone.
I would even dare to say that it was not implemented in the best way. Or the main obstacles that you will see below were not faced in time.
1) Little Education on the Subject
We already know what it means to work on something not understood. Uncertainty is often the worst enemy of your company.
That said, it is essential to recognize that your employees, even if they do not express it, may fear being replaced by new technologies.
And when they perceive that their work is at risk due to digital transformation, they will consciously or unconsciously resist the changes.
It is important to empathize with these limiting thoughts and explain that the reality is entirely the opposite: adapting will ensure new and future opportunities.
2) Inefficient Distribution of Responsibilities
If you look for other articles on “Business Digitization,” you will find that they talk about choosing a leader to lead this transformation.
Almost nobody mentions that doing this becomes an uncomfortable crossroads of doubts and problems.
Would the CEO, CTO, CMO, or anyone else ending in O, be the best figure to lead the technological adaptation?
The truth is that neither they nor a new role would be an idea because this is a pervasive job.
It is an issue that must be worked on collectively in the same training line.
3) Non-Digitized Partners
More than a barrier, this is a great opportunity.
If your suppliers or associates are not adapted to new technologies, this directly affects your company, as well as the entire chain of collaborators.
For this reason, I recommend that you send this guide to all those who you think can benefit from digitization but who still lack information or are not convinced to take the first step.
Let’s help them know the benefits and be encouraged to join digitization.
True, it is easier said than done. We emotionally driven humans do not follow recommendations. We only stumble and learn through trial and error.
So, if you want all your partners to take a step forward to automate their processes, you must first implement them on your own.
This is how you can achieve it.
4 Steps to Adapt your Company to New Technologies
For digitization in 2022 to succeed, you must make the best decisions.
Fortunately, it only takes four simple steps to get there.
1) Study your Digitization Strategy
As already mentioned, the IT department should not be the only one responsible for promoting digitization in your company. All areas are affected and benefit equally.
For this reason, we recommend you evaluate how your competition moves and take the best strategy. For example:
- How is your digital strategy?
- Has digitization had a positive impact on your business?
- Will the industry be affected by sustained digitization?
2) Design your Digital Transformation
Once you have done the research, it is time to design the correct route, that is, the appropriate operating model for your consumers.
Keep in mind that these are the paths for adapting to new technologies:
- Evolution: There are fewer release phases, but the process is prolonged.
- Revolution: The process is more abrupt and faster. Problems can be put to the existing business structure. (This phrase is missing or has something leftover) they can put does not sound good, it could be they can test the.
- Digital Unit: Transcends either a department or splits into an organizational unit, such as a subsidiary.
3) Plan Digital Business Development
Have you already chosen your path?
Now is the time to come together, structure all the following steps, and fill in the missing gaps. Two popular methods are used to analyze challenges, create ideas, and solve problems: Design Thinking and Lean Start-up.
Design Thinking: The first approach focuses on problem-solving and the search for ideas based on the user’s perception and their needs and motivations.
Visualization and simulation of repetitive processes are used, such as interaction with customers, considering their preferences and emotions.
Lean Startup: The second method is used to adapt organizations, together with their processes, products, and services, in the most efficient way possible.
This means, with the least capital expenditure, in a short period. This is achieved by launching prototypes for validation in the market.
This practice seeks to obtain comments and reactions as soon as possible.
4) Establish your Digital Transition
According to a survey, most projects and startups fail at the operational level because of bad ideas.
This applies to the structures, methods, processes, and culture within the company. The infrastructure must be phased in gradually to ensure no data loss or system failure.
For example, the automation of sales processes and data management is paramount. Furthermore, I would dare say that there will be no alternative in the coming years.
This is mainly achieved with digital tools such as CRMs and cloud storage.
Examples of Company Digitization in 2022
There is no doubt that digital transformation has advanced by leaps and bounds in 2022.
But it is not so easy to see when raised on a large scale.
Still, would you like to see real examples of those companies that are deeply digitized? Well, Amazon, Google, and Netflix serve as great inspiration.
Why are these companies so successful and famous?
Why are they considered the protagonists in their respective areas?
This is because they have adapted so much to new technologies that they have practically created their business processes and solutions. They have innovated.
Would you like to innovate in 2022? Here are some trends you should be aware of.
- Social-Selling: It is the next stage of the sales department. Social networks are used to approach customers in a non-invasive way. The commercials, thus, avoid the unrewarding “cold door” and take advantage of their time to cultivate quality contacts. This represents saving time and money that was previously invested in travel and personnel. In addition, it is more efficient since you can sell directly to the right person, jumping hierarchical barriers.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): Extract valuable information from different data sources to solve complex problems. Both technologies facilitate scalability.
- Internet of Things (IoT): As you read this, more and more electronic devices are intertwined through local networks and applications. It is being implemented in all existing areas and industries.
The incorporation of the IoT seems like a thing of the future, but it is already here. The famous “Smart Cities” (translated to “Smart Cities ”) are full of technological elements that favour the day-to-day life of their citizens.
Summary
The reality is this:
Hundreds of thousands of companies are investing millions in “digital transformation” initiatives, but a high percentage of them are not paying off.
This is because companies put the cart before the horse. In other words, they focus on applying a specific technology before adapting the business strategy.
This company’s digitization in 2022 should be your number one priority.
How could you read today? It has benefits, trends, difficulties, and ways to apply. But never forget the following:
Put the focus on the customer, and the technology comes later. It may be contradictory, but we often tend to forget that this is the only reason to adapt to new technologies.
Offer a very different value proposition to the one that existed before… If this does not happen, survive or become extinct, it is only a matter of time.