Digital transformation is a fundamental change in the way an organization delivers value to its customers. But how do you know if the company is on the right track? Appreciating the importance of digital disruption is the beginning.
Table of Contents
Brief Description About Digital Transformation
Many business leaders have come to despise digital transformation as a concept because its meaning has been blurred by overuse. At the same time, a large portion of the investment in technology continues to be used for digital transformations, often to replace obsolete solutions and applications with new technologies.
This expense is made based on very different approaches:
- From incremental improvements.
- Even crazy budgeting approaches focused on digital disruption.
Each organization has different needs and it is clear that this must be taken into account, however, the disruptive approach to transformation marks a radical rethink of how the business uses technology, people and processes to fundamentally change business performance, that manages to sink deep. And that gives good results.
However, you need the backing of a good plan. The digital transformation, which must have the support of Senior Management, requires an interdepartmental collaboration that integrates two almost opposite visions: the business-centered philosophy with the agile models so frequently used in the development of applications.
Despite the fact that a decision of this type constitutes a turning point in the company’s trajectory , it should be borne in mind that these radical changes are typically carried out in search of new business models and new sources of income, driven by changes. in customer expectations for products and services.
Reality confirms that customer expectations far exceed what the organization can actually do, and that means considering a fundamental rethink about technology and processes.
Digital Transformation For Business
Businesses often embark on digital transformations to counter the potential for digital disruption by startups.
Amazon’s effect on the Retail industry is a good example . Its unstoppable advance has raised consumer expectations, not only because of the speed with which they receive products, but also because of their constant availability.
The so-called Amazon effect is the result of the use of algorithms to complement the logistics strategy and guarantee that any item that is demanded can quickly get from the local warehouses to the customer’s hands.
Continuous reinvention, a characteristic intrinsic to digital disruption, is not a territory reserved for retailers . In the transportation sector, Uber ended up forcing everyone – from taxi companies to carriers to automakers – to discover how to incorporate similar ride-sharing services or other on-demand features into their business models.
Examples Of Digital Transformation
Agility is one of the many qualities of companies that advance their digital disruption initiatives . They are driven by powerful motivation: They don’t want more nimble competitors to steal their market share, and so they seek to accelerate innovation, experimenting with new digital capabilities and services to augment existing offerings or extend their reach to adjacent markets.
As some understand it, digital disruption is their goal, to modernize, their most important need. And not only that, transforming products into services is another key motivation.
Startups may be the best and most abundant examples of digital disruption , especially, but not only, those framed in the technology sector. Inspired by them, already consolidated companies, which have long since left that initial phase of entrepreneurship behind, imitate their decision, even launching to create software versions of their physical assets, in some cases, to generate income from applications.
But, to go from the defined strategy on paper to business practice, it is necessary to always be motivated to meet the changing expectations of customers , and, at the same time, make the right decisions that allow:
- Create alliances with companies in the sector and other industries.
- Align with key executives, making radical organizational changes.
- Update employees, digitally qualifying them.
- Invest in innovation laboratories.
- Experiment with emerging technologies to meet new strategic plans.
One of the first things companies must do when embarking on a digital transformation is to gain a deep understanding of the customer journey map. And, while working to acquire that vision about their life cycle, it is necessary to be clear about what business results you want to achieve for customers.
Tips For Digital Disruption
To achieve the desired type of change in the context of digital disruption, setting goals is a must. But it is important to be bold in setting scope and trying to avoid getting lost in incremental changes.
Embracing adaptive design, making frequent periodic adjustments to the transformation strategy, allows you to be more agile. This, in turn, makes it easier to encourage risk-taking, allowing even lower-level employees to make decisions, sometimes fail, and always learn from their attempts.
Digital transformation, to consolidate itself, requires preventive changes instead of being considered as a simple reaction to competitive pressures. But you must also be alert to the potential problems that may arise in the process.
Digital disruption is within the reach of most organizations, but even the best project could end in failure if there is poor leadership, an excessive focus is placed on reducing costs, the lack of alignment between IT and the business is not solved, Employee engagement declines or digital transformation is approached as a business-independent technology journey .
