The idea of providing your products and services digitally is at the front of all business owners minds and its what the customer expects when shopping in todays world. Digital transformation is a term that is often used to described this process but what does this actually mean for your business.
In this week’s guide, we will look at what digital transformation means and why it is important for your business.
What is digital transformation?
Digital transformation is the process of using new technology to improve your business operations and user experience for customers. The process of digital transformation is often used to make life easier for you (the business owner) and your customers. For example, there might be many different manual processes within your business that could easily be replaced with technology to fully automate each step.
The McKinsey Global Institute’s 2016 Industry Digitalisation Index suggests that the United Kingdom is only operating at 17% of its full potential so there is certainly room for businesses to become more productive through their use of digital transformation.
An opportunity and a challenge
Going through a digital transformation for your business will present you with both a challenge and an opportunity. The opportunity is clear as technology will allow your business to reach new heights through automation, increased productivity and potentially lower costs. However, there are a few challenges that you should consider when taking your business digital as they might influence the long-term growth of the business.
Transforming your business to digital will always have a clash with the current culture that you have built in your organisation. If you have a team that is comfortable with the culture of your organisation then it could be more difficult to get them on board with new changes.
In most cases, your team is going to need extra training once the digital transformation comes in to place as they will need to understand the new systems and ways of doing business. This puts a time strain on you and it will cost you so it is something to take into consideration.
Despite facing some immediate challenges when implementing your digital transformation program, studies have found that digital transformation could add $100 trillion in value to businesses over the next decade. It is clear that digital transformation is the future for all businesses and it will be required if businesses are wanting to survive and thrive amongst heavy competition.
Should you invest in digital transformation?
Digital transformation is the future and businesses will need to consider digital approaches if they want to compete and survive. The initial investment will be worth your while but we do recommend speaking to a digital transformation expert to find out what this would look like for your business as it will vary for every sector and business model.
If you are looking to implement digital transformation in your business, please feel to reach out to one of our team for guidance and support.